Ezekiel 17
Christian Standard Bible
Parable of the Eagles
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.(A) 3 You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A huge eagle with powerful wings,(B) long feathers, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.(C) 4 He plucked off its topmost shoot, brought it to the land of merchants, and set it in a city of traders. 5 Then he took some of the land’s seed and put it in a fertile field;(D) he set it like a willow,(E) a plant[a] by abundant water. 6 It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height with its branches turned toward him,(F) yet its roots stayed under it. So it became a vine, produced branches, and sent out shoots.
7 “‘But there was another huge eagle with powerful wings and thick plumage. And this vine bent its roots toward him! It stretched out its branches to him from the plot where it was planted,(G) so that he might water it. 8 It had been planted in a good field by abundant water in order to produce branches, bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.’
9 “You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Will it flourish? Will he not tear out its roots(H) and strip off its fruit so that it shrivels? All its fresh leaves will wither! Great strength and many people will not be needed to pull it from its roots. 10 Even though it is planted, will it flourish? Won’t it wither completely when the east wind strikes it?(I) It will wither on the plot where it sprouted.’”
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Now say to that rebellious house,(J) ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and officials,(K) and brought them back with him to Babylon. 13 He took one of the royal family(L) and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath.(M) Then he took away the leading men of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be humble and not exalt itself(N) but would keep his covenant in order to endure. 15 However, this king revolted against him(O) by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so they might give him horses and a large army.(P) Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still escape?
16 “‘As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne,(Q) whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast company will not help him in battle,(R) when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. He did all these things even though he gave his hand in pledge.(S) He will not escape!
19 “‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: As I live, I will bring down on his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke. 20 I will spread my net over him,(T) and he will be caught in my snare.(U) I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for the treachery he committed against me.(V) 21 All the fugitives[b] among his troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every direction of the wind.(W) Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 “‘This is what the Lord God says:
I will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.(X)
I will pluck a tender sprig
from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it
on a high towering mountain.
23 I will plant it on Israel’s high mountain(Y)
so that it may bear branches, produce fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,(Z)
taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 Then all the trees of the field will know
that I am the Lord.
I bring down the tall tree,
and make the low tree tall.(AA)
I cause the green tree to wither
and make the withered tree thrive.(AB)
I, the Lord, have spoken
and I will do it.’”(AC)
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
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
