Ezekiel 17

1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel,

'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings, long-pinioned, full of feathers, which was of divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch 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 top of its young shoots, and carried it into a merchants' land; he set it in a city of traders.

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 planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, he set it as a willow tree.

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 grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, so that its branches should turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; and it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

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 feathers; and behold, from the beds of her plantation, this vine did bend her roots unto him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it.

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 It was planted in a good field by many waters, that it might bring forth branches and bear fruit, that it might be a noble 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 Say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither? All its fresh sprouting leaves shall wither, even without a great arm and many people to pluck it up by its 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, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew.

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 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things are? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its princes, and led them with him 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 took of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and he took away the mighty 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 the kingdom might be abased, that it might not lift itself up, that it might keep his covenant in order to stand.

That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant — that it may stand.

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

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, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily in the place of the king that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him, in the midst of Babylon, shall he die.

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 Neither shall Pharaoh with a mighty army and a great assemblage do anything for him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts to cut off many persons.

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 He despised the oath, and broke the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, yet hath he done all these things: 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 thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily, mine oath which he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, even it will I recompense 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 my net upon 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 unfaithfulness in which he hath been unfaithful against me.

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 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken.

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 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the highest branch of the lofty cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of its young shoots a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and eminent 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 upon the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

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 Jehovah have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish: I Jehovah 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]!'