Ezekiel 17:14

14 so that [they would] be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant {in order for it to stand}.

Ezekiel 17:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:14

That the kingdom might be base
Low or humble; its king but a viceroy, a tributary to the king of Babylon; and the subjects obliged to a tax, payable to him; and this is intended by the vine being of "low stature", ( Ezekiel 17:6 ) ; that it might not lift up itself;
above other neighbouring kingdoms and states; and particularly that it might not rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, but be kept in a dependence on him, and subjection to him: [but] that by keeping of his covenant it might stand;
continue a kingdom, and Zedekiah king of it; so that it was for their good that such a covenant was made, and it was their interest to keep it; for, had it not been made, it would have ceased to have been a kingdom, and would have become a province of the Babylonian monarchy, and have been put under the government of one of Nebuchadnezzar's princes or captains; and, should they break it, would endanger the ruin of their state, as the event showed. In the Hebrew text it is, "to keep his covenant, to make it stand"; or, "to stand to it" ^F25; that is, as it should seem, to make the covenant stand firm. The Targum is,

``that it might keep his covenant, and serve him;''

Nebuchadnezzar.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (hdmel wtyrb ta rmvl) "ad custodiendum pactum ejus, ad astandum ei", Montanus; "ad servandum foedus suum, ad consistendumm", Starckius.

Ezekiel 17:14 In-Context

12 "Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, 'Do you not know what these [are]?' Say, 'Look! The king of Babylon will come [to] Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring them to himself, [to] Babylon.

13 And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and {he brought him under oath}, and he took the rulers of the land,

14 so that [they would] be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant {in order for it to stand}.

15 But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers [to] Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these [things], and can he break [the] covenant and escape?

16 {As I live},' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, '{surely} in the place of the king {who made} him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him--in the midst of Babylon he will die.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "to standing her"; or "to let her stand"