^17:12“Say to the rebellious house of Israel:¹⁶ ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’¹⁷ Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem¹⁸ and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. ^17:13He took one from the royal family,¹⁹ made a treaty with him, and put him under oath.²⁰ He then took the leaders of the land ^17:14so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. ^17:15But this one from Israel’s royal family²¹ rebelled against the king of Babylon²² 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 city²³ of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—in the middle of Babylon he will die! ^17:17Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help²⁴ him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. ^17:18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note²⁵—he gave his promise²⁶ 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 him²⁷ for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! ^17:20I 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. ^17:21All the choice men²⁸ among his troops will die²⁹ by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

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Footnotes

16 The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent. The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26–27; 12:2–3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
17 The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11–15.
18 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
19 Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
20 Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
21 Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “place.”
24 Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
25 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
26 Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
27 Heb “place it on his head.”
28 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).
29 Heb “fall.”