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 American Standard Bible
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 (A)parable to the house of Israel, 3 [a]saying, ‘This is what the Lord [b]God says: “A great [c](B)eagle with (C)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to [d](D)Lebanon and took away the top of the [e]cedar. 4 He broke off the [f]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a [g]city of traders. 5 He also took [h]from the seed of the land and planted [i]it in [j](E)fertile soil, a [k]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a (F)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 [l]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 (G)planted, so that he might water it. 8 It was planted in good [m]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 [n]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 (H)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 (I)rebellious house, ‘Do you not (J)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the (K)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 [o](L)family and made a covenant with him, [p]putting him under (M)oath. He also took away the (N)mighty of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would (O)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. 15 But [q]he (P)revolted against [r]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many [s]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things (Q)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? 16 As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the [t]country of the king who [u]put him on the throne, whose oath he (R)despised and whose covenant he broke, [v](S)in Babylon he shall certainly die. 17 (T)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not [w]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 [x](U)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 [y]inflict on his head. 20 And I will spread My (V)net over him, and he will be (W)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and (X)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. 21 All the [z](Y)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 [aa]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a (Z)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 (AA)cedar. And [ab]birds of every [ac]kind will [ad]nest under it; they will [ae]nest in the shade of its branches. 24 All the (AB)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 (AC)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:3 Lit and you shall say
- Ezekiel 17:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 17:3 I.e., Nebuchadnezzar
- Ezekiel 17:3 I.e., Jerusalem
- Ezekiel 17:3 I.e., the line of David
- Ezekiel 17:4 I.e., King Jehoiachin and the leaders
- Ezekiel 17:4 I.e., Babylon
- Ezekiel 17:5 I.e., Zedekiah
- Ezekiel 17:5 I.e., Zedekiah
- Ezekiel 17:5 Lit a field of seed
- Ezekiel 17:5 Or plant
- Ezekiel 17:7 As in several ancient versions; MT one
- Ezekiel 17:8 Lit field
- Ezekiel 17:9 Lit arm
- Ezekiel 17:13 Lit seed
- Ezekiel 17:13 Lit and caused him to enter into an oath
- Ezekiel 17:15 I.e., Zedekiah
- Ezekiel 17:15 I.e., Nebuchadnezzar
- Ezekiel 17:15 Lit people
- Ezekiel 17:16 Lit place
- Ezekiel 17:16 Lit made him king
- Ezekiel 17:16 Lit with him in Babylon
- Ezekiel 17:17 Lit act with
- Ezekiel 17:18 Lit gave his hand
- Ezekiel 17:19 Lit give it
- Ezekiel 17:21 As in many mss and ancient versions; MT refugees
- Ezekiel 17:22 Lit give
- Ezekiel 17:23 Lit every bird
- Ezekiel 17:23 Lit wing
- Ezekiel 17:23 Lit dwell
- Ezekiel 17:23 Lit dwell
Ezekiel 17
Easy-to-Read Version
The Eagle and the Vine
17 Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man,[a] I have a story with a hidden meaning for you to tell the family of Israel. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord God says:
“‘A large eagle with big wings came to Lebanon.
He had feathers covered with spots.
4 He broke the top out of that big cedar tree and brought it to Canaan.
He set the branch down in a city of merchants.
5 Then the eagle took some of the seeds from Canaan.
He planted them in good soil by a good river.
6 The seeds grew and became a grapevine.
It was a good vine.
The vine was not tall,
but it spread to cover a large area.
The vine grew stems,
and smaller vines grew very long.
7 Then another eagle with big wings saw the grapevine.
The eagle had many feathers.
The grapevine wanted this new eagle to care for it.
So it stretched its roots and branches toward the eagle.
Its branches stretched toward this eagle.
The branches grew away from the field where it was planted.
The grapevine wanted the new eagle to water it.
8 The grapevine was planted in a good field near plenty of water.
It could have grown branches and fruit.
It could have become a very good grapevine.’”
9 This is what the Lord God says:
“Do you think that plant will succeed?
No, the new eagle will pull the plant from the ground,
and the bird will break the plant’s roots.
It will eat up all the grapes.
Then the new leaves will wilt.
That plant will be very weak.
It will not take strong arms
or a powerful nation to pull that plant up by the roots.
10 Will the plant grow where it is planted?
No, the hot east wind will blow, and the plant will become dry and die.
It will die there where it was planted.”
King Zedekiah Punished
11 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 12 “Explain this story to the people of Israel who always turn against me. Tell them this: The first eagle is the king of Babylonia. He came to Jerusalem and took away the king and other leaders. He brought them to Babylonia. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar made an agreement with a man from the king’s family. Nebuchadnezzar forced that man to make a promise. So this man promised to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar made this man the new king of Judah. Then he took all the powerful men away from Judah. 14 So Judah became a weak kingdom that could not turn against King Nebuchadnezzar. The people were forced to keep the agreement Nebuchadnezzar made with the new king of Judah. 15 But this new king tried to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar anyway! He sent messengers to Egypt to ask for help. The new king asked for many horses and soldiers. Now, do you think the new king of Judah will succeed? Do you think the new king will have enough power to break the agreement and escape punishment?”
16 The Lord God says, “By my life, I swear that this new king will die in Babylonia! Nebuchadnezzar made this man the new king of Judah, but he broke his promise with Nebuchadnezzar. This new king ignored that agreement. 17 The king of Egypt will not be able to save the king of Judah. He might send many soldiers, but Egypt’s great power will not save Judah. Nebuchadnezzar’s army will build dirt roads and dirt walls to capture the city. Many people will die. 18 But the king of Judah will not escape, because he ignored his agreement. He broke his promise to Nebuchadnezzar.” 19 The Lord God makes this promise: “By my life, I swear that I will punish the king of Judah, because he ignored my warnings and broke our agreement. 20 I will set my trap, and he will be caught in it. Then I will bring him to Babylon, and I will punish him there. I will punish him because he turned against me, 21 and I will destroy his army. I will destroy his best soldiers and scatter them to the wind. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I told you these things.”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
“I will take a branch from a tall cedar tree.
I will take a small branch from the top of the tree,
and I myself will plant it on a very high mountain.
23 I myself will plant it on a high mountain in Israel.
That branch will grow into a tree.
It will grow branches and make fruit
and become a beautiful cedar tree.
Many birds will sit on its branches
and live in the shadows under its branches.
24 “Then the other trees will know that
I, the Lord, make tall trees fall to the ground,
and I make small trees grow tall.
I make green trees become dry,
and I make dry trees become green.
I am the Lord.
If I say that I will do something, then I will do it!”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:2 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person” or “a human being.” Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel.
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