Bible Strands
Ezekiel 17:6
It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, with branches turned toward him; yet its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and yielded branches and sent out shoots.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Ezekiel addresses the exiled community in Babylon, narrating a parable about a planted vine that shifts its allegiance from one ruler to another. The prophet uses agricultural imagery to describe the political maneuvering of Judah’s leadership.
The words — וַ/יִּצְמַ֡ח (va/i.yitz.Mach) translates as "and it sprouted," while שִׁפְלַ֣ת קוֹמָ֗ה (shif.Lat ko.Mah) means "low of stature," emphasizing the vine’s diminished and unstable condition.
The thread — The vine’s shifting roots and low stature recur in Ezekiel 17:7 and Ezekiel 17:14, where the kingdom is brought low and forced to survive only by covenant. Proverbs 16:18 warns that the pride preceding such political ambition brings destruction.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political alliances formed in defiance of divine covenant create vulnerability and eventual collapse. It requires the reader to abandon reliance on shifting human power and acknowledge the consequences of broken allegiance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 17:14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.