“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
Parallel Translations
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“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
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Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
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'Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon;
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 17:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 24:19 The people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?”
- Ezekiel 1:2 In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
- Ezekiel 17:3 and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar.
- Exodus 12:26 It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
- Deuteronomy 6:20 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh our God has commanded you mean?”
- Joshua 4:6 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’
- Joshua 4:21 He spoke to the children of Israel, saying, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean?’
- 2 Kings 24:10-16 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign. He carried out from there all the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple, as Yahweh had said. He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one remained, except the poorest people of the land. He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 36:9-10 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. At the return of the year, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable vessels of Yahweh’s house, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 1:2 Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
- Isaiah 39:7 ‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’ ”
- Jeremiah 22:24-28 “As I live,” says Yahweh, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, I would still pluck you from there. I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of them of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. I will cast you out with your mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born; and there you will die. But to the land to which their soul longs to return, there they will not return.” Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? Is he a vessel in which no one delights? Why are they cast out, he and his offspring, and cast into a land which they don’t know?
- Jeremiah 52:31-34 In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and released him from prison. He spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments. Jehoiachin ate bread before him continually all the days of his life. For his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
- Ezekiel 2:3-5 He said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day. The children are impudent and stiff-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ They, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse, for they are a rebellious house, yet they will know that there has been a prophet among them.
- Ezekiel 2:8 But you, son of man, hear what I tell you. Don’t be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth, and eat that which I give you.”
- Ezekiel 3:9 I have made your forehead as a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”
- Ezekiel 12:9-11 “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ “Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.” ’ “Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into exile, into captivity.
- Matthew 13:51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
- Matthew 15:16-17 So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body?
- Matthew 16:11 How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
- Mark 4:13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?
- Luke 9:45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
- Acts 8:30 Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, Jeconiah, 2 Kings 24:15.
That is, Jeconiah, 2 Kings 24:15.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know…
Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these [things mean]? tell [them], Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
Ver. 12. Know ye not what these things mean?] q.d., It is much you should not. There is no such great difficulty in the parable, but that ye are self-blinded, and will not see far off; either your wits serve you not in the things of God, or if they do, you will make believe otherwise. Are ye not, therefore, rightly called a "rebellious house"
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Tell them.] For their learnings, and that they may be left without excuse. See on Eze 17:4.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Say now: this is the order God gives to…
Say now: this is the order God gives to his prophet to explain the riddle.
To the rebellious house; to the house of Judah, which have been, and still are, rebellious against me, and are now entering into rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar.
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Know ye not? are ye so blockish that you do not know what is meant? or are you so secure that you will not consider it, but run on your own ruin?
The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, is that first great eagle with part of his power.
Jerusalem is the Lebanon which he is come to.
The king thereof; the king of Israel, and his seed, and nobles are the branches and twigs cropped off, these are taken, conquered, made captives.
Led them with him; judging them unfit to be trusted any more, he will, though in chains, carry them to Babylon.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain That the kingdom might be base,.... Low or humble;…
That the kingdom might be base,.... Low or humble; its king but a viceroy, a tributary to the king of Babylon; and the subjects obliged to a tax, payable to him; and this is intended by the vine being of "low stature", Eze 17:6;
that it might not lift up itself; above other neighbouring kingdoms and states; and particularly that it might not rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, but be kept in a dependence on him, and subjection to him:
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but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand; continue a kingdom, and Zedekiah king of it; so that it was for their good that such a covenant was made, and it was their interest to keep it; for, had it not been made, it would have ceased to have been a kingdom, and would have become a province of the Babylonian monarchy, and have been put under the government of one of Nebuchadnezzar's princes or captains; and, should they break it, would endanger the ruin of their state, as the event showed. In the Hebrew text it is, "to keep his covenant, to make it stand"; or, "to stand to it" (y); that is, as it should seem, to make the covenant stand firm. The Targum is,
"that it might keep his covenant, and serve him;''
Nebuchadnezzar.
(y) "ad custodiendum pactum ejus, ad astandum ei", Montanus; "ad servandum foedus suum, ad consistendumm", Starckius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Know ye not what these things mean?]…
Verse 12. Know ye not what these things mean?] They are explained in this and the following verses.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Eze 17:12-14. Say now to the rebellious house —…
Eze 17:12-14. Say now to the rebellious house — To the house of Judah, which have been and still are rebellious against me, and are now entering into a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. This is God’s order to his prophet to explain the riddle. Know ye not what these things mean? — Will you not apply your minds to understand what God speaks to you? And that whether he directs his speech to you in plain words, or delivers his mind in riddles and parables? Behold, the king of Babylon is come — Or rather, did come, or came to Jerusalem — Namely, some time before the delivery of this prophecy: and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof — Namely, Jeconiah and all his princes and officers: see 2Ki 24:12. And hath led them with him to Babylon — Judging them unfit to be trusted any more with any office or power in their own country. And hath taken of the king’s seed — Hath taken from among the royal seed Mattaniah, Jehoiakim’s brother, and advanced him to the throne in Jerusalem, 2Ki 24:17; and made a covenant with him — A solemn agreement, on terms acceded to and approved by Mattaniah; and hath taken an oath of him — An oath of fealty: when Nebuchadnezzar caused Mattaniah to enter into this covenant and oath, he changed his name to Zedekiah, which word signifies, the justice of God, to express that God would avenge the crime of this restored captive, if he should break the covenant into which he had entered, and perjure himself: see note on 2Ki 24:17. He hath also taken the mighty of the land — Namely, as hostages for Zedekiah’s performance of the covenant agreed on. That the kingdom might be base — Or rather, humble; that it might be kept in subjection and obedience. Zedekiah being made only a tributary king, consequently was not in as honourable a condition as his predecessors had been in; but yet the keeping of his covenant was the only means, under present circumstances, to support himself and his government.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Shall, or, "hath taken," &c., (Challoner) as also (ver.…
Shall, or, "hath taken," &c., (Challoner) as also (ver. 13.) Sedecias was seized five years after, chap. viii. 1. Jechonias, the princes, mighty warriors, (ver. 13.) and expert artists, had been taken away six years before, with the prophet. Protestants, "is come,...and hath taken," &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Know ye not--He upbraided them with moral, leading to…
Know ye not--He upbraided them with moral, leading to intellectual, stupidity.
hath taken the king--Jeconiah or Jehoiachin (Kg2 24:11, Kg2 24:12-16).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THE RIDDLE EXPLAINED, Eze_17:11-24.
THE RIDDLE EXPLAINED, Eze_17:11-24.
12. Is come — Literally, came.
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Hath taken — Literally, took (also Eze_17:13).
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11–21. Interpretation of the riddle
11–21. Interpretation of the riddle
12. the rebellious house] i.e. Israel, ch. Eze_2:5.
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king of Babylon is come] Better past tenses throughout: came … and took; so Eze_17:13 and took. On the captivity of Jehoiachin, cf. 2Ki_24:11 seq.; Jer_24:1; Jer_29:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 12, 13. The parable has been spoken. Ezekiel,…
Vers. 12, 13. The parable has been spoken. Ezekiel, after the pause implied in ver. 11, now becomes its interpreter. And that interpretation is to be addressed to the "rebellious house" (Eze_2:3, Eze_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 "took," "brought," and so on in ver. 13. The history of Jeconiah"s deportation and of Zedekiah"s oath of fealty (2Ch_36:13) is recapitulated. He dwells specially on the fact that the mighty of the land had been carried off with Jecoutah. It was Nebuchadnezzar"s policy to deprive the kingdom of all its elements of strength to leave it "bare." Even masons. smiths, and carpenters were carried off, lest they should be used for warlike preparations. (2Ki_24:16) It could not lift itself up. It was enough if "by keeping its covenant" it was allowed to stand.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.