And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great {a} eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had various colours, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

(a) That is, Nebuchadnezzar who had great power, riches and many countries under him, will come to Jerusalem and take away Jeconiah the king, as in Eze 17:12.

Wesley's Notes

17:3 A great eagle - Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is compared to a great eagle, the king of birds, swift, strong, rapacious. Great wings - Mighty provinces on each side of his kingdom. Long winged - His kingdom was widely extended. Full of feathers - And full of people. Divers colours - Who were of divert nations, languages and manners. Lebanon - Jerusalem the chief city of the country where this great, fruitful and pleasant hill was. And took - Took, captive and carried away with him the king of Judah, Jehoiachin. The cedar - The nation.

King James Translators' Notes

divers...: Heb. embroidering

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. eagle-the king of birds. The literal Hebrew is, "the great eagle." The symbol of the Assyrian supreme god, Nisroch; so applied to "the great king" of Babylon, his vicegerent on earth (Jer 48:40; 49:22). His "wings" are his great forces. Such symbols were familiar to the Jews, who saw them portrayed on the great buildings of Babylon; such as are now seen in the Assyrian remains.

long-winged-implying the wide extent of his empire.

full of feathers-when they have been renewed after moulting; and so in the full freshness of renovated youth (Ps 103:5; Isa 40:31). Answering to the many peoples which, as tributaries, constituted the strength of Babylon.

divers colours-the golden eagle, marked with star-like spots, supposed to be the largest of eagles [Bochart]. Answering to the variety of languages, habits, and costumes of the peoples subject to Babylon.

came unto Lebanon-continuing the metaphor: as the eagle frequents mountains, not cities. The temple at Jerusalem was called "Lebanon" by the Jews [Eusebius], because its woodwork was wholly of cedars of Lebanon. "The mountain of the Lord's house" (Isa 2:2). Jerusalem, however, is chiefly meant, the chief seat of civil honor, as Lebanon was of external elevation.

took the highest branch-King Jeconiah, then but eighteen years old, and many of the chiefs and people with him (2Ki 24:8, 12-16). The Hebrew for "highest branch" is, properly, the fleece-like tuft at the top of the tree. (So in Eze 31:3-14). The cedar, as a tall tree, is the symbol of kingly elevation (compare Da 4:10-12).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

17:1-10 Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will prosper.