Ezekiel 17 · Verse 4

Ezekiel 17:4

He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
Ezekiel 17:4, King James Version

Ezekiel 17:4 in other translations

BSBHe plucked off its topmost shoot, carried it to the land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.
WEBHe cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, and carried it to a land of traffic. He planted it in a city of merchants.
ASVhe cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
YLTThe top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it.
DARBYHe cropped off the top of its young shoots, and carried it into a merchants' land; he set it in a city of traders.
BBEBiting off the highest of its young branches, he took it to the land of Canaan, and put it in a town of traders.
WebsterHe cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

What does Ezekiel 17:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. land of traffic ... merchants--Babylon (2Ki 24:15, 16), famous for its transport traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates. Also, by its connection with the Persian Gulf, it carried on much commerce with India.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 The top of his young twigs - The princes of Judah. A land of traffic - Chaldea. A city of merchants - Babylon; for which this city was the most celebrated of all the cities of the east. Its situation procured it innumerable advantages; its two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Persian Gulf, gave it communication with the richest and the most distant nations.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 17:1-10

A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (Ezek 17:1-10) to which an explanation is added. (Ezek 17:11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (Ezek 17:22-24) Verses 1-10 Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 17:1-10 →

Ezekiel 17:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֵ֛ת'et<obj.>H853
רֹ֥אשׁrosh[the] topH7218
יְנִֽיקוֹתָ֖יוye.ni.ko.Tavshoots itsH3242
קָטָ֑ףka.Tafit plucked offH6998
וַיְבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙vay.vi.'E.huand it brought itH935
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֶ֣רֶץ'E.retza land ofH776
כְּנַ֔עַןke.Na.'anmerchant[s]H3667
בְּעִ֥ירbe.'Irin a city ofH5892
רֹכְלִ֖יםro.khe.LimtradersH7402
שָׂמֽוֹ\׃sa.Moit placed itH7760

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 17:4

  • Revelation 18:3

    For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

  • Jeremiah 51:13

    O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

  • Isaiah 47:15

    Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

  • Isaiah 43:14

    Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

  • Revelation 18:11-19

    And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the top.The princes of Judah.
into.
Isa 43:14; 47:15; Jer 51:13; Re 18:3,11-19
a land. Chaldea. a city.Babylon, which by means of the Euphrates and Tigris, had communications with the richest and most distant nations.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 17:3

    And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

  • Ezekiel 17:4

    He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

  • Ezekiel 17:5

    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 all of Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel 17:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Arrancó el principal de sus renuevos, y llevólo á la tierra de mercaderes, y púsolo en la ciudad de los negociantes.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		il arracha la plus haute de ses jeunes pousses, et la transporta dans un pays de marchands et la mit dans une ville de commerçants.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Den obersten ihrer Schößlinge brach er ab und brachte ihn in ein Krämerland, in eine Stadt von Kaufleuten setzte er ihn.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Summitatem frondium ejus avulsit, et transportavit eam in terram Chanaan: in urbe negotiatorum posuit illam.