Ezekiel 17:8
in Ezekiel 17It had been planted in good soil by abundant waters in order to yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
KJV
It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIt was planted in a good soil - Though he depended on Babylon, he lived and reigned as Nebuchadnezzar’s vicegerent in the land of Judea.
This site's exposition
There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers
on Ezekiel 17:7-8
A second eagle appears, Egypt under Pharaoh Hophra, and the vine bends its roots toward this new power. Gill reads the picture as Zedekiah's actual embassy to Egypt, confirmed at Jeremiah 37:5-7. The soil and water were already good, Clarke notes, the turn to Egypt answered no real need.
This site's exposition
planted in good soil
Babylon had given the vine good soil and water, everything a vine needs to bear fruit. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace the king's revolt to ambition, pride and ingratitude. Want had no part in it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
One who was condemned by God does not escape his sentence and does not want to change the will of he who judges him, but he will bear it with all patience until God frees the one who he has condemned.
(Verse 7 and following) And another great eagle appeared, with large wings and many feathers. And behold, this vineyard sent out its roots toward it, extending its branches toward it, in order to be irrigated by the streams of its sap. It was planted in good soil, above abundant waters, in order to produce leaves and bear fruit, and to become a great vineyard. Say: Thus says the Lord God: Will it succeed?
When the association of such different natures is made in faith in Christ, the lion will no longer be impure, and all the animals called impure in the law of God will receive the purity of their former condition.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) what a fair way he was in to be considerable: He was planted in a good soil by great waters; his family was likely enough to be built up, and his exchequer to be filled, in a little time, so that, if he had dealt faithfully, he might have been a goodly vine.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
It was planted in, a good soil, by great waters,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It was planted in a good soil--It was not want of the necessaries of life, nor oppression on the port of Nebuchadnezzar, which caused Zedekiah to revolt: it was gratuitous ambition, pride, and ingratitude.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׂ֥דֶה | sadeh | a field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| טּ֛וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַ֥יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּ֖ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שְׁתוּלָ֑ה | shetulah | [was] planted | H8362 → | 10 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֤וֹת | laasot | to produce | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עָנָף֙ | ʾanaf | branch[es] | H6057 → | 7 times |
| וְלָשֵׂ֣את | velaset | and to bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| פֶּ֔רִי | peri | fruit | H6529 → | 119 times |
| לִהְי֖וֹת | lihyot | to become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְגֶ֥פֶן | legefen | <into> a vine of | H1612 → | 55 times |
| אַדָּֽרֶת׃ ס | ʾadaret | splendor | H155 → |
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׂ֥דֶהa field
sadehH7704 →334 times
טּ֛וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מַ֥יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּ֖יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
הִ֣יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
שְׁתוּלָ֑ה[was] planted
shetulahH8362 →10 times
לַעֲשׂ֤וֹתto produce
laasotH6213 →2628 times
עָנָף֙branch[es]
ʾanafH6057 →7 times
וְלָשֵׂ֣אתand to bear
velasetH5375 →656 times
פֶּ֔רִיfruit
periH6529 →119 times
לִהְי֖וֹתto become
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
לְגֶ֥פֶן<into> a vine of
legefenH1612 →55 times
אַדָּֽרֶת׃ סsplendor
ʾadaretH155 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 11:2 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 11:3.