Jezekiel 17
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying:
2 Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel:
Son of man Put thou forth a riddle And speak thou a parable, - Unto the house of Israel:
3 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:
So then thou shalt say, Thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, — A great eagle, with large wings of long pinion, full of plumage, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch 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.
The crown of its young twigs, plucked he off, and brought it into a land of traffic, in a city of merchants, he set it.
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.
So he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a field for seed, - He took it near mighty waters, Like a willow-tree, he set it.
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.
And it shot forth, and became a spreading vine of lowly stature, Its branches turning towards him, And its roots under him spread, - So it became a vine, And brought forth shoots, And sent forth boughs.
7 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.
And it came to pass that there was another great eagle, with large wings, and abundant plumage, - And lo! this vine, stretched its roots hungry towards him. And its branches, sent it forth unto him, That he might cause it to drink out of the beds where it was planted:
8 She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine.
In a goodly field by mighty waters, was it planted, - That it might bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, That it might become a splendid vine.
9 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.
Say thou, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Shall it thrive? Its roots, will he not tear up? Its fruit, will he not cut off, that it wither? All the fresh leaves it hath caused to spring forth shall wither without a strong arm or many people, to pull it up by 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.
Lo! therefore though [it remain] planted, shall it thrive? As soon as an east wind toucheth it, will it not utterly wither? On the beds where it sprang up, will it not wither?
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,
Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:
12 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.
Say, I pray thee unto the perverse house, Know ye not what these things are? Say thou Lo! the King of Babylon entered Jerusalem And took her king and her princes, And brought them unto him in 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:
Yea took of the seed royal And solemnised with him a covenant, And brought him into an oath, Also the mighty ones of the land, did he take.
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 abased, so as not to lift itself up, — By the keeping of his covenant, might be made to 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 hath rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt, that there should be given to him horses, and much people. Shall he thrive? Shall he escape that doeth these things? Shall he break a covenant and escape?
16 [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.
As I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Very! in the place where dwelleth the king that made him king, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken With him in the midst of Babylon, shall he 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 a great force. or with a large gathered host, work with him in the war, by casting up an earthwork and by building a siege-wall, —to the cuting off of many lives.
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.
Seeing he hath despised an oath. by breaking a covenant—yea lo! hath given his hand and all these things hath done he shall not escape.
19 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.
Therefore, Thus saith My Lord Yahweh As I live, Surely it is mine oath which he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, Therefore will I bring it upon his own head:
20 And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare.
And I will spread over him my net, And he shall be taken in my snare, And I will bring him into Babylon and will enter into judgment with him there, as to his treachery wherewith he hath been treacherous against me;
21 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.
And all his fugitives throughout all his bands by the sword, shall fall, And they who are left, to every wind, shall be scattered, - [So shall ye know that I, Yahweh, have spoken!]
22 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:
Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Therefore will I, Myself, take of the highest branch of the lofty cedar and set it, — Of the crown of its young twigs, a tender one, will I pluck off, and I. myself will plant it upon a mountain high and terraced,
23 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.
In the mountain of the height of Israel, will I plant it, And it shall put forth boughs And bear fruit, And become a majestic cedar, - And every bird of every wing shall dwell under it, 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].
So shall all the trees of the field know that I Yahweh Have laid low the high tree Have exalted the low tree, Have dried up the moist tree, And have caused to flourish the tree, that was dry, — I, Yahweh, have spoken, and performed.
