Jezekiel 17

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

And the word of Jehovah came 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 speak a parable 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 say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle, with great wings, with long feathers, full of plumage, which had divers colors, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of a 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 cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; 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.

He took also one of the shoots of the land, and put it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow-tree.

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 spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned towards him, and whose roots were under him. It became a vine, that brought forth branches, and shot forth boughs.

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 great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches 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.

And yet it was planted in a good soil, by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, and be a goodly 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 thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? Shall not he pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it wither? In all the leaves of its branching shall it wither; even without a mighty arm, or many people, shall he pluck it up by the 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, it is planted; but shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,

Moreover, the word of Jehovah came 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.

Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? Say, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes, and led them with him 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 took one of the king's offspring, and made a covenant with him, and took an oath of him, and the mighty of the land he took 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 might be brought low, so as not to lift itself up; that the covenant might be kept, and 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?

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 be delivered?

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 Jehovah, 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 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.

Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great multitude accomplish anything for him in war, when they shall cast up mounds, and build forts to cut off many persons,

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.

he hath despised the oath, and broken the covenant; behold, he hath given the hand, and yet done all these things; he 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely mine oath, which he hath despised, and my covenant, which he hath broken, will I recompense 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 upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will contend 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 his hosts shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered to all the winds; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, 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 saith the Lord Jehovah: I also will take from the top of the high cedar, and will get it; and from the highest of its twigs will I crop a tender one, and plant it upon 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.

Upon a high mountain of Israel will I plant it, and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar; and under it shall dwell birds of every wing; in the shadow of its 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, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree; that I have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree green. I, Jehovah, have spoken, and will do it.