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.” ’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7–9 He now detects, under a figure, the perfidy of…
He now detects, under a figure, the perfidy of Zedekiah, since he very soon applied himself to the king of Egypt, and bent his roots and branches towards him, that they might be irrigated. I do not disagree with the opinion of those who think that the Prophet alludes to an Egyptian custom; for we know that they dug furrows through which water flowed through the whole region: hence the fruitfulness of the soil; and thus Egypt is elsewhere compared to a garden. (Deuteronomy 11:10.) Whatever the meaning is, the Prophet shows that Zedekiah was deceived by a foolish confidence when he thought himself safe under the protection of the king of Egypt; for he had said that the seed was so planted that the vine did not rise to a great height, but spread itself under the wings of the eagle. But Zedekiah despised the king of Babylon, thinking that he should improve his condition by entering into a treaty with the king of Egypt. 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 vv6–10 This was Zedekiah’s kingdom.
This was Zedekiah’s kingdom.
That is, might not have power to rebel against Babylon, as verse 14.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–10 Eze 17:6 And it grew, and became a spreading…
Eze 17:6 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.
Ver. 6. And it grew.] And yet it had a great fall - viz, from a tall cedar to a low vine. Zedekiah, though he had still the title of a king, and was not left without wealth and dignity, yet it was far inferior to that of his predecessors.
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“ Magna repente ruunt, summa cadunt subito. ”
Whose branches turned toward him,] i.e., Toward Nebuchadnezzar, now the chief lord of the land. To him looked and leaned the lords of the land, and so long they did well, for they and the whole kingdom thrived.
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 On vv6–10 It grew; both the king and kingdom.
It grew; both the king and kingdom.
Became a spreading vine; took root, grew up to a tolerable condition of riches, plenty, and prosperity.
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Of low stature; but never reached the height of the cedar. Nebuchadnezzar, though he made Zedekiah king, yet kept him subject and dependent.
Turned; they grew and flourished, while they owned their state tributary to Babylon.
Toward him; Nebuchadnezzar, as their protector, benefactor, and sovereign lord.
The roots thereof; all the firmness, fruitfulness, and life of this state was in a subjection to the king of Babylon.
So; thus, in this order and manner of dependence, both the Jews and their king had life, growth, and verdure. Branches; greater and stronger boughs for present strength, beauty, and fruit.
Sprigs; younger and tenderer springles, as children, the hope of future times.
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 On vv6–10 There was also another great eagle,.... Hophra king of…
There was also another great eagle,.... Hophra king of Egypt, a very powerful prince, whom Herodotus (u) 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 to be "longwinged" as he; and had "many feathers", but not "full" of them, nor had it such a variety; he had many people, and much wealth, and a large army, but not equal to the king of Babylon:
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and, behold, this vine did bend her roots towards him; Zedekiah, and the people of the Jews under him; inclined to an alliance with the king of Egypt, and gave him some private intimations of it:
and shot forth her branches towards him; sent ambassadors to acquaint him with it, Eze 17:15;
that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation; Nebuchadnezzar had planted this vine, and made furrows for the watering of it, and by his means it was become prosperous and flourishing; but Zedekiah, not content with the greatness and glory he had raised him to, sought to the king of Egypt to help him with horses and people, in order to free himself from subjection to the king of Babylon, and to increase his lustre and glory: the allusion is thought to be to the trenches and canals of the river Nile, by which the land of Egypt was watered: the words may be rendered, "out of the rivulets of her plantation" (w) which best agrees with watering.
(u) L. 2. sive Euterpe, c. 161. (w) "ex rivulis loci in quo plantata est", Gussetius, p. 642. such as run between beds in gardens, of which this word is sometimes used; hence some render it "ex areolis", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, so Ben Melech; or ditches and canals, such as were made out of the river Nile to water the land; "a fossa plantarii sui", Texelius, ut supra, p. 209.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv6–10 Of low stature - They grew and flourish, while…
Of low stature - They grew and flourish, while they owned their state tributary to Babylon. Toward him - Nebuchadnezzar as their protector, and sovereign Lord. The roots - All the firmness, fruitfulness, and life of this state, was in subjection to him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6–10 Verse 6. A spreading vine of low stature] The…
Verse 6. A spreading vine of low stature] The Jewish state having then no height of dominion, it must abide under the wings or branches of the Chaldean king.
Whose branches turned toward him, and the roots - under him] Zedekiah was wholly dependent on Nebuchadnezzar, both for his elevation to the throne, and his support on it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 Eze 17:7-8. There was also another great eagle —…
Eze 17:7-8. There was also another great eagle — Namely, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, with whom Zedekiah made an alliance; whereupon that king sent an army to raise the siege of Jerusalem, 2Ch 36:13; Jer 37:5; Jer 37:7. With great wings and many feathers — Having a great army and many people to support him. And this vine (namely, Zedekiah) did bend her roots toward him, &c. — Zedekiah sought the assistance and protection of the king of Egypt. Dr. Waterland renders this clause, And shot forth her branches under him, from the furrows where she was planted, that he might water it: that is, give it assistance. The auxiliary forces which Zedekiah expected from Egypt are here intended. It was planted in a good soil, &c. — The words are to the same purpose with Eze 17:5, to show that Zedekiah’s condition was so good under the king of Babylon, that he needed not to have broken his oath out of a desire to better it, whereby he involved himself and his country in ruin: see notes on 2Ki 24:20; and Jer 17:25.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 Spreading - On the ground, not trained to a…
Spreading - On the ground, not trained to a pole, that it might have no other prop but Nebuchadnezzar. As a vine it was less majestic than a cedar Eze 17:3; but compare Psa 80:10.
Whose branches ... - Rather, in order that her branches should turn unto him, and that her roots should be under him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 Towards him. Nabuchodonosor, to whom Sedecias swore allegiance. (Challoner)…
Towards him. Nabuchodonosor, to whom Sedecias swore allegiance. (Challoner) --- Literally, "to it," eam, the eagle. (Haydock) --- The dominions of Sedecias were extensive, but weak, and dependant on a foreign king.
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 On vv6–10 vine of low stature--not now, as before, a stately…
vine of low stature--not now, as before, a stately "cedar"; the kingdom of Judah was to be prosperous, but not elevated.
branches turned toward him--expressing the fealty of Zedekiah as a vassal looking up to Nebuchadnezzar, to whom Judah owed its peace and very existence as a separate state. The "branches" mean his sons and the other princes and nobles.
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The roots . . . under him--The stability of Judah depended on Babylon. The repetition "branches" and "springs" is in order to mark the ingratitude of Zedekiah, who, not content with moderate prosperity, revolted from him to whom he had sworn allegiance.
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 On vv6, 7, 9, 10 6. Vine of low stature — The Hebrew tree…
6. Vine of low stature — The Hebrew tree grew luxuriantly, but was, after all, more like a vine than like its ancestral cedar, for “its branches turned again to itself and its roots remained under it.” — Kautzsch.
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 On vv6–10 6. of low stature] This refers to the dependent…
6. of low stature] This refers to the dependent nature of Zedekiah’s kingdom, as tributary to the lord superior. Cf. Isa_16:8 : Hos_10:1.
whose branches turned] Or, that its branches might turn … and the roots thereof be.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9 (6) A spreading vine of low stature.—Had Zedekiah been…
(6) A spreading vine of low stature.—Had Zedekiah been faithful to his oath and allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and to his higher allegiance to God, Israel might have been fruitful and prosperous as a dependent kingdom.
Whose branches turned towards him.—Better, That its branches might turn towards him, and its roots might be under him. This was Nebuchadnezzar’s object—to make of Israel a flourishing kingdom, which should yet be entirely dependent upon himself and helpful to him in his great struggle with the power of Egypt; and hence his especial rage when his politic arrangements were frustrated by Zedekiah’s treachery and folly.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–10 The other great eagle is, of course, Egypt, then…
The other great eagle is, of course, Egypt, then under Apries, or Pharaoh-Hophra. (Jer_44:30) We note the absence of the "long pinions" and the "many colours" of the first eagle. Egypt was not so strong, nor did her sway extend over so great a variety of nations as Babylon. To that eagle the vine bent its roots, i.e., as in ver. 15, Zedekiah courted the alliance of Pharaoh (Apries), and trusted in his chariots, lie was to water the vine, which so turned to him from the beds of her plantation (Revised Version).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 9 General Information:
General Information:
The introductory "but" shows that a different eagle is being described other than the one before.
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another great eagle
"another large eagle"
Behold!
The word "behold" here alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows.
This vine turned its roots toward the eagle
Yahweh speaks of the vine as if it were able to behave like a person and intentionally turned its roots toward the other eagle to receive nourishment from it. AT: "The roots of the vine grew toward the eagle" (See: Personification)
from the place it had been planted so it would be watered
This can be stated in active form. AT: "from the place that the first eagle had planted it so that it would have water" (See: Active or Passive)
It had been planted
This can be stated in active form. AT: "The first eagle had planted the vine" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
vine
fruit
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 10 17:7-9 There was a second great eagle like the…
17:7-9 There was a second great eagle like the first, although not quite so glorious. • The fate of the vine was predictable. In seeking to gain more, it would lose what it already had. The second eagle would not do anything for it, and the anger of the first eagle would be justly aroused.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.