Ezekiel 17
17
The Parable of the Eagles and the Vine
1The LORD spoke to me. 2“Mortal man,” he said, “tell the Israelites a parable 3to let them know what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: there was a giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings, spread wide. He flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top of a cedar tree, 4which he carried to a land of commerce, and placed in a city of merchants. 5Then he took a young plant from the land of Israel and planted it in a fertile field,#17.5 Hebrew has an additional word, the meaning of which is unclear. where there was always water to make it grow. 6The plant sprouted and became a low, wide-spreading grapevine. The branches grew upward towards the eagle, and the roots grew deep. The vine was covered with branches and leaves.
7“There was another giant eagle with huge wings and thick plumage. And now the vine sent its roots towards him and turned its leaves towards him, in the hope that he would give it more water than there was in the garden where it was growing.#17.7 And now the vine… growing; or And now the vine turned away from the garden where it was growing and sent its roots towards him and turned its leaves towards him, in the hope that he would give it water. 8But the vine had already been planted in a fertile, well-watered field so that it could grow leaves and bear grapes and be a magnificent vine.
9“So I, the Sovereign LORD, ask: will this vine live and grow? Won't the first eagle pull it up by its roots, pull off the grapes, and break off the branches and let them wither? It will not take much strength or a mighty nation to pull it up. 10Yes, it is planted, but will it live and grow? Won't it wither when the east wind strikes it? Won't it wither there where it is growing?”
The Parable is Explained
11The LORD said to me, 12#2 Kgs 24.15–20; 2 Chr 36.10–13“Ask these rebels if they know what the parable means. Tell them that the king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem and took the king and his officials back with him to Babylonia. 13He took one of the king's family, made a treaty with him, and made him swear to be loyal. He took important men as hostages 14to keep the nation from rising again and to make sure that the treaty would be kept. 15But the king of Judah rebelled and sent agents to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can he get away with that? He cannot break the treaty and go unpunished!
16“As surely as I am the living God,” says the Sovereign LORD, “this king will die in Babylonia because he broke his oath and the treaty he had made with the king of Babylonia, who put him on the throne. 17Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people. 18He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.”
19The Sovereign LORD says, “As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty which he swore in my name to keep. 20I will spread out a hunter's net and catch him in it. I will take him to Babylonia and punish him there, because he was unfaithful to me. 21His best soldiers will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.”
God's Promise of Hope
22This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“I will take the top of a tall cedar
and break off a tender sprout;
I will plant it on a high mountain,
23on Israel's highest mountain.
It will grow branches and bear seed
and become a magnificent cedar.
Birds of every kind will live there
and find shelter in its shade.
24All the trees in the land will know
that I am the LORD.
I cut down the tall trees
and make the small trees grow tall.
I wither up the green trees
and make the dry trees become green.
I, the LORD, have spoken. I will do what I have said I would do.”
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Ezekiel 17: GNBDK
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Ezekiel 17
17
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 "Son of man, propose an enigma and describe a parable to the house of Israel,
3 and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A large eagle, with great wings and elongated pinions, full of feathers with many colors, came to Lebanon. And he took the kernel of the cedar.
4 He tore off the summit of its branches, and he transported it to the land of Canaan; he placed it in a city of merchants.
5 And he took from the seed of the land and placed it in the ground for seed, so that it might take firm root above many waters; he placed it at the surface.
6 And when it had germinated, it increased into a more extensive vine, low in height, with its branches facing toward itself. And its roots were underneath it. And so, it became a vine, and sprouted branches, and produced shoots.
7 And there was another large eagle, with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine seemed to bend its roots towards him, extending its branches toward him, so that he might irrigate it from the garden of its germination.
8 It had been planted in a good land, above many waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, so that it would become a large vine.
9 Speak: Thus says the Lord God: What if it does not prosper? Should he not pull up its roots, and strip off its fruit, and dry up all the branches that it has produced, and let it wither, though he is without a strong arm and without many people to pull it up by the root?
10 Behold, it has been planted. What if it does not prosper? Should it not be dried up when the burning wind touches it, and should it not wither in the garden of its germination?"
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
12 "Say to the provoking house: Do you not know what these things signify? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon arrives in Jerusalem. And he will take away its king and princes, and he will lead them away to himself in Babylon.
13 And he will take one from the offspring of the king, and he will strike a pact with him and receive an oath from him. Moreover, he will take away the strong ones of the land,
14 so that it may be a lowly kingdom, and may not lift itself up, and may instead keep his pact and serve it.
15 But, withdrawing from him, he sent messengers to Egypt, so that it would give him horses and many people. Should he who has done these things prosper and obtain safety? And should he who has broken the pact go free?
16 As I live, says the Lord God, in the place of the king, who appointed him as king, whose oath he has made void, and whose pact he has broken, under which he was living with him, in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.
17 And not with a great army, nor with many people will Pharaoh undertake a battle against him, when he will cast up ramparts and build defenses, in order to put to death many souls.
18 For he has despised an oath, in that he broke the pact. And behold, he had given his hand. And so, since he has done all these things, he shall not escape.
19 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will place upon his head the oath that he has spurned and the pact that he has betrayed.
20 And I will spread my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him into Babylon, and I will judge him there for the transgression by which he has despised me.
21 And all his fugitives, with all his procession, will fall by the sword. Then the remainder will be scattered into every wind. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken."
22 Thus says the Lord God: "I myself will take from the kernel of the exalted cedar, and I will establish it. I will tear off a tender twig from the top of its branches, and I will plant it on a mountain, lofty and exalted.
23 On the sublime mountains of Israel, I will plant it. And it shall spring forth in buds and bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar. And all the birds will live under it, and every bird will make its nest under the shadow of its branches.
24 And all the trees of the regions will know that I, the Lord, have brought low the sublime tree, and have exalted the lowly tree, and have dried up the green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted."
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