What Does Ezekiel 17:18 Mean in the King James?
Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The hand makes the covenant visible, but breaking the bond cannot erase what the hand pledged.
THE MEANING
A pledge and the actions that follow it belong together: giving your hand makes the bond concrete, and breaking it does not make the pledge disappear. The verse speaks to the reader wherever a promise and the life that follows it part ways.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A pledge becomes meaningless once the moment has passed. The verse holds the broken bond and the given hand together.
THE ROOT
לְהָפֵר
lehafer
GROWS FROM
פָּרַר
parar
to break apart, frustrate, or make void
“breaking” in this verse is lehafer. The verb names an act that makes a bond void. The same root can describe a vow or covenant annulled, so the pledge of the hand and the breach remain joined in the verse.
ALSO GROWS
hefer: he broke or annulled
הֵפֵר
This form names the active breaking of a covenant or vow.
huppar: was broken or annulled
הֻפַּר
The passive form shows a bond rendered void; here the verse makes clear that the act of breaking still carries consequence.
נָתַן
natan
GROWS FROM
נָתַן
natan
to give, set, or place
“given” in this verse is natan. He gives his hand: the pledge is made concrete through an act of giving. This root links the offered hand to giving itself, placing a promise into another’s keeping.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift
מַתָּנָה
The root’s gift branch shows giving as something placed into another’s hands, like the pledge made here.
netinah: giving, a gift
נְתִינָה
This noun keeps the act of giving visible, illuminating the hand as a tangible pledge of the bond.
THE PATTERN
A pledged word binds its speaker to the deed, and its integrity is revealed by whether the bond is kept.
If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.THE THREAD
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.“He hath broken” uses הֵפֵר (hefer, broke or annulled), from the same root as the breaking in Ezekiel. Both verses hold the broken covenant in view as a real breach, not a pledge erased by time.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us