Ezekiel 17:16
in Ezekiel 17‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
KJV
As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHe promises hereafter to raise the royal family of Judah again, the house of David, in the Messiah and his kingdom,
This site's exposition
As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king
on Ezekiel 17:16-18
The Lord swears by his own life that Zedekiah will die in Babylon, and that Pharaoh's army will not save him. Keil notes an oath sworn in the Lord's name makes the Lord himself a party wronged by its breaking. History bore this out exactly at 2 Kings 25:6-7.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
As holy Scripture tells us, God intends that the covenant with Israel is an abuse against Nebuchadnezzar.
(Verse 11 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Say to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon is coming to Jerusalem. He will take the king and his princes and bring them to Babylon. And he will take one of the royal offspring, make a covenant with him, and take an oath from him. He will also take away the mighty of the land, so that the kingdom will be humble and not exalted, but will keep his covenant and obey it.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He needs not great power and many people to effect his purposes; a handful will serve if he pleases. He can without any difficulty ruin a sinful king and kingdom, and make no more of it than we do of rooting up a tree that cumbers the ground. In the explanation of the parable the sentence is very largely recorded: Shall be prosper?
Note, As God's promises are confirmed with an oath, for comfort to the saints, so are his threatenings, for terror to the wicked. As sure as God lives and is happy (I may add, and as long), so sure, so long, shall impenitent sinners die and be miserable. It is justified by the heinousness of the crime he had been guilty of.
As I live, saith the Lord God,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He broke through it, and took a pride in making nothing of it, as a great tyrant in our own day, whose maxim (they say) it is, That princes ought not to be slaves to their word any further than it is for their interest. That which aggravated Zedekiah's perfidiousness was that the oath by which he had bound himself to the king of Babylon was, [1.] A solemn oath.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in the place where the king dwelleth--righteous retribution. He brought on himself in the worst form the evil which, in a mild form, he had sought to deliver himself from by perjured treachery, namely, vassalage (Eze 12:13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
In the midst of Babylon he shall die - His eyes were put out; he was carried to Babylon, and never returned.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אָ֗נִי | ʾani | of me | H589 → | 874 times |
| נְאֻם֮ | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִה֒ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֗א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בִּמְקוֹם֙ | bimkom | in [the] place of | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַמַּמְלִ֣יךְ | hamamlikh | who made king | H4427 → | |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּזָה֙ | bazah | he despised | H959 → | 44 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָ֣לָת֔וֹ | ʾalato | oath his | H423 → | 35 times |
| וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | vaasher | and whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵפֵ֖ר | hefer | he broke | H6565 → | 50 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִית֑וֹ | berito | covenant his | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אִתּ֥וֹ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְתוֹךְ־ | vetokh- | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בָּבֶ֖ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| יָמֽוּת׃ | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
אָ֗נִיof me
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נְאֻם֮[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִה֒Yahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֗אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בִּמְקוֹם֙in [the] place of
bimkomH4725 →401 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַמַּמְלִ֣יךְwho made king
hamamlikhH4427 →
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּזָה֙he despised
bazahH959 →44 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אָ֣לָת֔וֹoath his
ʾalatoH423 →35 times
וַאֲשֶׁ֥רand whom
vaasherH834 →5497 times
הֵפֵ֖רhe broke
heferH6565 →50 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִית֑וֹcovenant his
beritoH1285 →284 times
אִתּ֥וֹwith him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
בְתוֹךְ־in [the] midst of
vetokh-H8432 →418 times
בָּבֶ֖לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
יָמֽוּת׃he will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Leviticus 19:12
You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- James 5:12
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under…
- Matthew 5:33–37
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
- Psalms 50:14–16
Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
- Deuteronomy 5:11
Through
Ezekiel 12:13But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 17:20
I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.
- Jeremiah 39:7
Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
- Hosea 7:12
As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.
- Ezekiel 17:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 12:3.