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.

And he took of the seed of the land, and put it in the ground for seed, that it might take a firm root over many waters: he planted it on the surface of the earth.

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.

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.

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 slip.

And he took from the seed of the land and placed it in the ground for seed, so that it might take firm root above many waters; he placed it at the surface.

Et sustulit [162] e semine terrae, et posuit illud in agro seminis, [163] sumpsit super aquas multas, tanquam salicem posuit illud.

After Ezekiel has narrated that Jehoiacin was carried away with his counselors and the flower of the whole people, and was so deprived of his native country as to be without hope of return, he now says, that the eagle took up the seed in Judea, and placed it in a fertile land; for he calls it a land of seed, since it was cultivated and produced fruit abundantly. He says, that the seed was afterwards hidden in the soil, that it grew immediately, and became a luxuriant vine. He says also, that its roots were irrigated, like a willow planted by a river's bed. The Prophet afterwards explains himself: hence it is sufficient to state briefly what he means. The seed, then, which he here means is Zedekiah, the last king. It is said to have been planted beside the waters; for his condition was tolerable, since the royal name and dignity and wealth was left to him. For although he was tributary, the kindness with which he was treated by Nebuchadnezzar was not to be despised, since, by the right of war, he was able to lead him captive. together with his nephew; for Zedekiah was the uncle of Jeconiah or Jehoiacin. But he said, that this vine, which sprang from a seed or germ, grew so that it was of low stature; the Prophet means by these words, as we shall afterwards see, that Zedekiah was not a king, that he was restrained by a bridle from daring to rebel against the king of Babylon; and hence it is added, that its branches turned towards the eagle, and its roots were under him; but in the next clause Ezekiel announces, that it became a vine which set forth branches, and shot forth boughs, which he repeats again, that Zedekiah's ingratitude may appear the greater, who, not content with his moderate confinement, perfidiously revolted from the king of Babylon, through reliance on the new treaty, on which we touched yesterday. It now follows --

He took also of the seed of the land - Zedekiah the king's uncle, not a Babylonian satrap, was made king.

The seed of the land - Zedekiah, brother of Jehoiachin.
Planted it in a fruitful field - Made him king of Judea in place of his brother.
Placed it by great waters - Put him under the protection of Babylon, situated on the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates.
And set it as a willow tree - Made him dependent on this city of great waters, as the willow is on humidity.

He took also of the (c) seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed [it] by great waters, [and] set it [as] a willow tree.
(c) That is, Zedekiah who was of the king's blood and was left at Jerusalem and made king instead of Jeconiah, (2-Kings 24:17; Jeremiah 37:1).

He took also of the seed of the land,.... Of the land of Judea, a native of it, not a stranger; not one of another country, a Babylonian; not one of his own nobles or princes, did Nebuchadnezzar, the eagle, take and set upon the throne of Judea, but one of their own, even one of the king's seed, of the blood royal, as it is explained, Ezekiel 17:13, Mattaniah, the uncle of Jeconiah, whom the king of Babylon called Zedekiah, and made him king in his room:
and planted it in a fruitful field; in the land of Judea, and in Jerusalem the royal city:
he placed it by great waters; many people, Revelation 17:15; over whom he ruled, and by whom he was supported in his royal dignity:
and set it as a willow tree; which loves moist places, and grows up thick: unless it should be rendered, "he set it with great circumspection" (s); took a great deal of care and caution in placing him upon the throne; he made a covenant with him, took an oath of him, and hostages for the performance of it, Ezekiel 17:13. The Targum is,
"a planted vine he set it,''
to make it agree with what follows; but the word in the Chaldee and Arabic languages signifies a kind of willow, as we render it, as Ben Melech observes (t).
(s) "circumspectissime posuit illud, Junins & Tremellius, Polanus; "cum magna circumspectione", Piscator; "circumspecte, Cocceius, Starckius. (t) And so it does; see Castel, col. 3220, 3221. and in this way Jarchi and Kimchi interpret the word, in which they are followed by many; so R. Song. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 73. 1. nevertheless, the sense of it here is disapproved of by Castel, who observes, what has a willow to do with a vine? col. 3222. and commends the Greek version, which renders it, "conspicuous", to be seen; and so others translate it, "in superficie", V. L. Grotius; yet the "safsaf" of the Arabs is a tree by which they understood the "abeile" or poplar tree; see Shaw's Travels, p. 432. Ed. 2.

seed of the land--not a foreign production, but one native in the region; a son of the soil, not a foreigner: Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoiachin, of David's family.
in a fruitful field--literally, a "field of seed"; that is, fit for propagating and continuing the seed of the royal family.
as a willow--derived from a Hebrew root, "to overflow," from its fondness for water (Isaiah 44:4). Judea was "a land of brooks of water and fountains" (Deuteronomy 8:7-9; compare John 3:23).

The seed - Mattaniah, whom he called Zedekiah. Planted - Settled him on the throne of Judah. As a willow - The prophet compares this new made king to a willow, which grows no where so well as near great waters.