Ezekiel 17
1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord 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 propound 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 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:
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.
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.
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, and planted it in a fruitful field: he placed it by great waters, he transplanted it among the willow-trees.
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 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.
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 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;
8 On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine.
[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.
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 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.
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, 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.
11 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord 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.
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;
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 royal seed, and made a covenant with him, and bound him with an oath; but the mighty of the land did he take away;
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 should be debased, so as not to lift itself up; that it should keep his covenant that it might continue to exist.
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 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?
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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 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.
