Ezekiel 17

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

And the word of Yhwh came unto me, saying,

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

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house 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, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch 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.

He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

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.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as 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 it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

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,

There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

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

It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly 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 thou, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

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.'

Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

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

Moreover the word of Yhwh came unto 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 the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them 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 hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty 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.

That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

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 rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

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?

As I live, saith the Lord Yhwh, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

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.

Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

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.

Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

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?

Therefore thus saith the Lord Yhwh; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own 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.

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed 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.

And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I Yhwh have spoken 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.

Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:

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.

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 fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

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 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.