Zedekiah’s Rebellion

11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the (A)rebellious house, ‘Do you not (B)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the (C)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 [a](D)family and made a covenant with him, [b]putting him under (E)oath. He also took away the (F)mighty of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would (G)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. 15 But [c]he (H)revolted against [d]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many [e]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things (I)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? 16 As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the [f]country of the king who [g]put him on the throne, whose oath he (J)despised and whose covenant he broke, [h](K)in Babylon he shall certainly die. 17 (L)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not [i]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 [j](M)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 [k]inflict on his head. 20 And I will spread My (N)net over him, and he will be (O)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and (P)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. 21 All the [l](Q)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 [m]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a (R)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 (S)cedar. And [n]birds of every [o]kind will [p]nest under it; they will [q]nest in the shade of its branches. 24 All the (T)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 (U)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:13 Lit seed
  2. Ezekiel 17:13 Lit and caused him to enter into an oath
  3. Ezekiel 17:15 I.e., Zedekiah
  4. Ezekiel 17:15 I.e., Nebuchadnezzar
  5. Ezekiel 17:15 Lit people
  6. Ezekiel 17:16 Lit place
  7. Ezekiel 17:16 Lit made him king
  8. Ezekiel 17:16 Lit with him in Babylon
  9. Ezekiel 17:17 Lit act with
  10. Ezekiel 17:18 Lit gave his hand
  11. Ezekiel 17:19 Lit give it
  12. Ezekiel 17:21 As in many mss and ancient versions; MT refugees
  13. Ezekiel 17:22 Lit give
  14. Ezekiel 17:23 Lit every bird
  15. Ezekiel 17:23 Lit wing
  16. Ezekiel 17:23 Lit dwell
  17. Ezekiel 17:23 Lit dwell

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”