11 God's Message came to me: 12 "Tell this house of rebels, 'Do you get it? Do you know what this means?' 13 He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, making him swear his loyalty. The king of Babylon took all the top leaders into exile
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 17:11-13
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.