Ezekiel Chapter 17 verse 5 Holy Bible
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow-tree.
read chapter 17 in ASV
And he took some of the seed of the land, planting it in fertile earth, placing it by great waters; he put it in like a willow-tree.
read chapter 17 in BBE
And he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, he set it as a willow tree.
read chapter 17 in DARBY
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
read chapter 17 in KJV
read chapter 17 in WBT
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.
read chapter 17 in WEB
And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it.
read chapter 17 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 5. - The seed of the land is Zedekiah, who was made king by Nebuchadnezzar in Jeconiah's place. The imagery of the willow (the Hebrew word occurs here only) seems suggested by Ezekiel's surroundings. No tree could stand out in greater contrast to the cedar of Lebanon than the willows which he saw growing by the waters of Babylon (Psalm 137:2, though the word is different). The choice of the willow determined the rest of the imagery, and the fruitful field and the great or "many" (Revised Version) waters represent Judah, possibly with reference to its being in its measure a "land of brooks of waters," of "fountains and depths," of "wheat and barley and wine" (Deuteronomy 8:7-9; Deuteronomy 11:10-12). The kingdom of Zedekiah, i.e., was left with sufficient elements for material prosperity. That prosperity is indicated in ver. 6 by the fact that the willow became a vine. It was of "low stature," indeed, trailing on the ground. It could not claim the greatness of an independent kingdom. Its branches turned toward the planter (ver. 6); its roots were under him. It acknowledged, that is, Nebuchadnezzar's suzerainty, and so, had things continued as they were, it might have prospered.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Of the seed of the land.--In place of the captive Jehoiachin Nebuchadnezzar did not set over the land an eastern satrap, but appointed a native prince, Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin. He was "planted," not like the tall cedar on the mountain, but yet like "a willow tree by great waters" where it might flourish in its degree (see Ezekiel 17:14).
