Ezekiel 17

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

The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

“Son of man, present a riddle and speak a parable to 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,

Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: A large eagle with large wings and long pinions, full of feathers, and that was multicolored went to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree.

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.

It broke off the tips of the branches and took them to the land of Canaan; he planted 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 also took some seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a large body of water like a willow.

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.

Then it sprouted and became a spreading vine low to the ground. Its branches turned toward him, and its roots grew under it. So it became a vine and produced 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,

But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers. Behold! This vine turned its roots toward the eagle, and it spread out its branches toward the eagle from the place it had been planted so it would be watered.

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 had been planted in good soil beside a large body of water so it would produce branches and sprout fruit, to become a magnificent 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 to the people, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Will it prosper? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers, and all its fresh growth will wither? No strong arm or many people will be needed to pull it out 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.'

So behold! After it has been planted, will it grow? Will it not wither when the eastern wind touches it? It will completely wither away in the garden plot where it sprouted.'”

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

Then the word of Yahweh 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.

“Speak to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean? Behold! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her princes and brought them to him in 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,

Then he took a royal descendant, made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath. He took away the powerful people 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 the kingdom might become lowly and not lift itself up. By keeping his covenant the land will survive.

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 the king of Jerusalem rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt to acquire horses and an army. Will he succeed? Will the one doing these things escape? If he breaks the covenant, will 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!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—he will surely die in the land of the king who made him king, the king whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke. He will die in the middle of Babylon.

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.

Pharaoh with his mighty army and a great company of men will not help him in battle, when ramps are constructed and siege walls are built up to cut off many 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 the king despised his oath by breaking the covenant. Behold, he reached out with his hand to make a promise and yet he did all these things. He will 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 the Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, was it not my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke? So I will bring his 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.

I will spread my net out over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for his treason that he committed when he betrayed 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 of his refugees in his armies will fall by the sword, and the ones who remain will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; I have declared this would happen.”

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.

The Lord Yahweh says this, 'So I myself will take away the highest part of the cedar tree, and I will plant it away from its tender branches. I will break it off, and I myself will plant it on a high 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.

I will plant it on the mountains of Israel so it will bear branches and produce fruit, and it will become a majestic cedar so that every winged bird will live under it. They will nest 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]!'

Then all the trees of the field will know that I am Yahweh. I bring down the high trees and I raise up the low trees. I wither the watered tree and I cause the dried tree to bloom. I am Yahweh, I have declared that this will happen; and I have done it.'”