Ezekiel 17

1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel

Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel:

3 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

and you shall say, Thus says the Lord; A great eagle with large wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of entering into Libanus—and he took the choice [branches] of the cedar:

4 He plucked off its topmost shoot, carried it to the land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.

he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city.

5 He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it by abundant waters and set it out like a willow.

And he took of the seed of the land, and sowed it in a field planted by much water; he set it in a conspicuous place.

6 It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, with branches turned toward him; yet its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and yielded branches and sent out shoots.

And it sprang up, and became a weak and little vine, so that the branches thereof appeared [upon] it, and its roots were under it: and it became a vine, and put forth shoots, and sent forth its tendrils.

7 But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that he might water it.

And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round towards him, and her roots [were turned] towards him, and she sent forth her branches towards him, that [he] might water her together with the growth of her plantation.

8 It had been planted in good soil by abundant waters in order to yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’

She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine.

9 So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Will it flourish? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it shrivels? All its foliage will wither! It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by its roots.

Therefore say, Thus says the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the roots of her tender stem and her fruit be blighted? yes, all her early shoots shall be dried up, and [that] not by a mighty arm, nor by many people, to tear her up from her roots.

10 Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”

And, behold, it thrives: shall it prosper? shall it not wither as soon as the east wind touches it? it shall be withered together with the growth of its shoots.

11 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,

12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.

Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know you not what these things were? say [to them], Whenever the king of Babylon shall come against Jerusalem, then he shall take her king and her princes, and shall take them home to Babylon.

13 He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,

And he shall take of the seed royal, and shall make a covenant with him, and shall bind him with an oath: and he shall take the princes of the land:

14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.

that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that he may keep his covenant, and establish it.

15 But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’

And [if] he shall revolt from him, to send his messengers into Egypt, that [they] may give him horses and much people; shall he prosper? shall he that acts as an adversary be preserved? and shall he that transgresses the covenant be preserved?

16 ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.

[As] I live, says the Lord, verily in [the] place where the king is that made him king, who dishonoured my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon.

17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.

And Pharaoh shall make war upon him not with a large force or great multitude, in throwing up a mound, and in building of forts, to cut off souls.

18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’

Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when, behold, I engage his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall not escape.

19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, I will bring down upon his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke.

Therefore say, Thus says the Lord; [As] I live, surely mine oath which he has profaned, and my covenant which he has transgressed, I will even recompense it upon his head.

20 I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.

And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare.

21 All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.’

In every battle of his they shall fall by the sword, and I will scatter [his] remnant to every wind: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

22 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

For thus says the Lord; I will even take of the choice [branches] of the cedar from the top [thereof], I will crop off their hearts, and I will plant it on a high mountain:

23 I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches.

and I will hang it on a lofty mountain of Israel: yes, I will plant it, and it shall put forth shoots, and shall bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar: and every bird shall rest beneath it, even every fowl shall rest under its shadow: its branches shall be restored.

24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord that bring low the high tree, and exalt the low tree, and wither the green tree, and cause the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].