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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.(A) 13 He took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (he had taken away the chief men of the land),(B) 14 so that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.(C) 15 But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?(D) 16 As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die.(E) 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.(F) 18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.(G) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me.(H) 21 All the pick[a] of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.(I)
Israel Exalted at Last
22 Thus says the Lord God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender shoot
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will transplant it
on a high and lofty mountain.(J)
23 On the mountain height of Israel
I will transplant it,
and it will produce boughs and bear fruit
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.(K)
24 All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree;
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken;
I will accomplish it.(L)
Footnotes
- 17.21 Or fugitives
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