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Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a (A)parable to the house of Israel, and you will say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A great (B)eagle with (C)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of [a]many colors came to (D)Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a (E)field fit for seed. He [b]placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a (F)willow. Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its foliage turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.

“But there was [c]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its foliage toward him from the beds where it was (G)planted, that he might water it. It was planted in a good field beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a majestic vine.”’ Say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Will it succeed? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it dries up—so that all its sprouting leaves dry up? And neither by great [d]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. 10 And behold, though it is planted, will it succeed? Will it not (H)completely dry up as soon as the east wind strikes it—dry up on the beds where it sprouted?”’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:3 Or embroidery, cf. 16:18
  2. Ezekiel 17:5 Lit took
  3. Ezekiel 17:7 As in several ancient versions; M.T. one
  4. Ezekiel 17:9 Lit arm

The Two Eagles and the Vine

17 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel; say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar; 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. Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine, and brought forth branches and put forth foliage.

“But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him that he might water it. From the bed where it was planted he transplanted it[a] to good soil by abundant waters, that it might bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and become a noble vine. Say, Thus says the Lord God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its branches,[b] 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, when it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it grew?”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:8 Cn: Heb it was transplanted
  2. Ezekiel 17:9 Cn: Heb fruit