Jezekiel 17

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

The word of YHWH came to me, saying,

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

"Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

3 and thou shalt say, Thus saith 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:

and say, 'Thus says YHWH: "A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

4 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.

he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

5 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.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.

6 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.

It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

7 And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward 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.

'"There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and look, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

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

It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine."'

9 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the roots of her tender stem and her fruit be blighted? yea, 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.

"Say, 'Thus says YHWH: "Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? And not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots.

10 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.

Yes, look, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew."'"

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,

Moreover the word of YHWH came to me, saying,

12 Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know ye 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.

"Say now to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon:

13 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:

and he took of the royal family, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;

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

that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

15 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?

But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?

16 [As] I live, saith 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.

"'As I live,' says YHWH, 'surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

17 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.

Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.

18 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.

For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and look, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape.'

19 Therefore say, Thus saith 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.

"Therefore thus says YHWH: 'As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head.

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

I will spread my net on him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.

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

All the choice men among all his troups will fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, YHWH, have spoken it.'

22 For thus saith 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:

"Thus says YHWH: 'I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain:

23 and I will hang it on a lofty mountain of Israel: yea, 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.

in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell.

24 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].

All the trees of the field shall know that I, YHWH, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I, YHWH, have spoken and have done it.'"