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Ezekiel 17:11-24
New English Translation
Ezekiel 17:11-24
New English Translation
11 Then the Lord’s message came to me: 12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel:[a] ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’[b] Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 13 He took one from the royal family,[c] made a treaty with him, and put him under oath.[d] He then took the leaders of the land 14 so it would be a lowly kingdom that could not rise on its own but had to keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 15 But this one from Israel’s royal family[e] rebelled against the king of Babylon[f] by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?
16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, surely in the city[g] of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help[h] him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege walls are built to kill many people. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note[i]—he gave his promise[j] and did all these things. He will not escape!
19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him[k] for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 21 All the choice men[l] among his troops will die[m] by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!
22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig[n] from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.[o]
I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;
I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,
and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.
Every bird will live under it;
Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.
24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.
I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.
I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.
I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 17:12 tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
- Ezekiel 17:12 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.
- Ezekiel 17:13 tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).
- Ezekiel 17:13 tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”
- Ezekiel 17:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 17:15 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 17:16 tn Heb “place.”
- Ezekiel 17:17 tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”
- Ezekiel 17:18 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.
- Ezekiel 17:18 sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).
- Ezekiel 17:19 tn Heb “place it on his head.”
- Ezekiel 17:21 tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhayv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharayv).
- Ezekiel 17:21 tn Heb “fall.”
- Ezekiel 17:22 sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4, although the technical terminology is not the same.
- Ezekiel 17:22 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
Ezekiel 17:11-24
New International Version
Ezekiel 17:11-24
New International Version
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say to this rebellious people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?(A)’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles,(B) bringing them back with him to Babylon.(C) 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty(D) with him, putting him under oath.(E) He also carried away the leading men(F) of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low,(G) unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15 But the king rebelled(H) against him by sending his envoys to Egypt(I) to get horses and a large army.(J) Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?(K)
16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die(L) in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke.(M) 17 Pharaoh(N) with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps(O) are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.(P) 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge(Q) and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.
19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.(R) 20 I will spread my net(S) for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment(T) on him there because he was unfaithful(U) to me. 21 All his choice troops will fall by the sword,(V) and the survivors(W) will be scattered to the winds.(X) Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken.(Y)
22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot(Z) from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.(AA) 23 On the mountain heights(AB) of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit(AC) and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.(AD) 24 All the trees of the forest(AE) will know that I the Lord bring down(AF) the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.(AG)
“‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.(AH)’”
New English Translation (NET)
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