11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to (A)the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed (B)the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. 13 (C)And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, (D)and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, 14 that the kingdom might be (E)brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 But (F)he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, (G)that they might give him horses and many people. (H)Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

16 As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely (I)in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 (J)Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, (K)when they heap up a siege mound and build a [a]wall to cut off many persons. 18 Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact (L)gave[b] his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”

19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. 20 I will (M)spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and (N)try him there for the [c]treason which he committed against Me. 21 (O)All his [d]fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be (P)scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Israel Exalted at Last(Q)

22 Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest (R)branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs (S)a tender one, and will (T)plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 (U)On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. (V)Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, (W)have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; (X)I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:17 Or siege wall
  2. Ezekiel 17:18 Took an oath
  3. Ezekiel 17:20 Lit. unfaithful act
  4. Ezekiel 17:21 So with MT, Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. choice men; Tg. mighty men; LXX omits All his fugitives

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”