Ezekiel 17:20
in Ezekiel 17I 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
KJV
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
8 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
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised
on Ezekiel 17:19-21
The Lord claims the broken covenant as his own matter to recompense, mine oath, my covenant, language that reframes Zedekiah's treaty violation as sin against God directly rather than mere political failure. The net and snare picture the coming siege and capture, and the scattering of his fugitives to all winds names the exile's mechanism plainly. The recognition formula closes the section, ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, the pattern the whole book carries landing here on a broken oath specifically.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 19 seq.) Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely I will bring upon his head the oath he has despised and the covenant he has broken. I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and there I will execute judgment on him for the unfaithfulness with which he has despised me. And all his fugitives, with all his troops, will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thirdly, Nor would it justify him that the oath was extorted from him by a conqueror, for the covenant was made upon a valuable consideration. He held his life and crown upon this condition, that he should be faithful and bear true allegiance to the king of Babylon; and, if he enjoy the benefit of his bargain, it is very unjust if he do not observe the terms.
God has a net for those who deal perfidiously and think to escape his righteous judgments, in which those shall be taken and held who would not be held by the bond of an oath and covenant. Zedekiah dreaded Babylon: "Thither I will bring him," says God, "and plead with him there. " Men will justly be forced upon that calamity which they endeavour by sin to flee from.
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God entraps him as he had tried to entrap others (Ps 7:15). This was spoken at least upwards of three years before the fall of Jerusalem (compare Eze 8:1, with Eze 20:1). plead with him--by judgments on him (Eze 20.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will spread my net upon him - See the note on Eze 12:13.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפָרַשְׂתִּ֤י | ufarasti | and I will spread | H6566 → | 67 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | over him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רִשְׁתִּ֔י | rishti | net my | H7568 → | 22 times |
| וְנִתְפַּ֖שׂ | venitpas | and he will be caught | H8610 → | 65 times |
| בִּמְצֽוּדָתִ֑י | bimtzudati | in hunting net my | H4686 → | 21 times |
| וַהֲבִיאוֹתִ֣יהוּ | vahaviotihu | and I will bring him | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בָבֶ֗לָה | vavelah | Babylon towards | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּ֤י | venishpati | and I will enter into judgment | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אִתּוֹ֙ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מַעֲל֖וֹ | maalo | unfaithfulness his | H4604 → | 28 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מָֽעַל־ | maal- | he has acted unfaithfully | H4603 → | 36 times |
| בִּֽי׃ | bi | against me |
וּפָרַשְׂתִּ֤יand I will spread
ufarastiH6566 →67 times
עָלָיו֙over him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
רִשְׁתִּ֔יnet my
rishtiH7568 →22 times
וְנִתְפַּ֖שׂand he will be caught
venitpasH8610 →65 times
בִּמְצֽוּדָתִ֑יin hunting net my
bimtzudatiH4686 →21 times
וַהֲבִיאוֹתִ֣יהוּand I will bring him
vahaviotihuH935 →2568 times
בָבֶ֗לָהBabylon towards
vavelahH894 →262 times
וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּ֤יand I will enter into judgment
venishpatiH8199 →202 times
אִתּוֹ֙with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
מַעֲל֖וֹunfaithfulness his
maaloH4604 →28 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מָֽעַל־he has acted unfaithfully
maal-H4603 →36 times
בִּֽי׃against me
bi
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
Ezekiel 32:3This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:13
But 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…
- Jeremiah 16:16
But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain…
- Lamentations 1:13
He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
- Ecclesiastes 9:12
For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
- Ezekiel 12:13
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
- 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.
- Isaiah 24:17–18
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
- Jeremiah 39:7
Through
Jeremiah 2:35you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Proverbs 28:13
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.