Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 17:20

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

20. spread my net ] Cf. ch. Eze 12:13; Hos 7:12.

plead with him ] i.e. there subject him to the consequences of his treachery, bringing it thereby to his knowledge that he is suffering the penalty of it, cf. Eze 20:35-36, Eze 38:22; Jer 2:35.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 20. I will spread my net upon him] See Clarke on Eze 12:13.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

See Eze 12:13, where the former part of this verse is word for word. Plead with him; or, be judged with him, i.e. the heathen shall both see what I do against this man, they shall consider why I do so, and be judge whether I do more than this perjured king deserves; or, I will punish him with continued punishments from my own hand, or by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, suitable to the greatness of his trespass against me.

Against me: falsehoods to men in breaking oaths and covenants are in a high degree trespasses against God.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

20. my net (Eze 12:13;Eze 32:3). God entraps him as hehad tried to entrap others (Ps7:15). This was spoken at least upwards of three years before thefall of Jerusalem (compare Eze 8:1;Eze 20:1).

plead with himbyjudgments on him (Eze 20. 36).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare,…. [See comments on Eze 12:13]; where the same words are used, and of the same person:

and I will bring him to Babylon; though, as it is said in the place referred to, he should not see it, his eyes being put out before he was brought thither:

and I will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me; for though it was breaking covenant and oath with a Heathen prince, yet it was a trespass against God, in whose name they were made; and his being laid in prison at Babylon, and kept there to the time of his death, was the Lord’s pleading with him, and judging of him; it was a reproof for his sins, and a condemnation of him and them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Here he points out the kind of punishment which he was about to inflict on King Zedekiah. He had said generally that his perfidy should fall upon his own head, but he now proceeds further, namely, that Zedekiah should be a captive. For God might chastise him by other means, but the prophecy was thereby confirmed, since the Prophet had clearly threatened Zedekiah as we see. But he speaks in the person of God that his language may have more weight. I will spread my net, says God, and he shall be taken in my snares. The passage is metaphorical, but it best explains what often occurs in Scripture, namely, that while the impious take first one course and then another, they are agents of God who governs them by his own secret virtue, and directs them wherever he wishes. As, therefore, men false up all things confusedly, and are, as we see, driven about hither and thither by their lusts, and disturb heaven and earth; yet God moderates their attacks by his secret providence. We gather this from the Prophet’s words when he calls the army of the king of Babylon, and his plans, and the apparatus of war, God’s net and snares. Although Nebuchadnezzar was impelled by his own ambition and avarice, and did not suppose himself under the divine sway, yet we see what the Spirit pronounces. And we must diligently observe this doctrine, because, if we repose on the paternal solicitude of God, although armies surround us on all sides, yet we may confide securely, and await the end with quiet and tranquil minds, since men can do nothing without God. But when we provoke God’s wrath against us, we must bear in mind, that while men have their reasons for being hostile to us, yet God governs them, or that they are his nets or snares, as the Prophet here says.

I will bring him, says he, to Babylon, and there will I dispute with him in judgment, according to the prevarication by which he has prevaricated. Not only did God dispute with Zedekiah there, but he inflicted a heavy and formidable judgment upon him in Riblah, when he saw his own sons put to death first, and then his own eyes were put out, and then he was bound by chains. But he almost pined away in his captivity, and was treated shamefully even unto death; for this reason God says that he would judge him at Babylon: and yet there will be nothing out of place if we comprehend Riblah also. For although Zedekiah had been partially punished before he entered Babylon, yet God there inflicted his own sentence, after he was dragged from his country and led into exile. He was buried indeed not without honor, as we saw in Jeremiah, (Jer 34:5,) for they bewailed him at his burial — Alas, my brother! alas, O master! as the Prophet says: yet till his death he was like the vilest prisoner, for he pined away in his chains, and was meanly clothed, when the king treated Coniah nobly and splendidly: hence Zedekiah’s captivity was the seal of this prophecy for Ezekiel could not have pronounced this sentence, unless he had been the organ of the Holy Spirit. It follows —

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

20. I will spread my net upon him Compare Eze 12:13.

I will plead with him “Subject him to the consequences of his treachery, bringing it thereby to his knowledge that he is suffering the penalty of it” (Eze 20:35-36; Eze 38:22; Jer 2:35). Davidson.

His trespass, etc. Rather, his unfaithfulness that he has committed against me.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments