Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 17:14

That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, [but] that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

14. might be base ] i.e. humble, and without pretension; cf. ch. Eze 29:14. It was with this purpose that Nebuchadnezzar carried away the mighty of the land. He also hoped that the kingdom would “stand;” it was no doubt his policy to have a dependent, friendly state on the frontier of Egypt. The word “stand,” however, may refer to the covenant: to keep his covenant, that it might stand.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 14. That the kingdom might be base] Have no political consequence, and at last sink into a miserable government under Gedaliah.

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

So plainly and openly did Nebuchadnezzar deal with the Jews.

The kingdom; the tributary kingdom, whereof Zedekiah is roitelet.

Base; low in power.

Lift itself up; rise up into rebellion, or be so considerable as to encourage any neighbour king to assist and confederate with them against Babylon.

That by continuing faithful, and performing the conditions of his covenant, either Nebuchadnezzars, by imposing, or Zedekiahs, by submitting to it, and obliging himself by it, the kingdom of the Jews might continue and flourish.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14. That the kingdom might bebasethat is, low as to national elevation by beingNebuchadnezzar’s dependent; but, at the same time, safe andprosperous, if faithful to the “oath.” Nebuchadnezzar dealtsincerely and openly in proposing conditions, and these moderateones; therefore Zedekiah’s treachery was the baser and was acounterpart to their treachery towards God.

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

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:

[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.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

He now adds, that the kingdom might be humbled. Zedekiah then could not pretend error, nor turn his back, as if he had been outwitted by the cunning and secret counsels of the king of Babylon: for Nebuchadnezzar dealt with him openly, and proscribed the conditions on which he wished him to reign. Since, then, the king of Babylon showed Zedekiah openly and sincerely what he wished him to do, that wretched man could not say that he was imposed upon, and not made sufficiently aware of the cunning of the king of Babylon: no such excuse was left to him. And therefore the Prophet clearly expresses that Nebuchadnezzar imposed conditions upon Zedekiah, that his kingdom should be lowly, so as not to lift itself up, but that it should keep the agreement. This was most equitable: for when he appointed a king, he might have imposed upon him very hard conditions, but he was content with moderation, which was surely tolerable even among the best friends. For he made a treaty with him, and then he wished the kingdom to be lowly for its preservation. For it is just as if the Prophet had said, that Nebuchadnezzar thought of nothing else than that Zedekiah might reign in peace; and since he saw it to be useful to the king and the whole people to be restrained within some bounds, he followed that plan. Since, then, Nebuchadnezzar consulted the public advantage by this method of action, Zedekiah was the more wicked in not allowing his own safety to be consulted, since nothing was better or more desirable than for him to remain humble, and not to raise himself up to his own destruction, as afterwards happened. It now follows, that he rebelled by sending his messengers into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. These points ought to be mutually compared; that the contrast might correspond: Nebuchadnezzar regarded nothing else but the peace of the country, for he wished to prevent all fears and disturbances. What, then, was Zedekiah? a rebel. And why? for sending messengers to Egypt to fetch many troops of both horse and foot to succor Judea against Nebuchadnezzar. After the conclusion of the war he had done nothing hostile, for it was a part of his paternal anxiety to give them a king of their own nation, and so to set the whole country at rest, that there should be no occasion for tumult. Why, then, should Zedekiah seek help from the Egyptians? Thus we see that the Prophet is removing from him all excuses for self-defense. He now adds, shall he prosper? shall he who has acted thus escape? The Prophet asks with emphasis; because, as I have said, this persuasion was engraved on the minds of all, that vengeance must overtake all the perfidious, especially if they had violated their oath in treaties. The Prophet, therefore, does not simply pronounce that Zedekiah should perish through violating the treaty, but he rises more confidently, and inquires, as of a thing settled and undoubted, Shall he prosper? shall he who has planned such a crime escape? He now adds, shall he who has violated a treaty escape? This repetition is not superfluous: he had formerly said, shall he who has done this escape? he immediately repeats, shall he who has violated a treaty escape? There was nothing obscure in the first clause: but the Prophet added this, not for the sake of perspicuity, but to give more weight. to the sentence. The conclusion is, that it was not possible to escape God’s vengeance for such perfidy, as we shall treat the point more at length tomorrow.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(14) That the kingdom might be base.(See the Notes on Eze. 17:6.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. Might be base Humble, and without pretension. (Compare 1Ch 29:14.) It was with this purpose that Nebuchadnezzar carried away the mighty of the land. Davidson. The Babylonian king wanted to keep this little kingdom which was so near to Egypt wholly dependent upon himself, but was prepared if it kept its covenant with him to protect it from harm that it might continue to stand as one of the “powers.”

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

Eze 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, [but] that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

Ver. 14. That the kingdom might be base. ] The mighty of the land being taken away, as Eze 17:13 and the spirits of the vest imbased by burdens and oppressions in their estates and liberties.

But that by keeping of his covenant. ] The breach whereof was the break neck of the state, as it hath been of many others, and will be shortly of the Turks – who hold that there is no faith to be kept with dogs, that is, with Christians – and of the Popes, who hold that there is no faith to be kept with heretics, that is, with Protestants; and for all others, it is written by an Italian, no stranger to the court of Rome, that their proverb is, Mercatorum eat, non regum, stare iuramentis, that it is for merchants, and not for monarchs, to stand to their oaths. Shall such stand? shall they thus escape by iniquity?

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

base = low.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

the kingdom: Eze 17:6, Eze 29:14, Deu 28:43, 1Sa 2:7, 1Sa 2:30, Neh 9:36, Neh 9:37, Lam 5:10, Mat 22:17-21

base: Or, low; a tributary kingdom, dependent on the king of Babylon.

but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand: Heb. to keep his covenant, to stand to it, Jer 27:12-17, Jer 38:17

Reciprocal: 2Ki 24:14 – the poorest sort Eze 26:7 – a king Eze 29:15 – the basest

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Eze 17:14. Kingdom be base denotes that the realm of Judah was to be subject to the rule of Babylon even though the acting king was suffered to remain in Jerusalem.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary