Ezekiel 17:22
in Ezekiel 17This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain:
KJV
Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
11 notes on this verseI will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar - I will raise up another monarchy, which shall come in the line of David, namely, the Messiah; who shall appear as a tender plant, as to his incarnation; but he shall be high and eminent; his Church, the royal city, the highest and purest ever seen on the face of the earth.
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
There is one who dishonors the judgment of God; there is another who honors it.
(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.
To the one who has transgressed and has dishonored the judgment of God, Pharaoh cannot come to the rescue; he will die in the center of Babylon for his transgressions.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The highest branch - Of the royal seed; of the highest branch that is heir to the throne; namely, the Messiah. An high mountain - Upon Mount Zion. Eminent - Not for outward splendour, but for spiritual advantages.
God himself undertakes the reviving and restoring of the house of David. Nebuchadnezzar was the great eagle that had attempted the re-establishing of the house of David in a dependence upon him,
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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
Thus saith the Lord God,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The branch he plucked (Zedekiah) and planted, flourished but for a time, to perish at last; I will plant a scion of the same tree, the house of David, to whom the kingdom belongs by an everlasting covenant, and it shall be the shelter of the whole world, and shall be for ever." branch--the peculiar title of Messiah (Zec 3:8;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A contrast between the dealings of Nebuchadnezzar and of Yahweh. Nebuchadnezzar “cut off,” Yahweh will “set up” the topshoot; Nebuchadnezzar “carried it into a land of traffic,” Yahweh will “plant it in the mountain of the height of Israel.” Nebuchadnezzar set his favorite as a “vine, lowly” though not poor, in the place where such trees as the humble “willow” grow and thrive. Yahweh’s favorite is like the “lofty cedar, eminent upon a high mountain.” The highest branch of the high cedar - The rightful representative of the royal house of David, the Messiah. Tender one - The Messiah. This prophecy rests upon Isa 11:1, Isa 11:10.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| וְלָקַ֣חְתִּי | velakachti | and I will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אָ֗נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מִצַּמֶּ֧רֶת | mitzameret | from [the] treetop of | H6788 → | 5 times |
| הָאֶ֛רֶז | haerez | the cedar | H730 → | 73 times |
| הָרָמָ֖ה | haramah | <the> high | H7311 → | 190 times |
| וְנָתָ֑תִּי | venatati | and I will place [it] | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מֵרֹ֤אשׁ | merosh | from [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| יֹֽנְקוֹתָיו֙ | yonekotav | young shoots its | H3127 → | |
| רַ֣ךְ | rakh | a tender [shoot] | H7390 → | |
| אֶקְטֹ֔ף | ʾektof | I will pluck off | H6998 → | |
| וְשָׁתַ֣לְתִּי | veshatalti | and I will plant [it] | H8362 → | 10 times |
| אָ֔נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עַ֥ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַר־ | har- | a mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
| גָּבֹ֖הַ | gavoha | high | H1364 → | 41 times |
| וְתָלֽוּל׃ | vetalul | and lofty | H8524 → |
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
וְלָקַ֣חְתִּיand I will take
velakachtiH3947 →966 times
אָ֗נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מִצַּמֶּ֧רֶתfrom [the] treetop of
mitzameretH6788 →5 times
הָאֶ֛רֶזthe cedar
haerezH730 →73 times
הָרָמָ֖ה<the> high
haramahH7311 →190 times
וְנָתָ֑תִּיand I will place [it]
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
מֵרֹ֤אשׁfrom [the] top of
meroshH7218 →599 times
יֹֽנְקוֹתָיו֙young shoots its
yonekotavH3127 →
רַ֣ךְa tender [shoot]
rakhH7390 →
אֶקְטֹ֔ףI will pluck off
ʾektofH6998 →
וְשָׁתַ֣לְתִּיand I will plant [it]
veshataltiH8362 →10 times
אָ֔נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עַ֥לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הַר־a mountain
har-H2022 →546 times
גָּבֹ֖הַhigh
gavohaH1364 →41 times
וְתָלֽוּל׃and lofty
vetalulH8524 →
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
Isaiah 53:2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:6–7
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
- Isaiah 52:14
Just as many were appalled at Him—His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness—
- Isaiah 11:1
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- John 1:10–14
He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
- Mark 6:3
Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.
- Philippians 2:6–7
Through
Psalms 2:6“I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”
it leads to
- Revelation 14:1
Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Ephesians 1:22
And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
- Revelation 14:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 12:4 and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.