Jezekiel 17

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

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

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

“Son of man, tell 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, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers which had various colours, came to Lebanon and took the top 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 cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, and carried it to a land of traffic. He planted 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 also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He 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.

It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned towards him, and its roots were under him. So it became a vine, produced branches, and shot out sprigs.

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. Behold, this vine bent its roots towards him, and shot out its branches towards him, from the ground where it was planted, that he might water it.

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

It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might produce branches and that it might bear fruit, that it might be 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, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, that it may wither, that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? It can’t be raised from its roots by a strong arm or many people.

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.

Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the ground where it grew.”’”

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

Moreover the LORD’s word 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, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to 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:

He took one of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away 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 might be brought low, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might 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 many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the covenant, and still 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,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the middle of Babylon he will 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.

Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company won’t help him in the war, when they 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.

For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things. He won’t 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 the Lord GOD says: ‘As I live, I will surely bring on his own head my oath that he has despised and my covenant that he has broken.

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

I will spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgement with him there for his 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.

All his fugitives in all his bands will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered towards every wind. Then you will 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:

“The Lord GOD says: ‘I will also take some of the lofty top of the cedar, and will plant it. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant 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.

I will plant it in the mountain of the height of Israel; and it will produce boughs, and bear fruit, and be a good cedar. Birds of every kind will dwell in the shade of its branches.

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].

All the trees of the field will 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 flourish. “‘I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.’”