Ezekiel 17:13-21

17:13 He took one from the royal family, ¹  made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. ²  He then took the leaders of the land 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But this one from Israel’s royal family ³  rebelled against the king of Babylon ⁴  by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?

17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city ⁵  of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help ⁶  him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note ⁷  – he gave his promise ⁸  and did all these things – he will not escape!

17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him ⁹  for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 17:21 All the choice men ¹⁰  among his troops will die ¹¹  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

[17:13]  ¹ tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).

[17:13]  ² tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”

[17:15]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “place.”

[17:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”

[17:18]  ⁷ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.

[17:18]  ⁸ sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).

[17:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “place it on his head.”

[17:21]  ¹⁰ tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhyv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharyv).

[17:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fall.”