Ezekiel 17
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:
A message from 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, present this riddle—share it as a parable with the people 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;
Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: There was a great eagle that had large wings, long feathers, and multi-colored plumage. It came to Lebanon and took off the top 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 broke off its highest branch and took it to a country of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.
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.
He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in good soil beside a large river where he could grow it like a willow.
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.
The seed sprouted and grew into a low, spreading vine, with its branches facing toward him, and its roots went down into the ground beneath. So the vine developed, growing leaves and branches.
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.
But there was another great eagle that had large wings and many feathers. This vine sent out its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from where it had been planted, wanting him to water it.
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.
Yet it had been planted in good soil beside a large river so it could grow strong, produce fruit, and become a superb 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.
So you tell them this is what the Lord God says: ‘Will it grow well? Won't it be uprooted and its fruit ripped off so that it withers? All its leaves will dry up. You wouldn't need strong arms or lots of people to pull it up by its 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.'
Even if it's transplanted, is it going to survive? Won't it wither up completely when the east wind blows? In fact, it will wither right where it was planted.”
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:
A message from 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;
“Tell these rebellious people: ‘Don't you know what this riddle means?’ Explain to them, ‘Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, made its king and officials his prisoners, and took them back with him 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;
He made an agreement with one of the royal family and made him take an oath that he would be a loyal subject as king. Then he took into exile the country's leaders,
14 that his might be a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
so that the kingdom would be kept in subjection and wouldn't be strong enough to rebel—it would only survive by keeping its agreement with him.
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?
However, this king did rebel against Babylon, and sent ambassadors to Egypt to ask for help by supplying horses and many soldiers. Will he do well? Would someone who acts like this succeed? Could he break an agreement and not be punished?’
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, declares the Lord God, ‘he is going to die in Babylon, in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he disregarded and whose agreement he broke.
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;
Pharaoh with his powerful army of many soldiers won't help him in battle, when attack ramps are piled up and siege walls built and many people end up being killed.
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.
He disregarded his oath by breaking the agreement. Because he shook hands as a sign of the promise he made, yet rebelled in this way, he won't go unpunished!’
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.
So this is what the Lord God says: As I live, I will punish him for disregarding my oath and for breaking my agreement.
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.
I will throw my net over him and catch him; I will trap in my snare. I will take him to Babylon and sentence him to punishment there for his treason towards me.
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.
All his best soldiers will be killed in battle, and those who do survive will be scattered in all directions. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
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;
This is what the Lord God says: I'm going to break off a branch from the high top of the cedar, and I will plant it on the top of 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.
I will plant it on Israel's high mountain so that it can grow branches, produce fruit and become a magnificent cedar. All kinds of birds will live in it, nesting in the shade of its branches.
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.'
All the trees in the countryside will know that I am the Lord. I can bring down the tall and have the low tree grow tall. I can make the green tree dry up, and make the withered tree become green again. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.”
