Jezekiel 17
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And there is a word of YHWH to 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 an allegory to 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 you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that has diverse colors, Has come to Lebanon, And he takes 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.
He has cropped the top of its tender twigs, And he brings it to the land of Canaan. He has placed 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 takes of the seed of the land, And puts it in a field of seed, He took [it] by many waters, He has set it in a conspicuous place.
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 springs up, and becomes a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becomes a vine, and makes boughs, And sends forth beautiful branches.
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.
And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And behold, this vine has bent its roots toward him, And it has sent out its thin shoots 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 a good 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 Lord YHWH: It prospers—does he not draw out its roots, And cut off its fruit, and it is withered? [In] all the leaves of its springing it withers, And not by great strength, or by 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 behold, the planted thing—does it prosper? When the east wind comes against it, does it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withers.”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,
And there is a word of YHWH to 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.
“Now say to the house of rebellion, Have you not known what these [are]? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon has come to Jerusalem, And he takes its king, and its princes, And brings 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 takes of the seed of the kingdom, And makes a covenant with him, And brings him into an oath, And he has taken the mighty of the land,
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 rebels against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and many people, Does he prosper? Does he who is doing these things escape? And has 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 dishonored my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon.
[As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, Does he not—in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he has despised, And whose covenant he has broken—die with him in the midst of Babylon?
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, Does Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mound, 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 behold, he has given his hand, And all these he has done—he does 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 said Lord YHWH: [As] I live—My oath that he has despised, And My covenant that he has 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 My snare for him, And he has been caught in My net, And I have brought him to Babylon, And judged him there [for the] trespass That he has 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, Fall by sword, and those remaining, They are spread out to every wind, And you have known that I, YHWH, 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 Lord YHWH: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set [it], I crop a tender one from the top of its tender shoots, And I have planted [it] on a high and lofty 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.
In a mountain—the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it has borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a good cedar, And every bird of every [kind of] wing has dwelt under it, They dwell in the shade of its thin shoots.
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 trees of the field have known That I, YHWH, have made the high tree low, I have set the low tree on high, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, YHWH, have spoken, and have done [it]!”
