Ezekiel 17

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

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

2 'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

Son of man, give out a dark saying, and make a comparison for the children of Israel,

3 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,

And say, This is what the Lord has said: A great eagle with great wings, full of long feathers of different colours, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

4 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.

Biting off the highest of its young branches, he took it to the land of Canaan, and put it in a town of traders.

5 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.

And he took some of the seed of the land, planting it in fertile earth, placing it by great waters; he put it in like a willow-tree.

6 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.

And its growth went on and it became a vine, low and widely stretching, whose branches were turned to him and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, putting out branches and young leaves.

7 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,

And there was another eagle with great wings and thick feathers: and now this vine, pushing out its roots to him, sent out its branches in his direction from the bed where it was planted, so that he might give it water.

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

He had it planted in a good field by great waters so that it might put out branches and have fruit and be a strong vine.

9 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.

Say, This is what the Lord has said: Will it do well? will he not have its roots pulled up and its branches cut off, so that all its young leaves may become dry and it may be pulled up by its roots?

10 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.'

And if it is planted will it do well? will it not become quite dry at the touch of the east wind, drying up in the bed where it was planted?

11 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

12 '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.

Say now to this uncontrolled people, Are these things not clear to you? Say to them, See, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its rulers away with him to Babylon;

13 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,

And he took one of the sons of the king and made an agreement with him; and he put him under an oath, and took away the great men 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 the kingdom might be made low with no power of lifting itself up, but might keep his agreement to be his servants.

15 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?

But he went against his authority in sending representatives to Egypt to get from them horses and a great army. Will he do well? will he be safe who does such things? if the agreement is broken will he be safe?

16 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?

By my life, says the Lord, truly in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he put on one side and let his agreement with him be broken, even in Babylon he will come to his death.

17 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.

And Pharaoh with his strong army and great forces will be no help to him in the war, when they put up earthworks and make strong walls for the cutting off of lives:

18 And he despised the oath — to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not.

For he put his oath on one side in letting the agreement be broken; and though he had given his hand to it, he did all these things; he will not get away safe.

19 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?

And so the Lord has said, By my life, truly, for my oath which he put on one side, and my agreement which has been broken, I will send punishment on his head.

20 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.

My net will be stretched out over him, and he will be taken in my cords, and I will send him to Babylon, and there I will be his judge for the wrong which he has done against me.

21 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.

All his best fighting-men will be put to the sword, and the rest will be sent away to every wind: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it.

22 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.

This is what the Lord has said: Further, I will take the highest top of the cedar and put it in the earth; cutting off from the highest of his young branches a soft one, I will have it planted on a high and great mountain;

23 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.

It will be planted on the high mountain of Israel: it will put out branches and have fruit and be a fair cedar: under it all birds of every sort will make their living-place, resting in the shade of its branches.

24 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]!'

And it will be clear to all the trees of the field that I the Lord have made low the high tree and made high the low tree, drying up the green tree and making the dry tree full of growth; I the Lord have said it and have done it.