Ezekiel 17:10

Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew. YEA, BEHOLD, BEING PLANTED, SHALL IT PROSPER? - i:e., though planted. EAST WIND. The east wind was noxious to vegetation in Palestine: a fit emblem of Babylon, which came from the northeast. IT SHALL WITHER IN THE FURROWS WHERE IT GREW. Zedekiah was taken at Jericho, in Jewish soil (). 'It shall wither, although it has furrows from which it expects continual watering' (Calvin). (; .)...

1-10 Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will prosper....

Verse Ezekiel 17:10. _SHALL - UTTERLY WHITHER_] The _regal_ government shall be no more restored. Zedekiah shall be the _last king_, and the monarchy shall finally terminate with him....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 17:2 PUT FORTH A RIDDLE, etc. Again there is an interval of silence, till another theme is suggested to the prophet's mind and worked out elaborately. This he describes as a "riddle" (same word as the "dark speeches" of Numbers 12:8, the "hard questions" of 1 Kings 10:1). It will task the ingenuity of his hearers or readers to interpret it, and so he subjoins (Ezekiel 17:12) the interpretation. That interpretation enables us to fix the occasion and the date of the prophecy. It was the time when Zedekiah was seeking to strengthen himself against Nebuchadnezzar by a

YEA, BEHOLD, [BEING] PLANTED,.... Supposing it ever so well planted, as first by Nebuchadnezzar; and still put into a better condition by the assistance of the king of Egypt, as was imagined: SHALL IT PROSPER? it shall not; their own strength, with the help of the king of Egypt, will not be able to protect them from the rage of the king of Babylon: SHALL IT NOT UTTERLY WITHER, WHEN THE EAST WIND TOUCHETH IT? which is very hurtful to vines, and by which is meant the Chaldean army; for Babylon, as Kimchi observes, lay northeast of the land of Israel; and it signifies how easily the destruction would be brought about, it would be only a touch of the east wind, and this vine would wither away atones: IT SHALL WITHER IN THE FURROWS WHERE IT GREW; notwithstanding its being watered by Egypt, or the help and assistance that could afford it; or amidst all its prosperity, and the means of it, a...

Ezekiel 17:1. The great eagle mentioned first is Nebuchadnezzar. (See Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22). He came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar, the symbol of the house of David, which was conquered by this eagle. Nebuchadnezzar made the youngest son of Josiah king over Judah and called him Zedekiah. This action is described in verse 5. The other great eagle is Hophra, the king of Egypt. To him Zedekiah turned for help. The interpretation and application of this parable is given in Ezekiel 17:11. The following passages should be read as helpful to the understanding of these verses:...

EZEKIEL 17. THE PERFIDIOUS KING. Jerusalem, as we have seen, is to be punished for her guilty past and her perfidious people (Ezekiel 17:16), but no less for her guilty present and her perfidious king. This truth is driven home in another allegory, here called a riddle and parable, set forth in Ezekiel 17:1 and expounded in Ezekiel 17:11; and thus for the second time (Ezekiel 12:1) Ezekiel shatters the illusion of the stability of the king and the monarchy. For a second time, too, the figure of Israel as a vine is presented (Ezekiel 17:15) b

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos._ App-6. IT: i.e. the vine. WIND. Hebrew. _ruach_, App-9....

The riddle of the great eagle (1) Ezekiel 17:1 introduction. The great, broadwinged, speckled eagle came to Lebanon, and broke off the top of the cedar, carrying it to the merchant-land, Babylon the captivity of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar. (2) Ezekiel 17:5. He took also of the seed of the land and planted it beside the waters that it might be a spreading vine, and might turn its branches towards him who had planted it the elevation to the throne by Nebuchadnezzar of Zedekiah as a feudatory monarch. (3) Ezekiel 17:7. There was another great eagle, and the vine bent its roots and sent out its branches towards him Zedekiah sought the alliance and protection of the king of Egypt. (4)...

IV. THE KING: A LOWLY VINE 17:1-21 In chapter 17 Ezekiel turns his attention to King Zedekiah back in Jerusalem. This vassal king had committed an act of treachery against Nebuchadnezzar by breaking his solemn oath of allegiance to Babylon in seeking military aid from Egypt. In this oracle delivered shortly before 587 B.C. Ezekiel predicts the extinction of Zedekiah's dynasty and the fall of Jerusalem. He first presents his parable (Ezekiel 17:1-10) and then makes an application of what he has said (Ezekiel 17:11-21). A. The Parable of the Two Eagles Presented 17:1-10 TRANSLATION (1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, Put forth a riddle and speak a parable unto the house of Israel, (3) and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with