Ezekiel 17
17
Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
1And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel, 3and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The great eagle with great wings and long feathers#Literally “the eagle the great great of the wings long of the feather” and full of variegated plumage#Literally “full of the plumage which is for him the variegated” came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar. 4He plucked the top of its new plant shoot, and he brought it to the land of Canaan and put it in a city of merchants, 5and he took from the seed of the land and placed it in fertile soil#Literally “a field of seed” on#Or “by” many waters; like a willow he planted it. 6And it sprouted, and it became a vine spreading out,#Literally “he was to vine spreading out” low of height, turning its branches to him, and its roots were under it, and it became a vine,#Literally “and it was to a vine” and it made#Or “sprouted” branches, and it sent out foliage.
7“ ‘ “And there was another great eagle, great of wings and with abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed where it was planted.#Literally “from the garden bed of its planting” 8It was planted in#Or “to” a good field by#Or “to” many waters#Hebrew “water” to produce branches#Hebrew “branch” and to bear fruit to become#Hebrew “be” a beautiful vine.” ’#Literally “to a vine of splendor” 9Say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots will not require great strength or many people.#Literally “not with strong arm and with many people” 10And look! Though it is planted, will it prosper? When the east wind strikes it,#Literally “at striking her/it the wind of the east” will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!” ’ ”
11And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying, 12“Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, ‘Do you not know what these are?’#Or “mean” Say, ‘Look! The king of Babylon will come to Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring#Or “take” them to himself,#Hebrew “him” to Babylon. 13And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and he brought him under oath,#Literally “and he brought him into oath” and he took the rulers of the land, 14so that they would be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant in order for it to stand.#Literally “to standing her”; or “to let her stand” 15But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these things, and can he break the covenant and escape? 16As I live,’#Literally “live I” declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely#Literally “if not” in the place of the king who made#Literally “who he was making” him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him—in the midst of Babylon he will die. 17And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work#Or “help/aid” with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives. 18And he despised the oath to break covenant. And, look, he gave his hand in pledge, and yet he did all of these things. He will not escape.’ 19Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘As I live,#Literally “live I” surely#Literally “if not” my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke I will return upon his head. 20And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there about his infidelity that he displayed against me. 21And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and those who are remaining,#Or “left over” they will be scattered to all the directions of the wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.’ 22Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘And I will take, even I, from the treetop of the high cedar, and I will plant it, from the head of its new plant shoot I will pluck a tender one, and I will plant it, even I, on a high and lofty mountain. 23On the height of the mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it will carry#Or “bear” branches,#Hebrew “branch” and it will bear fruit, and it will become a noble cedar,#Literally “he will be to a cedar noble” and all of the birds of all wings#Or “kinds” will dwell under it in the shade of its branches. 24And all of the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, I will bring low a high tree, and I will exalt a low, fresh tree, and I will make a dry tree flourish. I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will do it.’ ”
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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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