Ezekiel 17
1599 Geneva Bible
17 The parable of the two Eagles.
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, put forth a parable and speak a proverb unto the house of Israel,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God, The great [a]eagle with great wings and long wings, and full of feathers, which had diverse colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar,
4 And brake off the top of his twig, and carried it into the land of [b]merchants, and set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the [c]seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful ground: he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
6 And it budded up, and was like [d]a spreading vine of [e]low stature, whose branches turned toward it, and the roots thereof were under it: so it became a vine, and it brought forth branches, and shot forth buds.
7 There was also [f]another great Eagle with great wings and many feathers, and behold, this vine did turn her roots toward it, and spread forth her branches toward it, that she might water it by the trenches of her plantation.
8 It was planted in a good soil by great [g]waters, that it should bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and be an excellent vine.
9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, Shall it prosper? shall [h]he not pull up the roots thereof, and destroy the fruit thereof, and cause them to dry? all the leaves of her bud shall wither without great power, or many people, to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
10 Behold, it was planted: but shall it prosper? shall it not be dried up, and wither? [i]when the East wind shall touch it, it shall wither in the trenches, where it grew.
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
12 Say now to this rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, behold, the king of Babel is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken [j]the king thereof and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babel,
13 And hath taken one of the King’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken [k]an oath of him: he hath also taken the princes of the land,
14 That the kingdom might be in subjection, and not lift itself up, but keep their covenant, and stand to it.
15 But he rebelled against him, and sent 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?
16 As I live, saith the Lord God, he shall die in the midst of Babel, in the place of the king that had made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant made with him, he brake.
17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty host, and great multitude of people, maintain him in the war, when they have cast up mounts, and built ramparts to destroy many persons.
18 For he hath despised the oath, and broken the covenant (yet lo, he had given [l]his hand) because he hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
19 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, As I live, I will surely bring mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, upon his own head.
20 (A)And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my net, and I will bring him to Babel, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he hath committed against me.
21 And all that flee from him with all his host, shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all the winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
22 Thus saith the Lord God, I will also take off the top[m]of this high cedar, and will set it, and cut off the [n]top of the tender plant thereof, and I will plant it upon an high mountain and great.
23 Even in the high mountain of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be an excellent cedar, and under it shall remain all birds, and every [o]fowl shall dwell in the shadow of the branches thereof.
24 And all the [p]trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree: that I have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken it, and have done it.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:3 That is, Nebuchadnezzar, who hath great power, riches, and many countries under him, shall come to Jerusalem, and take away Jeconiah the King, as verse 12.
- Ezekiel 17:4 Meaning, to Babylon.
- Ezekiel 17:5 That is, Zedekiah, who was of the King’s blood and was left at Jerusalem, and made King instead of Jeconiah, 2 Kings 24:17; Jer. 37:1.
- Ezekiel 17:6 This was Zedekiah’s kingdom.
- Ezekiel 17:6 That is, might not have power to rebel against Babylon, as verse 14.
- Ezekiel 17:7 Meaning, the king of Egypt, of whom Zedekiah sought succor against Nebuchadnezzar.
- Ezekiel 17:8 They thought to be moistened by the waters of Nilus.
- Ezekiel 17:9 Shall not Nebuchadnezzar destroy it?
- Ezekiel 17:10 By this dry wind he meaneth the Babylonians.
- Ezekiel 17:12 That is, Jeconiah, 2 Kings 24:15.
- Ezekiel 17:13 For his subjection and obedience.
- Ezekiel 17:18 Because he took the Name of God in vain, and brake his oath which he had confirmed by giving his hand: therefore the Prophet declareth that God would not suffer such perjury and infidelity to escape punishment.
- Ezekiel 17:22 This promise is made to the Church which shall be as a small remnant, and as the top of a tree.
- Ezekiel 17:22 I will trim it, and dress it.
- Ezekiel 17:23 Both the Jews and Gentiles shall be gathered into it.
- Ezekiel 17:24 All the world shall know that I have plucked down the proud enemies, and set up my Church which was low and contemned.
Ezekiel 17
New English Translation
A Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, offer a riddle,[a] and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 3 Say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:[b]
“‘A great eagle[c] with broad wings, long feathers,[d]
with full plumage that was multi-hued,[e]
came to Lebanon[f] 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[g] of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot;[h]
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground;[i]
its branches turning toward him,[j] its roots were under itself.[k]
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
7 “‘There was another great eagle[l]
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[m] and wither?
All its foliage[n] will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots.[o]
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 Lord’s message came to me: 12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel:[p] ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’[q] Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 13 He took one from the royal family,[r] made a treaty with him, and put him under oath.[s] He then took the leaders of the land 14 so it would be a lowly kingdom that could not rise on its own but had to keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 15 But this one from Israel’s royal family[t] rebelled against the king of Babylon[u] 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[v] 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[w] 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[x]—he gave his promise[y] 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[z] 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[aa] among his troops will die[ab] 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[ac] from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.[ad]
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!’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:2 sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.
- Ezekiel 17:3 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
- Ezekiel 17:3 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
- Ezekiel 17:3 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).
- Ezekiel 17:3 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
- Ezekiel 17:3 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
- Ezekiel 17:5 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.
- Ezekiel 17:5 tn Heb “a field for seed.”
- Ezekiel 17:6 tn Heb “short of stature.”
- Ezekiel 17:6 tn That is, the eagle.
- Ezekiel 17:6 tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
- Ezekiel 17:7 sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
- Ezekiel 17:9 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.”
- Ezekiel 17:9 tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpe) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 17:9 tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
- Ezekiel 17:12 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).
- Ezekiel 17:12 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
- Ezekiel 17:13 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
- Ezekiel 17:13 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
- Ezekiel 17:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 17:15 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 17:16 tn Heb “place.”
- Ezekiel 17:17 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
- Ezekiel 17:18 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
- Ezekiel 17:18 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
- Ezekiel 17:19 tn Heb “place it on his head.”
- Ezekiel 17:21 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 (mivrakhayv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharayv).
- Ezekiel 17:21 tn Heb “fall.”
- Ezekiel 17:22 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.
- Ezekiel 17:22 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
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