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 propound 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 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:
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 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.
He broke off its highest branch and took it to a country of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.
5 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.
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 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.
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 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;
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 [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.
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 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.
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, 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.
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 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
12 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;
“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 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;
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 the kingdom should be debased, so as not to lift itself up; that it should keep his covenant that it might continue to exist.
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 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?
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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:
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 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.
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 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.
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.”
