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The Riddle Explained

11 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 12 “Say to these rebels of Israel: Don’t you understand the meaning of this riddle of the eagles? The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took away her king and princes, and brought them to Babylon. 13 He made a treaty with a member of the royal family and forced him to take an oath of loyalty. He also exiled Israel’s most influential leaders, 14 so Israel would not become strong again and revolt. Only by keeping her treaty with Babylon could Israel survive.

15 “Nevertheless, this man of Israel’s royal family rebelled against Babylon, sending ambassadors to Egypt to request a great army and many horses. Can Israel break her sworn treaties like that and get away with it? 16 No! For as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, the king of Israel will die in Babylon, the land of the king who put him in power and whose treaty he disregarded and broke. 17 Pharaoh and all his mighty army will fail to help Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem again and destroys many lives. 18 For the king of Israel disregarded his treaty and broke it after swearing to obey; therefore, he will not escape.

19 “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will punish him for breaking my covenant and disregarding the solemn oath he made in my name. 20 I will throw my net over him and capture him in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and put him on trial for this treason against me. 21 And all his best warriors[a] will be killed in battle, and those who survive will be scattered to the four winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

22 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take a branch from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain. 23 It will become a majestic cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree new life. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said!”

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Footnotes

  1. 17:21 As in many Hebrew manuscripts; Masoretic Text reads his fleeing warriors. The meaning is uncertain.

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”