Ezekiel 17

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

2 “Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use an allegory to the house of Israel,

“Son of man, propose an enigma and describe a parable to the house of Israel,

3 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,

and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A large eagle, with great wings and elongated pinions, full of feathers with many colors, came to Lebanon. And he took the kernel of the cedar.

4 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.

He tore off the summit of its branches, and he transported it to the land of Canaan; he placed it in a city of merchants.

5 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.

And he took from the seed of the land and placed it in the ground for seed, so that it might take firm root above many waters; he placed it at the surface.

6 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.

And when it had germinated, it increased into a more extensive vine, low in height, with its branches facing toward itself. And its roots were underneath it. And so, it became a vine, and sprouted branches, and produced shoots.

7 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,

And there was another large eagle, with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine seemed to bend its roots towards him, extending its branches toward him, so that he might irrigate it from the garden of its germination.

8 On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, to make branches, and to bear fruit, to be for a good vine.

It had been planted in a good land, above many waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, so that it would become a large vine.

9 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.

Speak: Thus says the Lord God: What if it does not prosper? Should he not pull up its roots, and strip off its fruit, and dry up all the branches that it has produced, and let it wither, though he is without a strong arm and without many people to pull it up by the root?

10 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.”

Behold, it has been planted. What if it does not prosper? Should it not be dried up when the burning wind touches it, and should it not wither in the garden of its germination?”

11 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

12 “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.

“Say to the provoking house: Do you not know what these things signify? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon arrives in Jerusalem. And he will take away its king and princes, and he will lead them away to himself in Babylon.

13 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,

And he will take one from the offspring of the king, and he will strike a pact with him and receive an oath from him. Moreover, he will take away the strong ones of the land,

14 That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant—that it may stand.

so that it may be a lowly kingdom, and may not lift itself up, and may instead keep his pact and serve it.

15 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?

But, withdrawing from him, he sent messengers to Egypt, so that it would give him horses and many people. Should he who has done these things prosper and obtain safety? And should he who has broken the pact go free?

16 [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?

As I live, says the Lord God, in the place of the king, who appointed him as king, whose oath he has made void, and whose pact he has broken, under which he was living with him, in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.

17 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.

And not with a great army, nor with many people will Pharaoh undertake a battle against him, when he will cast up ramparts and build defenses, in order to put to death many souls.

18 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.

For he has despised an oath, in that he broke the pact. And behold, he had given his hand. And so, since he has done all these things, he shall not escape.

19 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?

Because of this, thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will place upon his head the oath that he has spurned and the pact that he has betrayed.

20 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.

And I will spread my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him into Babylon, and I will judge him there for the transgression by which he has despised me.

21 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.

And all his fugitives, with all his procession, will fall by the sword. Then the remainder will be scattered into every wind. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

22 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.

Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take from the kernel of the exalted cedar, and I will establish it. I will tear off a tender twig from the top of its branches, and I will plant it on a mountain, lofty and exalted.

23 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.

On the sublime mountains of Israel, I will plant it. And it shall spring forth in buds and bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar. And all the birds will live under it, and every bird will make its nest under the shadow of its branches.

24 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]!”

And all the trees of the regions will know that I, the Lord, have brought low the sublime tree, and have exalted the lowly tree, and have dried up the green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted.”