Jezekiel 17

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto 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 use a simile 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:

and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage 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 top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed 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.

And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath 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 springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches.

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 there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting,

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

On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly 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: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth — its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? [In] all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift 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.

And lo, the planted thing — doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah 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, to the rebellious house, Have ye not known what these [are]? Say, Lo, come hath the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he taketh its king, and its princes, And bringeth them to himself 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 taketh of the seed of the kingdom, And maketh with him a covenant, And bringeth him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he hath taken,

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 may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant — that it may 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?

And he rebelleth against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Doth he prosper? doth he escape who is doing these things? And hath he broken covenant and escaped?

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.

I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not — in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him — in the midst of Babylon — 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.

And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Doth Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls.

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.

And he despised the oath — to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not.

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 said the Lord Jehovah: I live — Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head?

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

And I have spread out for him My snare, And he hath been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he hath 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 you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, 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 said the Lord Jehovah: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set [it], From the top of its tender shoots a tender one I crop, And I — I have planted [it] on a mountain high and lofty.

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 a mountain — the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots 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].

And known have all trees of the field That I, Jehovah, have made low the high tree, I have set on high the low tree, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, Jehovah, have spoken, and have done [it]!'