What Does Ezekiel 17:10 Mean in the King James?

Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

Ezekiel 17:10 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

Being planted is no guarantee of thriving; the decisive question is what happens when the east wind reaches you.

THE MEANING

You can be planted and still be vulnerable: the east wind touches the vine, and it dries in the very furrows where it grew. The verse asks whether this planting can prosper, then answers through the repeated image of withering, being established in a place does not itself supply what keeps you alive.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that being in the right place or having made a strong beginning guarantees that you will flourish.

THE ROOT

תִּיבָשׁ

tivash

GROWS FROM

יבש

y-b-sh

Be dry; dry up or wither.

“wither” in this verse is tivash. The verse repeats the drying verb: the east wind touches the vine and it dries; in the furrows where it grew, it dries again. The same root names dry ground, keeping the image physical: moisture is gone.

ALSO GROWS

yabbashah: Dry land

יַבָּשָׁה

The root describes both the vine losing moisture and ground exposed as dry; the image is a material change, not a verdict about worth.

yavesh: Be dry; wither

יָבֵשׁ

This verb names the vine’s condition directly, making the wind’s touch the point at which its drying becomes visible.

תִּצְלָח

titslach

GROWS FROM

צלח

ts-l-ḥ

Advance, succeed, prosper; make one’s way forward.

“prosper” in this verse is titslach. The question asks whether the vine can advance or succeed, then turns to the east wind’s touch. This root can also describe a force coming powerfully upon someone, giving prosperity a sense of forward motion exposed to what reaches it.

ALSO GROWS

hitzliach: Cause to prosper; make successful

הִצְלִיחַ

This form presents prosperity as something brought about, sharpening the question of whether the planted vine can actually come through.

titslach aleikha: Come powerfully upon you; surge upon you

תִּצְלַח עָלֶיךָ

The same root describes the LORD’s spirit coming powerfully upon Saul (1 Samuel 10:6), carrying a sense of forceful movement rather than static good fortune.

שְׁתוּלָה

shetulah

GROWS FROM

שתל

sh-t-l

Plant or transplant; set a shoot into the ground.

This form describes the vine as already planted. The same root appears for trees planted beside water in Psalms and Jeremiah, making the question exact: being planted can coexist with different outcomes depending on what reaches and sustains the plant.

ALSO GROWS

shatul: Planted

שָׁתוּל

Psalm 1:3 uses this form for a tree beside rivers of water, where planting is joined to nourishment and fruitfulness.

shetulim: Planted ones

שְׁתוּלִים

Psalm 92:13 uses this plural for those planted in the LORD’s house; the shared root highlights that planting describes placement, while the surrounding image shows its conditions.

THE PATTERN

Being planted is not the same as being sustained; flourishing depends on what reaches and nourishes the life.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3 · KJVThe planted tree has water, fruit, and leaves that do not wither, showing what sustains a planting.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Jeremiah 17:8 · KJVHere the planted tree withstands heat and drought because its roots reach the river.

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Matthew 13:6 · KJVThe seed’s beginning does not preserve it when heat reaches it and it has no sustaining root.

THE THREAD

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3 · KJV

Psalm 1 uses the same Hebrew roots for planted, prosper, and wither, but places the tree beside water and says its leaf does not wither. That shared language sharpens Ezekiel’s question: the planting itself is not the guarantee; what nourishes it matters.

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