Ezekiel 17:5

5 “ ‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,

Ezekiel 17:5 in Other Translations

5 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.

5 Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig,

5 He also took a seedling from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a broad river, where it could grow like a willow tree.

5 Then he took a cutting from the land and planted it in good, well-watered soil, like a willow on a riverbank.

5 Then he took some of the land's seed and put it in a fertile field; he set it [like] a willow, a plant by abundant waters.

Ezekiel 17:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:5

He took also of the seed of the land
Of the land of Judea, a native of it, not a stranger; not one of another country, a Babylonian; not one of his own nobles or princes, did Nebuchadnezzar, the eagle, take and set upon the throne of Judea, but one of their own, even one of the king's seed, of the blood royal, as it is explained, ( Ezekiel 17:13 ) , Mattaniah, the uncle of Jeconiah, whom the king of Babylon called Zedekiah, and made him king in his room: and planted it in a fruitful field;
in the land of Judea, and in Jerusalem the royal city: he placed [it] by great waters;
many people, ( Revelation 17:15 ) ; over whom he ruled, and by whom he was supported in his royal dignity: [and] set it [as] a willow tree;
which loves moist places, and grows up thick: unless it should be rendered, "he set it with great circumspection" ^F19; took a great deal of care and caution in placing him upon the throne; he made a covenant with him, took an oath of him, and hostages for the performance of it, ( Ezekiel 17:13 ) . The Targum is,

``a planted vine he set it,''

to make it agree with what follows; but the word in the Chaldee and Arabic languages signifies a kind of willow, as we render it, as Ben Melech observes ^F20.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (wmv hpupu) "circumspectissime posuit illud, Junins & Tremellius, Polanus; "cum magna circumspectione", Piscator; "circumspecte, Cocceius, Starckius.
F20 And so it does; see Castel, col. 3220, 3221. and in this way Jarchi and Kimchi interpret the word, in which they are followed by many; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 73. 1. nevertheless, the sense of it here is disapproved of by Castel, who observes, what has a willow to do with a vine? col. 3222. and commends the Greek version, which renders it, (epiblepomenon) , "conspicuous", to be seen; and so others translate it, "in superficie", V. L. Grotius; yet the "safsaf" of the Arabs is a tree by which they understood the "abeile" or poplar tree; see Shaw's Travels, p. 432. Ed. 2.

Ezekiel 17:5 In-Context

3 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar,

4 he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

5 “ ‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,

6 and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.

7 “ ‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.

Cross References

• 1. Deuteronomy 8:7-9; Psalms 1:3; Isaiah 44:4; Ezekiel 31:5