Ezekiel 17
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
The word of Yahweh 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 a riddle and speak a parable to the house 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:
Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: A large eagle with large wings and long pinions, full of feathers, and that was multicolored went to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree.
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.
It broke off the tips of the branches and took them to the land of Canaan; he planted it in a city of merchants.
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 also took some seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a large body of water 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.
Then it sprouted and became a spreading vine low to the ground. Its branches turned toward him, and its roots grew under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and sent out shoots.
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 with large wings and many feathers. Behold! This vine turned its roots toward the eagle, and it spread out its branches toward the eagle from the place it had been planted so it would be watered.
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.
It had been planted in good soil beside a large body of water so it would produce branches and sprout fruit, to become a magnificent 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.
Say to the people, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Will it prosper? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers, and all its fresh growth will wither? No strong arm or many people will be needed to pull it out 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.
So behold! After it has been planted, will it grow? Will it not wither when the eastern wind touches it? It will completely wither away in the garden plot where it sprouted.'”
11 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Then the word of Yahweh 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;
“Speak to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean? Behold! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her princes and brought them to him in 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;
Then he took a royal descendant, made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath. He took away the powerful people of the land,
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 the kingdom might become lowly and not lift itself up. By keeping his covenant the land will survive.
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?
But the king of Jerusalem rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt to acquire horses and an army. Will he succeed? Will the one doing these things escape? If he breaks the covenant, will he escape?
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!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—he will surely die in the land of the king who made him king, the king whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke. He will die in the middle of Babylon.
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 mighty army and a great company of men will not help him in battle, when ramps are constructed and siege walls are built up to cut off many lives.
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.
For the king despised his oath by breaking the covenant. Behold, he reached out with his hand to make a promise and yet he did all these things. He will not escape.
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.
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, was it not my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke? So I will bring his punishment on his head!
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 spread my net out over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for his treason that he committed when he betrayed 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 of his refugees in his armies will fall by the sword, and the ones who remain will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; I have declared this would happen.”
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:
The Lord Yahweh says this, 'So I myself will take away the highest part of the cedar tree, and I will plant it away from its tender branches. I will break it off, and I myself will plant it on 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 the mountains of Israel so it will bear branches and produce fruit, and it will become a majestic cedar so that every winged bird will live under it. They will nest 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.
Then all the trees of the field will know that I am Yahweh. I bring down the high trees and I raise up the low trees. I wither the watered tree and I cause the dried tree to bloom. I am Yahweh, I have declared that this will happen; and I have done it.'”
