Ezekiel 16:42-17:24

New American Standard Bible

⁴² So I ^(A)will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and ^(B)no longer be angry. ⁴³ Since you have ^(C)not remembered the days of your youth but ^[a]have ^(D)caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will ^(E)bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

⁴⁴ “Behold, everyone who quotes ^(F)proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like ^[b]mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the ^(G)sister of your sisters, who ^(H)loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your ^(I)older sister is Samaria, who lives ^[c]north of you with her ^[d]daughters; and your younger sister, who lives ^[e]south of you, is ^(J)Sodom with her ^[f]daughters. ⁴⁷ Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and ^[g]committed their abominations; but, as if that were ^(K)too little, you also acted ^(L)more corruptly in all your conduct than they. ⁴⁸ As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have ^(M)not done as you and your daughters have done! ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had ^(N)arrogance, ^(O)plenty of food, and ^(P)carefree ease, but she did not ^[h]help the ^(Q)poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So they were haughty and committed ^(R)abominations before Me. Therefore I ^(S)removed them ^[i]when I saw it. ⁵¹ Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear ^(T)innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. ⁵² Also, bear your disgrace in that you have ^[j]made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted ^(U)more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

⁵³ “Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and ^[k]along with them your own fortunes, ⁵⁴ so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ^(V)ashamed for all that you have done when you become ^(W)a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, ^[l]will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. ⁵⁶ As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, ⁵⁷ before your ^(X)wickedness was uncovered, ^[m]so now you have become the ^(Y)disgrace of the daughters of ^[n]Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. ⁵⁸ You have ^(Z)suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. ⁵⁹ For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have ^(AA)despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

The Covenant Remembered

⁶⁰ “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an ^(AB)everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will ^(AC)remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. ⁶² So I will ^(AD)establish My covenant with you, and you shall ^(AE)know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ so that you may ^(AF)remember and be ashamed, and ^(AG)not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have ^[o](AH)forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a ^(AI)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [p]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[q]God says: “A great ^[r](AJ)eagle with ^(AK)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[s](AL)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[t]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[u]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[v]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[w]from the seed of the land and planted ^[x]it in ^[y](AM)fertile soil, a ^[z]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(AN)willow. ⁶ 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.

⁷ “But there was ^[aa]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^(AO)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[ab]soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ ⁹ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great ^[ac]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^(AP)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to the ^(AQ)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(AR)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(AS)king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal ^[ad](AT)family and made a covenant with him, ^[ae]putting him under ^(AU)oath. He also took away the ^(AV)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(AW)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[af]he ^(AX)revolted against ^[ag]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[ah]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(AY)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[ai]country of the king who ^[aj]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(AZ)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[ak](BA)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (BB)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[al]help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. ¹⁸ Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^[am](BC)pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly ^[an]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(BD)net over him, and he will be ^(BE)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(BF)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[ao](BG)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

²² This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and ^[ap]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(BH)high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately ^(BI)cedar. And ^[aq]birds of every ^[ar]kind will ^[as]nest under it; they will ^[at]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(BJ)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^(BK)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”