Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 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;
11 21. Interpretation of the riddle
12. the rebellious house ] i.e. Israel, ch. Eze 2:5.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 12. Know ye not what these things mean?] They are explained in this and the following verses.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Know ye notHe upbraidedthem with moral, leading to intellectual, stupidity.
hath taken the kingJeconiahor Jehoiachin (2Ki 24:11;2Ki 24:12-16).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Say now to the rebellious house,…. It had been a rebellious house to God, and to his prophets, before; see Eze 2:5 and
[See comments on Eze 2:5]; and now, besides this was rebellious to the king of Babylon, to whom they were in some measure subject, Eze 17:15;
know ye not what these [things mean]? the riddle and parable concerning the two eagles and the vine; suggesting that they must be very inattentive, and very stupid, if they did not know the meaning of them; for though the things intended were delivered in an enigmatical and parabolical way, yet they were easily to be understood by all that know the affairs of the Jewish nation; being things that were lately transacted there, and were obvious to everyone’s view; but if they were so stupid and blockish as not to understand them, the prophet had the following order, to explain them to them:
tell [them], behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem; so that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is meant by the first “eagle”, and the land of Judea, and particularly Jerusalem, by Lebanon, it came unto,
Eze 17:3. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read this and the following verses in the future; as if these were things that were yet to come to pass, whereas they are related as things already done; and so the Targum renders all in the past sense, as the history of them requires it should:
and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; the king of Judea, and the princes of it; Jeconiah and his nobles, who had been carried captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar; for Ezekiel was among these captives, Eze 1:2; see
2Ki 24:12; so that it appears that by the “twigs” of the cedar the princes of the land are designed; and by the “top” of them King Jeconiah; and by “the land of traffic” the land of Chaldea; and by the “city of merchants” the city of Babylon, Eze 17:4; whither they were carried.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
THE RIDDLE EXPLAINED, Eze 17:11-24.
12. Is come Literally, came.
Hath taken Literally, took (also Eze 17:13).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 17:12-14. Is come to Jerusalem Came to Jerusalem, and took the king, &c. Eze 17:13. And he took of the king’s seed, and struck up a covenant with him, and laid him under an oath; he took also the mighty of the land. Eze 17:14. That the kingdom might be in a low condition, or, in subjection, and might not lift, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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”
Tell them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rebellious house. See note on Eze 2:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
to the: Eze 2:5, Eze 2:8, Eze 3:9, Eze 12:9, Isa 1:2
Know: Eze 24:19, Exo 12:26, Deu 6:20, Jos 4:6, Jos 4:21, Mat 13:51, Mat 15:16, Mat 15:17, Mat 16:11, Mar 4:13, Luk 9:45, Act 8:30
Behold: Eze 17:3, Eze 1:2, 2Ki 24:10-16, 2Ch 36:9, 2Ch 36:10, Jer 22:24-28
and led: Isa 39:7, Jer 52:31-34
Reciprocal: Deu 28:48 – serve Deu 28:49 – as the eagle Jos 9:20 – lest wrath 2Ki 24:12 – Jehoiachin Ezr 4:12 – rebellious Jer 29:16 – General Jer 37:1 – made Eze 12:2 – thou Eze 18:2 – mean Eze 24:3 – the rebellious Eze 37:18 – Wilt Hab 1:8 – they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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 Gods 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 kings seed Hath taken from among the royal seed Mattaniah, Jehoiakims 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 Zedekiahs 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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these [things mean]? tell [them], Behold, the king of Babylon hath come to Jerusalem, and hath taken {k} its king, and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon;
(k) That is, Jeconiah, 2Ki 24:15 .