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Thursday, September 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible in Basic English

Ezekiel 17:4

Biting off the highest of its young branches, he took it to the land of Canaan, and put it in a town of traders.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Cities;   Ezekiel;   Merchant;   Scofield Reference Index - Parables;   Thompson Chain Reference - Business Life;   Trading;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Babylon;   Cedar, the;   Commerce;   Eagle, the;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Babylon;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Allegory;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Babylon, Kingdom of;   Canaanites;   Riddle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Canaan;   Eagle;   Fable;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Canaan, History and Religion of;   Ezekiel;   History;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Canaanites;   Ezekiel;   Fable;   Vine, Vineyard;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Zedekiah ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Twig;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Crop;   Proverb;   Trade;   Traffic;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonia;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Allegory in the Old Testament;   Canaanites, the;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He plucked off its topmost shoot, brought it to the land of merchants, and set it in a city of traders.
Hebrew Names Version
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants.
New American Standard Bible
"He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders.
New Century Version
He pulled off the top branch and brought it to a land of traders, where he planted it in a city of traders.
Amplified Bible
"He broke off the topmost of its young twigs (young King Jehoiachin) and carried it to a land of traders (Babylonia); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon).
World English Bible
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And brake off the toppe of his twigge, and caried it into the land of marchants, and set it in a citie of marchants.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders.
Legacy Standard Bible
He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders.
Berean Standard Bible
He plucked off its topmost shoot, carried it to the land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.
Contemporary English Version
then carried it to a nation of merchants and left it in one of their cities.
Complete Jewish Bible
He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, carried them to a land of traders and set them down in a city of merchants.
Darby Translation
He cropped off the top of its young shoots, and carried it into a merchants' land; he set it in a city of traders.
Easy-to-Read Version
He broke the top out of that big cedar tree and brought it to Canaan. He set the branch down in a city of merchants.
George Lamsa Translation
He cropped off the topmost of its tender twigs, and carried it to the land of Canaan; and he set it in a city of merchants.
Good News Translation
which he carried to a land of commerce and placed in a city of merchants.
Lexham English Bible
He plucked the top of its new plant shoot, and he brought it to the land of Canaan and put it in a city of merchants,
Literal Translation
He plucked off the first of its young twigs and brought it into a land of traders. He set it in a city of merchants.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and brake of the toppe of his twygge, and caried it in to the londe of Canaan, and set it in a cite of marchauntes.
American Standard Version
he 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.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
King James Version (1611)
Hee cropt off the top of his yong twigs, and caried it into a land of traffique; he set it in a city of merchants.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And brake of the top of his twigges, and caryed it into the lande of marchauntes, and set it in a citie of marchauntes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city.
English Revised Version
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He pullide awei the hiynesse of boowis therof, and bar it ouer in to the lond of Chanaan, and settide it in the citee of marchauntis.
Update Bible Version
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
Webster's Bible Translation
He cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
New English Translation
He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders.
New King James Version
He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants.
New Living Translation
and plucked off its highest branch. He carried it away to a city filled with merchants. He planted it in a city of traders.
New Life Bible
He broke off the very top of its young branches and brought it to a land of traders. He placed it in a city of people who buy and sell.
New Revised Standard
broke off its topmost shoot; he carried it to a land of trade, set it in a city of merchants.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The crown of its young twigs, plucked he off, and brought it into a land of traffic, :in a city of merchants, he t it.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He cropped off the top of the twigs thereof: and carried it away into the land of Chanaan, and he set it in a city of merchants.
Revised Standard Version
he broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade, and set it in a city of merchants.
Young's Literal Translation
The 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.

Contextual Overview

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, give out a dark saying, and make a comparison for the children of Israel, 3 And say, This is what the Lord has said: A great eagle with great wings, full of long feathers of different colours, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: 4 Biting off the highest of its young branches, he took it to the land of Canaan, and put it in a town of traders. 5 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. 6 And its growth went on and it became a vine, low and widely stretching, whose branches were turned to him and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, putting out branches and young leaves. 7 And there was another eagle with great wings and thick feathers: and now this vine, pushing out its roots to him, sent out its branches in his direction from the bed where it was planted, so that he might give it water. 8 He had it planted in a good field by great waters so that it might put out branches and have fruit and be a strong vine. 9 Say, This is what the Lord has said: Will it do well? will he not have its roots pulled up and its branches cut off, so that all its young leaves may become dry and it may be pulled up by its roots? 10 And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the top: The princes of Judah.

into: Isaiah 43:14, Isaiah 47:15, Jeremiah 51:13, Revelation 18:3, Revelation 18:11-19

a land: Chaldea

a city: Babylon, which by means of the Euphrates and Tigris, had communications with the richest and most distant nations.

Reciprocal: Genesis 42:34 - traffic Ezekiel 31:3 - a cedar

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:
Genesis 13:16
And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered.
Genesis 16:10
And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered.
Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,
Genesis 17:11
In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you.
Genesis 17:18
And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care!
Genesis 22:17
That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them;
Genesis 32:12
And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
Genesis 35:11
And God said to him, I am God, the Ruler of all: be fertile, and have increase; a nation, truly a group of nations, will come from you, and kings will be your offspring;
Genesis 48:19
But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He cropped off the top of his young twigs,.... By which are meant the princes of the land, or the several branches of the royal family; the top of which was King Jeconiah, who was but young and tender, being but eighteen years of age when he began his reign, and this was within three months after; and who was no more able to withstand the force of the king of Babylon, than a tender twig so ravenous a bird as an eagle, 2 Kings 24:8; whose superior power and strength is signified by the cropping off of a tender twig:

and carried it into a land of traffic; not into the land of Canaan, as the Septuagint, and some other versions, literally render it; but into Babylon, which was become a place of great merchandise, through the great concourse of people to it, and the large additions made to the empire:

he set it in a city of merchants; meaning the city of Babylon, perhaps in particular, as distinct from the country before mentioned: the word for "merchants" signifies "apothecaries" or "druggists" p; and may design such merchants as traded in sweet spices and aromatic drugs. The words may be rendered, "and brought it out of the land of Canaan" q; out of which Jeconiah and his nobles were carried by the king of Babylon; so the particle אל sometimes signifies "from", or "out of", as in 1 Kings 8:30; and others r, "and in a city of merchants he set it"; in Babylon, famous for merchants; whom the Jews, being captives, were obliged to attend in a servile manner.

p רוכלים "aromatariorum", Junius & Tremellius, Polinus. So Stockius, p. 1017. q אל ארץ כנען "tetra Chanaan", Texelius, Phoenix, l. 3. c. 4. sect. 6. p. 205. r Vid. Noldii Concord. Part. Ebr. p. 56.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A land of traffick - The land of Babylon.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 17:4. 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.


 
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