以西结书 17
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
二鷹與葡萄樹的比喻
17 耶和華的話臨到我說： 2 “人子啊！你要向以色列家出謎語，設比喻， 3 說：‘主耶和華這樣說：有一隻大鷹，翅膀大，翎毛長，羽毛豐富，彩色繽紛，來到黎巴嫩，把香柏樹的樹梢取去； 4 牠啄斷樹頂的嫩枝，把它帶到貿易之地，栽種在商人的城裡。 5 牠又把以色列地的種子取去，栽種在肥沃的地土、水流的旁邊，好像栽種柳樹一樣； 6 它生長起來，成了一棵矮小而蔓延的葡萄樹；樹上的枝子向著那鷹，樹根在牠以下。這樣，它就成了一棵葡萄樹，生出枝子，長出嫩芽。
7 “‘另有一隻大鷹，翅膀大，羽毛多；這葡萄樹從它栽種的苗床上，把樹根向這鷹彎過去，又向這鷹長出枝子，好得牠的澆灌。 8 其實，這樹早已栽種在肥沃的地土、水流的旁邊，可以長枝子、結果子，成為佳美的葡萄樹。’ 9 你要說：‘主耶和華這樣說：這葡萄樹怎能茂盛呢？鷹不是要拔出它的根來，啄光它的果子，使它和它長出的一切嫩葉都枯乾嗎？其實，要把它連根拔起，並不需要很多人或很大的氣力。 10 看哪！葡萄樹被栽種了，但它能發旺嗎？東風吹襲它的時候，它不是必然枯乾嗎？它必在生長的苗床上枯乾。’”
解釋比喻的意義
11 耶和華的話臨到我說： 12 “你要對那叛逆的民族說：‘你們不知道這些事是甚麼意思嗎？’你要告訴他們：‘看哪！巴比倫王曾到耶路撒冷來，把其中的王和眾領袖擄去，帶他們到巴比倫那裡去。 13 他從以色列王室後裔中選出一人，與他立約，叫他起誓，並且把國中那些有勢力的人擄去， 14 使國衰微，不能再興盛，唯有謹守條約他才可以繼續存在。 15 可是這人背叛了巴比倫王，差遣使者到埃及去，要得戰馬和大軍。他能亨通嗎？行這樣事的人，怎能逃脫呢？他破壞條約，怎能逃脫呢？ 16 我指著我的永生起誓：他藐視了自己所起的誓，背棄了與王所立的約，因此他必死在巴比倫，就是那立他作王的巴比倫王的國家。這是耶和華的宣告。 17 敵人建造圍城的高牆，築起攻城土壘要剪除多人的時候，法老率領大軍和大隊人馬，還是不能幫助他作戰。 18 他藐視誓言，背棄條約；他已宣誓效忠，卻又行了這一切事，所以他必不能逃脫。 19 因此主耶和華這樣說：我指著我的永生起誓：他既然藐視我的誓言，背棄我的約，我必使這罪歸到他的頭上。 20 我要把我的網撒在他身上，他必在我的網羅中被捕獲；我要把他帶到巴比倫去，並且要在那裡因他對我不忠的罪審判他。 21 他軍中所有的精兵（《按照《馬索拉文本》，“精兵”作“逃跑的人”；現參照其他抄本，《七十士譯本》和其他古譯本翻譯），都必倒在刀下；剩下的也必分散到四方；你們就知道說這話的是我耶和華。
移植香柏樹的比喻
22 “‘主耶和華這樣說：我要從高大香柏樹的樹梢上取去一根樹枝，把它栽上；我要從樹頂的嫩枝中折下一根枝子，把它栽種在高聳的山上； 23 我要把它栽種在以色列的高山上，它要長出枝子，結出果子，成為佳美的香柏樹；各種各類的飛鳥都必在樹下棲宿，就是棲宿在枝子的蔭下。 24 田野所有的樹木都必知道我耶和華使高大的樹矮小，矮小的樹高大；使青綠的樹枯乾，枯乾的樹茂盛。我耶和華怎樣說了，就必怎樣行。’”
Ezekiel 17
King James Version
17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
3 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:
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 There 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.
8 It 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.
9 Say 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.
10 Yea, 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.
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
12 Say 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;
13 And 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:
14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
15 But 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?
16 As 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.
17 Neither 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:
18 Seeing 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.
19 Therefore 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.
20 And 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.
21 And 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.
22 Thus 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:
23 In 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.
24 And 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.
Ezekiel 17
New King James Version
The Eagles and the Vine
17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a (A)parable to the house of Israel, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
(B)“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And (C)took from the cedar the highest branch.
4 He cropped off its topmost young twig
And carried it to a land of trade;
He set it in a city of merchants.
5 Then he took some of the seed of the land
And planted it in (D)a fertile field;
He placed it by abundant waters
And set it (E)like a willow tree.
6 And it grew and became a spreading vine (F)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.
7 “But there was [a]another great eagle with large wings and many feathers;
And behold, (G)this vine bent its roots toward him,
And stretched its branches toward him,
From the garden terrace where it had been planted,
That he might water it.
8 It was planted in [b]good soil by many waters,
To bring forth branches, bear fruit,
And become a majestic vine.” ’
9 “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Will it thrive?
(H)Will he not pull up its roots,
Cut off its fruit,
And leave it to wither?
All of its spring leaves will wither,
And no great power or many people
Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots.
10 Behold, it is planted,
Will it thrive?
(I)Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it?
It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to (J)the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed (K)the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. 13 (L)And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, (M)and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, 14 that the kingdom might be (N)brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 But (O)he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, (P)that they might give him horses and many people. (Q)Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?
16 ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely (R)in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 (S)Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, (T)when they heap up a siege mound and build a [c]wall to cut off many persons. 18 Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact (U)gave[d] his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. 20 I will (V)spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and (W)try him there for the [e]treason which he committed against Me. 21 (X)All his [f]fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be (Y)scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Israel Exalted at Last(Z)
22 Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest (AA)branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs (AB)a tender one, and will (AC)plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 (AD)On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. (AE)Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, (AF)have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; (AG)I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:7 So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. one
- Ezekiel 17:8 Lit. a good field
- Ezekiel 17:17 Or siege wall
- Ezekiel 17:18 Took an oath
- Ezekiel 17:20 Lit. unfaithful act
- Ezekiel 17:21 So with MT, Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. choice men; Tg. mighty men; LXX omits All his fugitives
Ezekiel 17
English Standard Version
Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, (B)propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: (C)A great eagle (D)with great wings and long pinions, (E)rich in plumage of many colors, came (F)to Lebanon (G)and took the top of the cedar. 4 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. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land (H)and planted it in fertile soil.[a] He placed it beside abundant waters. (I)He set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a (J)low (K)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.
7 (L)“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, (M)and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from (N)the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 (O)It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: (P)Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? (Q)Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to (R)the rebellious house, (S)Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, (T)the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 (U)And he took one of the royal offspring[b] (V)and made a covenant with him, (W)putting him under oath ((X)the chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 (Y)But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors (Z)to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. (AA)Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he (AB)break the covenant and yet escape?
16 (AC)“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely (AD)in the place where the king dwells (AE)who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 (AF)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, (AG)when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 (AH)I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon (AI)and enter into judgment with him there (AJ)for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick[c] of his troops shall fall by the sword, (AK)and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that (AL)I am the Lord; I have spoken.”
22 Thus says the Lord God: (AM)“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. (AN)I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and (AO)I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 (AP)On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. (AQ)And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; (AR)I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up (AS)the green tree, and make (AT)the dry tree flourish. (AU)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:5 Hebrew in a field of seed
- Ezekiel 17:13 Hebrew seed
- Ezekiel 17:21 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
