Ezekiel 17

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

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

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

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

3 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took 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 cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

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 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 slip.

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 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose tendrils might turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

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 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, 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 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 stately vine.

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

9 Say thou: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither, yea, wither in all its sprouting leaves? neither shall great power or much people be at hand when it is plucked up by the roots thereof.

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 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? In the beds where it grew it shall wither.'

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 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,

12 'Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to 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 and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and the mighty of the land he took away;

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

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 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 [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 I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

[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 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company succour him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many souls;

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 seeing he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall 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 thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head.

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 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 plead with him there for his treachery that he hath committed against Me.

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

21 And all his mighty men in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Moreover I will take, even I, 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 upon a high mountain and eminent;

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 in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a stately cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

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 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD 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 the LORD have spoken and 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].