This verse gives the reason why Nebuchadnezzar took the leading members of Jewish society away.

That the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up: He did it so Judah would not become strong again and revolt. Kingdom can also be translated “nation” (Good News Translation) or “country.” Be humble and not lift itself up implies that it would remain “submissive” (Revised English Bible), too weak to rebel against Babylonian control. The Hebrew verb rendered be humble is literally “be low.” It is the same word that was used to describe the vine in verse 6. This is one of the few direct connections with the story in the first half of the chapter. New Century Version renders these two clauses as “to make the kingdom weak so it would not be strong again.”

And that by keeping his covenant it might stand: If the people of Judah were so weak that they could not rebel, they would keep their agreement with Nebuchadnezzar, but it is not clear what might stand as a result. It could mean that the nation would survive (so New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or that the agreement would remain in force (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Some translations maintain the ambiguity here (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible). It is best to understand it to refer to the agreement, although the alternative is acceptable.

A model for this verse is:

• [The king also took away the community leaders] so that the nation [of Judah] would be weak and obedient. Then they would not be strong enough to rebel against him, and they would keep the agreement that they had made with him. In that way the agreement would remain in force [or, the nation would survive].

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .