Ezekiel 17

¹And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

²Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

³and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle, with great wings, with long feathers, full of plumage, which had divers colors, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of a cedar.

⁴He cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

⁵He took also one of the shoots of the land, and put it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow-tree.

⁶And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned towards him, and whose roots were under him. It became a vine, that brought forth branches, and shot forth boughs.

⁷There was also another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, that he might water it from the beds where it was planted.

⁸And yet it was planted in a good soil, by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, and be a goodly vine.

⁹Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? Shall not he pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it wither? In all the leaves of its branching shall it wither; even without a mighty arm, or many people, shall he pluck it up by the roots.

¹⁰Yea, behold, it is planted; but shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew.

¹¹Moreover, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

¹²Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? Say, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes, and led them with him to Babylon,

¹³and took one of the king’s offspring, and made a covenant with him, and took an oath of him, and the mighty of the land he took away,

¹⁴that the kingdom might be brought low, so as not to lift itself up; that the covenant might be kept, and stand.

¹⁵But 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? Shall he break the covenant and be delivered?

¹⁶As I live saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon shall he die.

¹⁷Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great multitude accomplish anything for him in war, when they shall cast up mounds, and build forts to cut off many persons,

¹⁸he hath despised the oath, and broken the covenant; behold, he hath given the hand, and yet done all these things; he shall not escape!

¹⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely mine oath, which he hath despised, and my covenant, which he hath broken, will I recompense upon his own head.

²⁰And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will contend with him there for his trespass which he hath committed against me.

²¹And all his fugitives with all his hosts shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered to all the winds; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

²²Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I also will take from the top of the high cedar, and will get it; and from the highest of its twigs will I crop a tender one, and plant it upon a high and lofty mountain.

²³Upon a high mountain 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 birds of every wing; in the shadow of its branches shall they dwell.

²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree; that I have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree green. I, Jehovah, have spoken, and will do it.

Ezekiel 17

¹And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

³And say, Thus saith the Lord God; 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:

⁴He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

⁵He 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.

⁶And 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.

⁷There 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.

⁸It 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.

⁹Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; 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.

¹⁰Yea, 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.

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

¹²Say 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;

¹³And 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:

¹⁴That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

¹⁵But 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?

¹⁶As I live, saith the Lord God, 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.

¹⁷Neither 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:

¹⁸Seeing 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.

¹⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord God; 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.

²⁰And 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.

²¹And 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 the Lord have spoken it.

²²Thus saith the Lord God; 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:

²³In 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.

²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord 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 the Lord have spoken and have done it.