Ezekiel 17:3-8

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:3

And say, thus saith the Lord God ,.... The riddle is not the prophet's, nor the parable his, but the Lord God's; and exceeding beautiful and apt it is, to signify the things designed by it; the wisdom of God is greatly displayed in it: a great eagle ; which is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as it is explained, Ezekiel 17:12 ; who is compared to an eagle for his power and authority, that being the king of birds, and for his swiftness and voracity in conquering and subduing kingdoms;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:4

He cropped off the top of his young twigs ,.... By which are meant the princes of the land, or the several branches of the royal family; the top of which was King Jeconiah, who was but young and tender, being but eighteen years of age when he began his reign, and this was within three months after; and who was no more able to withstand the force of the king of Babylon, than a tender twig so ravenous a bird as an eagle, 2 Kings 24:8 ; whose superior power and strength is signified by the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:5

He took also of the seed of the land ,.... Of the land of Judea, a native of it, not a stranger; not one of another country, a Babylonian; not one of his own nobles or princes, did Nebuchadnezzar, the eagle, take and set upon the throne of Judea, but one of their own, even one of the king's seed, of the blood royal, as it is explained, Ezekiel 17:13 , Mattaniah, the uncle of Jeconiah, whom the king of Babylon called Zedekiah, and made him king in his room: and planted it in a fruitful... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:7

There was also another great eagle ,.... Hophra king of Egypt, a very powerful prince, whom Herodotus F21 L. 2. sive Euterpe, c. 161. calls Apries; and says he was the most happy and fortunate, after Psammitichus, of all the kings that were before; though not so mighty as the king of Babylon; therefore all the same things are not said of the one as of the other: with great wings and many feathers : had large dominions, but not go extensive as the former, and therefore is not said... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 17:8

It was planted in, a good soil, by great waters ,.... As is expressed in Ezekiel 17:5 ; this was done by the king of Babylon, who had raised Zedekiah from a low estate to a high one, and set him on the throne of Judah, over many people; and put him in such a condition, and in such circumstances, that he and his people might have been very happy, could they have been content:, for his view was, that he might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 17:3

A great eagle - Nebuchadnezzar. See Jeremiah 48:40 ; Jeremiah 49:22 ; Daniel 7:4 . And see here, Daniel 7:12 , where it is so applied. Great wings - Extensive empire. Long-winged - Rapid in his conquests. Full of feathers - Having multitudes of subjects. Divers colors - People of various nations. Came unto Lebanon - Came against Judea. The highest branch - King Jehoiachin he took captive to Babylon. The cedar - The Jewish state and king. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 17:4

The top of his young twigs - The princes of Judah. A land of traffic - Chaldea. A city of merchants - Babylon; for which this city was the most celebrated of all the cities of the east. Its situation procured it innumerable advantages; its two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Persian Gulf, gave it communication with the richest and the most distant nations. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 17:5

The seed of the land - Zedekiah, brother of Jehoiachin. Planted it in a fruitful field - Made him king of Judea in place of his brother. Placed it by great waters - Put him under the protection of Babylon, situated on the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. And set it as a willow tree - Made him dependent on this city of great waters, as the willow is on humidity. read more

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