Ezekiel 17:18

18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

Ezekiel 17:18 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:18

Seeing he despised the oath, by breaking the covenant
This is repeated again, to show the heinousness of the sin Zedekiah had been guilty of, and what was the cause of his ruin: when, lo, he had given his hand;
to the king of Babylon, to testify his hearty agreement with him, and that he might depend upon the oath and covenant being sacredly observed by him. This was a rite for custom frequently and early used in different nations, when covenants and agreements were entered into; we find it used in the times of Homer {z}; and among the Romans. When Antoninus, Lepidus, and Octavius made peace, the historian says ^F1, they joined their hands together. Virgil

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 speaks of the same ceremony used by Anchises to Achaemenides, for confirmation of friendship. Though some understand this of his giving the hand to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and entering into an alliance with him, and broke the covenant and oath made to the king of Babylon; and so the Targum,

``and, lo, he stretched out his hand to Pharaoh:''

and hath done all these [things];
been guilty of such and so many crimes, as ingratitude, perjury, covenant breaking, and vain confidence: he shall not escape;
divine vengeance, just and proper punishment for his sins.
F26 (ceirav t' allhlwn labethn kai pistwsate) , Iliad. 6.
F1 Florus, Hist. Rom. Gest. l. 4. c. 5.
F2 "Ipse pater dextram Anchises, haud malta moratur, Dat juveni atque animum praesenti pignore firmat". Aeneid. l. 3. prope finem.

Ezekiel 17:18 In-Context

16 As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die.

17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.

18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke.

20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me.