Ezekiel 17:24
in Ezekiel 17Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it.
KJV
And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAll the trees of the field shall know - All the people of Israel and of Chaldea. I the Lord have brought down the high tree - Have dethroned Jehoiachin. Have exalted the low tree - Put Zedekiah, brother of Jehoiachin, in his place. Have dried up the green tree - Zedekiah, who had numerous children, but who were all slain before his eyes at Riblah. And have made the dry tree to flourish - Have raised up a rod out of the stem of Jesse, the family of David being then apparently dried up and extinct.
This site's exposition
Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar
on Ezekiel 17:22-24
The Lord takes a tender twig from the highest branch and plants it on the mountain height of Israel. The image answers the vine planted low at verse 5. Henry and Fairbairn read the tender twig as the Messianic branch promised in the prophets, compare Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5.
This site's exposition
all the trees of the field
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the green tree as the empires and the dry tree as the kingdom of the Messiah, compare Daniel 2:44. Clarke reads the tall and low trees as Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Mary sings the same reversal at Luke 1:52.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 22 seq.) Thus says the Lord (God says in the Vulgate): And I will take from the top of the cedar's highest branch, and I will set it; I will break off a tender one from the crown of its branches, and I will plant it on a high and elevated mountain: upon the lofty mountain of Israel I will plant it.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And all the trees of the field shall know,....
Never was there a more full conviction given of this truth, that all things are governed by an infinitely wise and mighty Providence, than that which was given by the exaltation of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom among men; for by that it appeared that God has all hearts in his hand, and the sovereign disposal of all affairs.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
All the empires of the world, represented by Babylon, once flourishing ("green"), shall be brought low before the once depressed ("dry"), but then exalted, kingdom of Messiah and His people, the head of whom shall be Israel (Da 2:44).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The trees fo the field - The kingdoms of the world as contrasted with the kingdom of God. The truth here enunciated is a general one. God gives the promise, God fulfils it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽיָדְע֞וּ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲצֵ֣י | ʾatzei | [the] trees of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִשְׁפַּ֣לְתִּי׀ | hishpalti | I bring low | H8213 → | |
| עֵ֣ץ | ʾetz | a tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| גָּבֹ֗הַ | gavoha | tall | H1364 → | 41 times |
| הִגְבַּ֙הְתִּי֙ | higbahti | I raise up | H1361 → | 34 times |
| עֵ֣ץ | ʾetz | a tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| שָׁפָ֔ל | shafal | low | H8217 → | 17 times |
| הוֹבַ֙שְׁתִּי֙ | hovashti | I make dry | H3001 → | 59 times |
| עֵ֣ץ | ʾetz | a tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| לָ֔ח | lach | moist | H3892 → | |
| וְהִפְרַ֖חְתִּי | vehifrachti | and I make sprout | H6524 → | 36 times |
| עֵ֣ץ | ʾetz | a tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| יָבֵ֑שׁ | yavesh | dry | H3002 → | 10 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְעָשִֽׂיתִי׃ פ | veasiti | and I will act | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וְֽיָדְע֞וּand they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲצֵ֣י[the] trees of
ʾatzeiH6086 →328 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֗הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִשְׁפַּ֣לְתִּי׀I bring low
hishpaltiH8213 →
עֵ֣ץa tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
גָּבֹ֗הַtall
gavohaH1364 →41 times
הִגְבַּ֙הְתִּי֙I raise up
higbahtiH1361 →34 times
עֵ֣ץa tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
שָׁפָ֔לlow
shafalH8217 →17 times
הוֹבַ֙שְׁתִּי֙I make dry
hovashtiH3001 →59 times
עֵ֣ץa tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
לָ֔חmoist
lachH3892 →
וְהִפְרַ֖חְתִּיand I make sprout
vehifrachtiH6524 →36 times
עֵ֣ץa tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
יָבֵ֑שׁdry
yaveshH3002 →10 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
דִּבַּ֥רְתִּיI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
וְעָשִֽׂיתִי׃ פand I will act
veasitiH6213 →2628 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
Amos 9:11“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
it leads to
- Acts 15:15–17
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
- Jeremiah 33:14–16
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the gracious promise that I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
- Isaiah 16:5
in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Psalms 80:12
Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
- Acts 15:15–17
Through
Ezekiel 24:14I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’…
it leads to
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- Matthew 16:27
Through
Isaiah 26:5For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust.
it leads to
- Job 40:11–13
Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.
- Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Job 40:11–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.