11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Now say to that rebellious house,(A) ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and officials,(B) and brought them back with him to Babylon. 13 He took one of the royal family(C) and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath.(D) Then he took away the leading men of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be humble and not exalt itself(E) but would keep his covenant in order to endure. 15 However, this king revolted against him(F) by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so they might give him horses and a large army.(G) 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,(H) whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast company will not help him in battle,(I) 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.(J) 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,(K) and he will be caught in my snare.(L) I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for the treachery he committed against me.(M) 21 All the fugitives[a] among his troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every direction of the wind.(N) 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.(O)
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(P)
so that it may bear branches, produce fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,(Q)
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.(R)
I cause the green tree to wither
and make the withered tree thrive.(S)
I, the Lord, have spoken
and I will do it.’”(T)

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Footnotes

  1. 17:21 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg read choice men

11 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, ‘Do you not know what these are?’[b] Say, ‘Look! The king of Babylon will come to Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring[c] them to himself,[d] to Babylon. 13 And he took from the seed of the kingship, and he made with him a covenant, and he brought him under oath,[e] and he took the rulers of the land, 14 so that they would be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant in order for it to stand.[f] 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these things, and can he break the covenant and escape? 16 As I live,’[g] declares[h] the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely[i] in the place of the king who made[j] him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him—in the midst of Babylon he will die. 17 And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work[k] with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives. 18 And he despised the oath to break covenant. And, look, he gave his hand in pledge, and yet he did all of these things. He will not escape.’ 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘As I live,[l] surely[m] my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke I will return upon his head. 20 And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there about his infidelity that he displayed against me. 21 And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and those who are remaining,[n] they will be scattered to all the directions of the wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.’ 22 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘And I will take, even I, from the treetop of the high cedar, and I will plant it, from the head of its new plant shoot I will pluck a tender one, and I will plant it, even I, on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the height of the mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it will carry[o] branches,[p] and it will bear fruit, and it will become a noble cedar,[q] and all of the birds of all wings[r] will dwell under it in the shade of its branches. 24 And all of the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, I will bring low a high tree, and I will exalt a low, fresh tree, and I will make a dry tree flourish. I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will do it.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:11 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 17:12 Or “mean”
  3. Ezekiel 17:12 Or “take”
  4. Ezekiel 17:12 Hebrew “him”
  5. Ezekiel 17:13 Literally “and he brought him into oath”
  6. Ezekiel 17:14 Literally “to standing her”; or “to let her stand”
  7. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “live I”
  8. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “declaration of”
  9. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “if not”
  10. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “who he was making”
  11. Ezekiel 17:17 Or “help/aid”
  12. Ezekiel 17:19 Literally “live I”
  13. Ezekiel 17:19 Literally “if not”
  14. Ezekiel 17:21 Or “left over”
  15. Ezekiel 17:23 Or “bear”
  16. Ezekiel 17:23 Hebrew “branch”
  17. Ezekiel 17:23 Literally “he will be to a cedar noble”
  18. Ezekiel 17:23 Or “kinds”