Ezekiel 17:6

6 The seed grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the eagle. And its roots remained under the eagle. So the seed became a vine. It produced branches and put out leaves.

Ezekiel 17:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:6

And it grew
King Zedekiah reigned and prospered, and the kingdom flourished under him: and became a spreading vine of low stature;
not so flourishing as it had been heretofore, in former reigns; it did not rise up to a cedar, as it had been, but was like a vine, which, though flourishing, does not rise up high, but runs upon the ground, and is dependent on something else; so the king and kingdom of Judah, though in tolerable circumstances, yet were humble and dependent on the king of Babylon: whose branches turned towards him;
the eagle, Nebuchadnezzar, to whom the people of the Jews were tributary: and the roots thereof were under him;
they were rooted and settled in their own land, yet under the power, and at the dispose, of the Babylonish monarch: so it became a vine;
a flourishing kingdom in some measure, though attended with some degree of weakness and dependence as a vine: and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs;
increased in people and in riches; particularly the king had many children, so that there was a prospect of a succession, and of a more flourishing estate, and a continuance of it, ( Jeremiah 52:10 ) .

Ezekiel 17:6 In-Context

4 It broke off the highest twig. It carried it away to Babylonia. There are many traders in that land. The eagle planted the twig in the city of Babylon.

5 " ' "Then it got a seed from your land. It put it in rich soil near plenty of water. It planted the seed like a willow tree.

6 The seed grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the eagle. And its roots remained under the eagle. So the seed became a vine. It produced branches and put out leaves.

7 " ' "But there was another great eagle. It also had powerful wings and a lot of feathers. The vine now sent its roots out toward that eagle. It sent them out from the place where it was planted. And it reached out its branches to the eagle for water.

8 The seed had been planted in good soil near plenty of water. Then it could produce branches and bear fruit. It could become a beautiful vine." '