Ezekiel 17
17
A Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, offer a riddle,#sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle. and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:#tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
“‘A great eagle#sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12). with broad wings, long feathers,#tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).
with full plumage which was multi-hued,#tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
came to Lebanon#sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12). and took the top of the cedar.
4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;
he brought it to a land of merchants
and planted it in a city of traders.
5 He took one of the seedlings#tn Heb “took of the seed of the land.” For the vine imagery, “seedling” is a better translation, though in its subsequent interpretation the “seed” refers to Zedekiah through its common application to offspring. of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot;#tn Heb “a field for seed.”
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground;#tn Heb “short of stature.”
its branches turning toward him,#tn That is, the eagle. its roots were under itself.#tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
7 “‘There was another great eagle#sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
with broad wings and thick plumage.
Now this vine twisted its roots toward him
and sent its branches toward him
to be watered from the soil where it was planted.
8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted
to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Will it prosper?
Will he not rip out its roots
and cause its fruit to rot#tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.” and wither?
All its foliage#tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain. will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots.#tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel:#tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3). ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’#sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15. Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 13 He took one from the royal family,#tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5). made a treaty with him, and put him under oath.#tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.” He then took the leaders of the land 14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 15 But this one from Israel’s royal family#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity. rebelled against the king of Babylon#tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity. by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?
16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city#tn Heb “place.” of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help#tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.” him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note#tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something. – he gave his promise#sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15). and did all these things – he will not escape!
19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him#tn Heb “place it on his head.” for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 21 All the choice men#tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhyv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharyv). among his troops will die#tn Heb “fall.” by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!
22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig#sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same. from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.#tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;
I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,
and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.
Every bird will live under it;
Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.
24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.
I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.
I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.
I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”
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Ezekiel 17
17
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
1Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel 3and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions,#17:3 Pinions are the outer parts of a bird’s wings, including the flight feathers.
full of feathers of many colors,
came to Lebanon
and took away the top of the cedar.
4He plucked off its topmost shoot,
carried it to the land of merchants,
and planted it in a city of traders.
5He took some of the seed of the land
and planted it in fertile soil;#17:5 Hebrew in a field of seed
he placed it by abundant waters
and set it out like a willow.
6It sprouted and became a spreading vine,
low in height, with branches turned toward him;
yet its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine and yielded branches
and sent out shoots.
7But there was another great eagle
with great wings and many feathers.
And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him.
It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.
8It had been planted in good soil
by abundant waters
in order to yield branches and bear fruit
and become a splendid vine.’
9So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘Will it flourish?
Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit
so that it shrivels?
All its foliage will wither!
It will not take a strong arm or many people
to pull it up by its roots.
10Even if it is transplanted,
will it flourish?
Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes?
It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”
The Parable Explained
11Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12“Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’
Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. 13He took a member of the royal family#17:13 Hebrew the royal seed and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, 14so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.
15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’
16‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. 17Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives. 18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’
19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, I will bring down upon his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke. 20I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me. 21All his choice troops#17:21 Many Hebrew manuscripts; MT All his fleeing troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.’
22This is what the Lord GOD says:
‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar,
and I will set it out.
I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel
so that it will bear branches;
it will yield fruit
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,
taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
24Then all the trees of the field will know
that I am the Lord.
I bring the tall tree down
and make the low tree tall.
I dry up the green tree
and make the withered tree flourish.
I, the Lord, have spoken,
and I have done it.’”
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