< Ezekiel 17 >

1 The word of YHWH came to me, saying,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;
'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,
3 and say, 'Thus says YHWH: "A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar,
4 he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it.
5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.
And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it.
6 It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches.
7 '"There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and look, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.
And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting,
8 It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine."'
On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine.
9 "Say, 'Thus says YHWH: "Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? And not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots.
Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth — its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? [In] all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots.
10 Yes, look, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew."'"
And lo, the planted thing — doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'
11 Moreover the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
12 "Say now to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon:
'Say, I pray thee, to the rebellious house, Have ye not known what these [are]? Say, Lo, come hath the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he taketh its king, and its princes, And bringeth them to himself to Babylon.
13 and he took of the royal family, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
And he taketh of the seed of the kingdom, And maketh with him a covenant, And bringeth him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he hath taken,
14 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant — that it may stand.
15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?
And he rebelleth against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Doth he prosper? doth he escape who is doing these things? And hath he broken covenant and escaped?
16 "'As I live,' says YHWH, '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 midst of Babylon he shall die.
I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not — in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him — in the midst of Babylon — die?
17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.
And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Doth Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls.
18 For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and look, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape.'
And he despised the oath — to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not.
19 "Therefore thus says YHWH: 'As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head.
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live — Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head?
20 I will spread my net on him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.
And I have spread out for him My snare, And he hath been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he hath trespassed against Me.
21 All the choice men among all his troups will fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, YHWH, have spoken it.'
And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken.
22 "Thus says YHWH: 'I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set 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:
Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set [it], From the top of its tender shoots a tender one I crop, And I — I have planted [it] on a mountain high and lofty.
23 in the mountain of the height 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 all birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell.
In a mountain — the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell.
24 All the trees of the field shall know that I, YHWH, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I, YHWH, have spoken and have done it.'"
And known have all trees of the field That I, Jehovah, have made low the high tree, I have set on high the low tree, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, Jehovah, have spoken, and have done [it]!'

< Ezekiel 17 >