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 Story about Two Eagles and a Vine
1The Lord said:
2Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel the following story, 3so they will understand what I am saying to them:
A large eagle with strong wings and beautiful feathers once flew to Lebanon. It broke the top branch off a cedar tree, 4then carried it to a nation of merchants and left it in one of their cities. 5The eagle also took a seed from Israel and planted it in a fertile field with plenty of water, like a willow tree beside a stream.#17.5 like a willow tree beside a stream: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 6The seed sprouted and grew into a grapevine that spread over the ground. It had lots of leaves and strong, deep roots, and its branches grew upward toward the eagle.
7There was another eagle with strong wings and thick feathers. The roots and branches of the grapevine soon turned toward this eagle, hoping it would bring water for the soil. 8But the vine was already growing in fertile soil, where there was plenty of water to produce healthy leaves and large grapes.
9Now tell me, Ezekiel, do you think this grapevine will live? Or will the first eagle pull it up by its roots and pluck off the grapes and let its new leaves die? The eagle could easily kill it without the help of a large and powerful army. 10The grapevine is strong and healthy, but as soon as the scorching desert wind blows, it will quickly wither.
The Lord Explains the Story
11The Lord said:
12 #
2 K 24.15-20; 2 Ch 36.10-13. Ezekiel, ask the rebellious people of Israel if they know what this story means.
Tell them that the king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem, then he captured the king of Judah#17.12 king of Judah: Probably King Jehoiachin (see 2 Kings 24.10-12,15, 16). and his officials, and took them back to Babylon as prisoners. 13He chose someone from the family of Judah's king#17.13 someone from the family of Judah's king: Probably King Zedekiah (see 2 Kings 24.17). and signed a treaty with him, then made him swear to be loyal. He also led away other important citizens, 14so that the rest of the people of Judah would obey only him and never gain control of their own country again.
15But this new king of Judah later rebelled against Babylonia and sent officials to Egypt to get horses and troops. Will this king be successful in breaking the treaty with Babylonia? Or will he be punished for what he's done?
16As surely as I am the living Lord God, I swear that the king of Judah will die in Babylon, because he broke the treaty with the king of Babylonia, who appointed him king. 17Even the king of Egypt and his powerful army will be useless to Judah when the Babylonians attack and build towers and dirt ramps to destroy the cities of Judah and its people. 18The king of Judah broke his own promises and ignored the treaty with Babylonia. And so he will be punished!
19He made a promise in my name and swore to honor the treaty. And now that he has broken that promise, my name is disgraced. He must pay for what he's done. 20I will spread out a net to trap him. Then I will drag him to Babylon and see that he is punished for his unfaithfulness to me. 21His best troops#17.21 best troops: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “troops that ran away.” will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. I, the Lord, have spoken.
22Someday, I, the Lord,
will cut a tender twig
from the top of a cedar tree,
then plant it on the peak
of Israel's tallest mountain,
23where it will grow
strong branches
and produce large fruit.
All kinds of birds will find
shelter under the tree,
and they will rest in the shade
of its branches.
24Every tree in the forest
will know that I, the Lord,
can bring down tall trees
and help short ones grow.
I dry up green trees
and make dry ones green.
I, the Lord, have spoken,
and I will keep my word.
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