John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:11
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Here follows the explanation of the above riddle and parable, which the prophet from the Lord had orders to deliver. read more
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Here follows the explanation of the above riddle and parable, which the prophet from the Lord had orders to deliver. read more
Say now to the rebellious house ,.... It had been a rebellious house to God, and to his prophets, before; see Ezekiel 2:5 and See Gill on Ezekiel 2:5 ; and now, besides this was rebellious to the king of Babylon, to whom they were in some measure subject, Ezekiel 17:15 ; know ye not what these things mean ? the riddle and parable concerning the two eagles and the vine; suggesting that they must be very inattentive, and very stupid, if they did not know the meaning of them; for... read more
And hath taken of the king's seed ,.... One of the royal family, signified by the seed of the land, Ezekiel 17:5 . Mattaniah, son of King Josiah, and uncle to King Jeconiah; whom Nebuchadnezzar took and made king of Judea, and called him Zedekiah, which signifies the "justice of the Lord": to put him in mind of doing justly, by observing the covenant and oath after mentioned, or that he must expect vengeance: and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him ; he gave him the... read more
Know ye not what these things mean? - They are explained in this and the following verses. read more
Verse 11 An explanation of the allegory is now added. The figure being dropped, God shows what he had hitherto set forth enigmatically. We said the object of the allegory was to induce the Jews to apply their minds more diligently to the Prophet’s destruction; for if he had used common and ordinary language, we know how carelessly they were accustomed to despise all rebukes and threatenings; but a riddle, while it held them in suspense, at the same time roused them, and so they were prepared... read more
The parable of the vine. Sin of every sort has a baneful power of blinding the mind of the transgressor. The thief does not perceive the criminality of his act. He complains only of the law which is so severe. The drunkard does not perceive the culpability of his course. May he not order his life as he pleases? So is it in every case—even in the case of secret sin. The moral sense is blinded, infatuated, indurated. In all such instances some ingenious method is required to convince the... read more
A parabolic setting forth of the relations of Judah to Babylon and Egypt. "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable," etc. Let us notice— I. THE PARABLE AND ITS INTERPRETATION . It would be unwise to attempt to fix a definite meaning to every minute feature of the parable; and its chief features are interpreted for us by Ezekiel. The great eagle is intended to represent the King of Babylon, and, being a royal bird. it... read more
The sacredness of treaties. The Old Testament abounds in illustrations of the bearing of religion upon national and corporate life. In this passage of prophecy Ezekiel rebukes his countrymen for their disc, intent under the Assyrian rule, and for their treacherous intrigues with Egypt. Speaking in the name of the King of kings, he upbraids them for deliberate infraction of a covenant which they were bound to observe. He shows them that political action may be sinful, and that, when such is... read more
The parable has been spoken. Ezekiel, after the pause implied in verse 11, now becomes its interpreter. And that interpretation is to be addressed to the "rebellious house" ( Ezekiel 2:3 , Ezekiel 2:6 ) among whom he lived. Probably even among the exiles of Tel-Abib there were some who cherished hopes of the success of the Egyptian alliance, and of the downfall of the power of Babylon as its outcome. The tenses are better in the indefinite past—"came," "took," "brought," and so on in verse... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 17:1-21
We must take all these verses together, that we may have the parable and the explanation of it at one view before us, because they will illustrate one another. 1. The prophet is appointed to put forth a riddle to the house of Israel (Ezek. 17:2), not to puzzle them, as Samson's riddle was put forth to the Philistines, not to hide the mind of God from them in obscurity, or to leave them in uncertainty about it, one advancing one conjecture and another another, as is usual in expounding riddles;... read more