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Ezekiel 17:1-6 - Compare All Versions

Ezekiel 17:1-6 NIV (New International Version)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders. “ ‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 ESV (English Standard Version 2025)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 NLT (New Living Translation)

Then this message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, give this riddle, and tell this story to the people of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: “A great eagle with broad wings and long feathers, covered with many-colored plumage, came to Lebanon. He seized the top of a cedar tree and plucked off its highest branch. He carried it away to a city filled with merchants. He planted it in a city of traders. He also took a seedling from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a broad river, where it could grow like a willow tree. It took root there and grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, and its roots grew down into the ground. It produced strong branches and put out shoots.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 CSB (Christian Standard Bible)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.  You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: A huge eagle with powerful wings,  long feathers, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.  He plucked off its topmost shoot, brought it to the land of merchants, and set it in a city of traders. Then he took some of the land’s seed and put it in a fertile field;  he set it like a willow,  a plant  by abundant water. It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height with its branches turned toward him,  yet its roots stayed under it. So it became a vine, produced branches, and sent out shoots.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 KJV (King James Version)

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; and 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: he cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. He 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. And 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.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 NKJV (New King James Version)

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon And took from the cedar the highest branch. He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants. Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in a fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow tree. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature; Its branches turned toward him, But its roots were under it. So it became a vine, Brought forth branches, And put forth shoots.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 MSG (The Message)

GOD’s Message came to me: “Son of man, make a riddle for the house of Israel. Tell them a story. Say, ‘GOD, the Master, says: “‘A great eagle with a huge wingspan and long feathers, In full plumage and bright colors, came to Lebanon And took the top off a cedar, broke off the top branch, Took it to a land of traders, and set it down in a city of shopkeepers. Then he took a cutting from the land and planted it in good, well-watered soil, like a willow on a riverbank. It sprouted into a flourishing vine, low to the ground. Its branches grew toward the eagle and the roots became established— A vine putting out shoots, developing branches.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 NASB2020 (New American Standard Bible - NASB)

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a parable to the house of Israel, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. He also took from the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil, a meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow. Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 AMP (Amplified Bible)

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “A great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) with great wings, long pinions and a rich plumage of many colors came to Lebanon (Jerusalem) and took away the top of the cedar (Judah). He broke off the topmost of its young twigs (young King Jehoiachin) and carried it to a land of traders (Babylonia); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon). He also took some of the seed of the land (Zedekiah, of the royal family) and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. Then it sprouted and grew and became a low, spreading vine whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.

Ezekiel 17:1-6 NET (New English Translation)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel. Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign LORD says: “‘A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers, with full plumage which was multi-hued, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders. He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it. It sprouted and became a vine, spreading low to the ground; its branches turning toward him, its roots were under itself. So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.