Back to Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel 17:5-10

“ ‘ “He also took some of the seed of the land, and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He set it as a willow tree. It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him. So it became a vine, produced branches, and shot out sprigs.

“ ‘ “There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might produce branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a good vine.” ’

“Say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? It can’t be raised from its roots by a strong arm or many people. Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.” ’ ”

World English Bible · Public Domain

Read all of Ezekiel 17 →

Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    “ ‘ “He also took some of the seed of the land, and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He set it as a willow tree.

    It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him. So it became a vine, produced branches, and shot out sprigs.

    “ ‘ “There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

    It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might produce branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a good vine.” ’

    “Say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? It can’t be raised from its roots by a strong arm or many people.

    Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.” ’ ”

  • KJV King James Version

    He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.

    And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

    There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

    It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

    Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

    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.

Show all 3 translations
  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters, he set it as a slip.

    And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose tendrils might turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

    There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

    It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine.

    Say thou: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither, yea, wither in all its sprouting leaves? neither shall great power or much people be at hand when it is plucked up by the roots thereof.

    Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? In the beds where it grew it shall wither.'

View more translations →

Cross-references (37)

  • Hosea 13:15 (v10) Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will…
  • Deuteronomy 8:7-9 (v5) For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and…
  • Isaiah 44:4 (v5) and they will spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
  • Ezekiel 17:10 (v9) Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it…
  • Ezekiel 17:14 (v6) that the kingdom might be brought low, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
Show all 37 cross-references
  • Proverbs 16:18-19 (v6) Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the…
  • Jeremiah 32:5 (v9) and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh: “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will…
  • Ezekiel 17:15 (v7) But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will…
  • Ezekiel 31:4 (v7) The waters nourished it. The deep made it to grow. Its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees…
  • Numbers 14:41 (v9) Moses said, “Why now do you disobey the commandment of Yahweh, since it shall not prosper?
  • 2 Kings 24:17 (v5) The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
  • 2 Kings 24:20 (v7) For through the anger of Yahweh, this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled…
  • 2 Kings 25:4-7 (v9) Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the…
  • 2 Chronicles 13:12 (v9) Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t…
  • 2 Chronicles 20:20 (v9) They rose early in the morning, and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me,…
  • 2 Chronicles 26:13 (v7) Under their hand was an army, three hundred seven thousand five hundred, who made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
  • Isaiah 8:9-10 (v9) Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for…
  • Isaiah 15:7 (v5) Therefore they will carry away the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have stored up, over the brook of the willows.
  • Isaiah 30:1-7 (v9) “Woe to the rebellious children”, says Yahweh, “who take counsel, but not from me; and who make an alliance, but not with my Spirit, that…
  • Isaiah 31:1-3 (v9) Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they…
  • Jeremiah 21:4-7 (v9) ‘Yahweh, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king…
  • Jeremiah 24:8-10 (v9) “ ‘As the bad figs, which can’t be eaten, they are so bad,’ surely Yahweh says, ‘So I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his…
  • Jeremiah 29:4-7 (v9) Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon:…
  • Jeremiah 37:1 (v5) Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the…
  • Jeremiah 37:5-7 (v7) Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.…
  • Jeremiah 37:10 (v9) For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained among them, they would each…
  • Jeremiah 52:7-11 (v9) Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two…
  • Ezekiel 17:5-6 (v8) “ ‘ “He also took some of the seed of the land, and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He set it as a willow…
  • Ezekiel 17:13 (v5) He took some of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
  • Ezekiel 17:15-17 (v9) But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will…
  • Ezekiel 19:11-12 (v5) It had strong branches for the scepters of those who ruled. Their stature was exalted among the thick boughs. They were seen in their…
  • Ezekiel 19:12-14 (v10) But it was plucked up in fury. It was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were broken off…
  • Hosea 12:1 (v10) Ephraim feeds on wind, and chases the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and desolation. They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil…
  • Matthew 21:19 (v10) Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!”…
  • Mark 11:20 (v10) As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots.
  • John 15:6 (v10) If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are…
  • Jude 1:12 (v10) These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without…

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (17 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8, 9 After Ezekiel has narrated that Jehoiacin was carried away…

After Ezekiel has narrated that Jehoiacin was carried away with his counselors and the flower of the whole people, and was so deprived of his native country as to be without hope of return, he now says, that the eagle took up the seed in Judea, and placed it in a fertile land; for he calls it a land of seed, since it was cultivated and produced fruit abundantly. He says, that the seed was afterwards hidden in the soil, that it grew immediately, and became a luxuriant vine. He says also, that its roots were irrigated, like a willow planted by a river’s bed. The Prophet afterwards explains himself: hence it is sufficient to state briefly what he means. The seed, then, which he here means is Zedekiah, the last king. It is said to have been planted beside the waters; for his condition was tolerable, since the royal name and dignity and wealth was left to him. For although he was tributary, the kindness with which he was treated by Nebuchadnezzar was not to be despised, since, by the right of war, he was able to lead him captive. together with his nephew; for Zedekiah was the uncle of Jeconiah or Jehoiacin. But he said, that this vine, which sprang from a seed or germ, grew so that it was of low stature; the Prophet means by these words, as we shall afterwards see, that Zedekiah was not a king, that he was restrained by a bridle from daring to rebel against the king of Babylon; and hence it is added, that its branches turned towards the eagle, and its roots were under him; but in the next clause Ezekiel announces, that it became a vine which set forth branches, and shot forth boughs, which he repeats again, that Zedekiah’s ingratitude may appear the greater, who, not content with his moderate confinement, perfidiously revolted from the king of Babylon, through reliance on the new treaty, on which we touched yesterday. It now follows —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–10 That is, Zedekiah, who was of the King’s blood…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–10 Eze 17:5 He took also of the seed of…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–10 Took; chose out one to be king instead of…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–10 And it grew,.... King Zedekiah reigned and prospered, and…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv5–10 The seed - Mattaniah, whom he called Zedekiah. Planted…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5–10 Verse 5. The seed of the land] Zedekiah, brother…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 Eze 17:7-8. There was also another great eagle —…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9 He took also of the seed of the land…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9 Land. Sedecias, whom he made king. (Challoner) --- He…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5–10 seed of the land--not a foreign production, but one…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9, 10 5. He took also of the seed of the…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–10 5. Nebuchadnezzar then took Mattaniah, son of Josiah, and…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 7, 9 (5) Of the seed of the land.—In place of…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8, 9, 10 The seed of the land is Zedekiah, who was…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7, 9 General Information:
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 10 17:7-9 There was a second great eagle like the…
Share