Ezekiel 17

1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

3And 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:footnote a

4He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

5He 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.footnote b

6And 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.

7There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

8It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.footnote c

9Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

10Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

11Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;

13And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:footnote d

14That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.footnote e

15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

16As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

18Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

19Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.

20And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

21And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

22Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:

23In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

24And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.

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,footnote afull of feathers of many colors,came to Lebanonand 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 landand planted it in fertile soil;footnote bhe placed it by abundant watersand 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 branchesand sent out shoots.

7But there was another great eaglewith 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 soilby abundant watersin order to yield branches and bear fruitand 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 fruitso that it shrivels?All its foliage will wither!It will not take a strong arm or many peopleto 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 familyfootnote c 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 troopsfootnote d 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 Israelso that it will bear branches;it will yield fruitand 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 knowthat I am the LORD.I bring the tall tree downand make the low tree tall.I dry up the green treeand make the withered tree flourish.I, the LORD, have spoken,and I have done it.’”