Ezekiel 17:13-20
Context17:13 He took one from the royal family, 1 made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. 2 He then took the leaders of the land 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But this one from Israel’s royal family 3 rebelled against the king of Babylon 4 by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?
17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city 5 of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help 6 him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note 7 – he gave his promise 8 and did all these things – he will not escape!
17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him 9 for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.
1 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
2 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “place.”
6 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
7 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
8 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
9 tn Heb “place it on his head.”