Jezekiel 17
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came 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 propound 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:
And say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, The great eagle with large wings, long winged, full of feathers, who is rich in many colors, came unto the 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 topmost of its young twigs did he crop off, and carry it into the traders' land; and he set it in a city of merchants.
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 he took some of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field: he placed it by great waters, he transplanted it among the willow-trees.
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 grew, and became a trailing vine of low stature, the tendrils of which should turn toward him, and the roots of which should be under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and sent out shoots.
7 And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward 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.
There was also another great eagle with large wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots famishing toward him, and shot forth its tendrils toward him, that he might water it, from 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.
[Although] it was planted in a good field by great waters, that it might produce boughs, and that it might bear fruit, that it might become an elegant 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 now, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Shall it prosper? Behold the other will pull up its roots, and its fruit will he cut away, that it may dry up; every one of its growing leaves shall dry up; and not with great power and numerous people [will he have to come] to tear it away from 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.
Yea, behold, although it is planted, shall it prosper? Lo, as soon as the east wind toucheth it, shall it be utterly dried up: in the beds where it groweth shall it dry up.
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,
And the word of the Lord came 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.
Do now say to the rebellious family, Know ye not what these things mean? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took away its king and its princes, and he brought them unto 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 took one of the royal seed, and made a covenant with him, and bound him with an oath; but the mighty of the land did he take away;
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 should be debased, so as not to lift itself up; that it should keep his covenant that it might continue to exist.
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 rebelled against him by sending his messengers into Egypt, that they might give him horses and numerous people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doth such things? yea, he hath broken the covenant, and shall he escape?
16 [As] I live, says the Lord, verily in [the] place where the king is that made him king, who dishonored my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon.
As I live, saith the Lord Eternal, surely in the residence of the king that hath made him king, whose oath he hath despised, and whose covenant he hath broken, even near 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.
And not with a mighty army and a large assembly shall Pharaoh labor for him in the war, when [the other] casteth up mounds, and buildeth works of attack, 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.
Yea, he that hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, 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 hath said the Lord Eternal, As I live, surely my oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, —even this will I bring 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 my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will hold judgment with him there for his trespass which he hath committed 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 the wings of his army shall fall by the sword, and those that remain shall be dispersed toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
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 hath said the Lord Eternal, But I myself will take [a part] of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will preserve it; from the topmost of its young twigs will I crop off a tender one, and I myself will plant it firmly upon a high and eminent mountain:
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.
On the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it firmly; and it shall produce boughs, and bear fruit, and become an elegant cedar; and there shall dwell under it all fowls, every thing that hath wing; in the shadow of its light 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].
And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have made low the high tree, have made high the lowly tree, that I have dried up the green tree, and have caused to flourish the dry tree: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
