Ezekiel 17:15

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?

Ezekiel 17:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:15

But he rebelled against him
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, broke the covenant he entered into, and violated his oath: in sending his ambassadors into Egypt;
to form an alliance with the king of it, and obtain help from him to break off the Babylonian yoke; this is signified by the vine "bending [its] roots, [and] shooting forth [its] branches [towards] another great eagle", the king of Egypt, ( Ezekiel 17:7 ) ; that they might give him horses and much people;
with both which Egypt abounded, ( 1 Kings 10:28 ) ( Isaiah 31:1 Isaiah 31:3 ) ; but in Judea there was a scarcity, as of horses, so of men, by means of the multitude of captives which the king of Babylon had carried away; wherefore Zedekiah sent to Egypt for both, for recruits of men; and for horses to form a cavalry, to free himself from the king of Babylon, and defend himself and people against him: shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such [things]?
that is guilty of breaking an express law of God, which forbids the kings of Israel multiplying horses, and sending to Egypt for them, ( Deuteronomy 17:16 ) ; and placing confidence in an arm of flesh, ( Isaiah 31:1 Isaiah 31:3 ) ( 36:9 ) ; and of such base ingratitude to the king of Babylon, who had set him upon the throne, and put him in a comfortable and flourishing condition: or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
shall one guilty, as of the other crimes, so of breach of covenant, and of perjury, escape the vengeance of God and man? he shall not.

Ezekiel 17:15 In-Context

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.

17 And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives.