11 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things are? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon. 13 And he took of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and he took away the mighty of the land; 14 that the kingdom might be abased, that it might not lift itself up, that it might keep his covenant in order to stand. 15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape? 16 [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily in the place of the king that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him, in the midst of Babylon, shall he die. 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with a mighty army and a great assemblage do anything for him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts to cut off many persons. 18 He despised the oath, and broke the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, yet hath he done all these things: he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily, mine oath which he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his head. 20 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 unfaithfulness in which he hath been unfaithful against me. 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 17:11-21
Commentary on Ezekiel 17:11-21
(Read Ezekiel 17:11-21)
The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of a false religion, their profession makes their sin the worse; and God will the more surely and severely punish it. The Lord will not hold those guiltless who take his name in vain; and no man shall escape the righteous judgment of God who dies under unrepented guilt.