There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;

13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:

14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

16 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.

20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

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“‘“And there was another great eagle, great of wings and with abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed where it was planted.[a] It was planted in[b] a good field by[c] many waters[d] to produce branches[e] and to bear fruit to become[f] a beautiful vine.”’[g] Say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots will not require great strength or many people.[h] 10 And look! Though it is planted, will it prosper? When the east wind strikes it,[i] will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!”’”

11 And the word of Yahweh came[j] to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, ‘Do you not know what these are?’[k] Say, ‘Look! The king of Babylon will come to Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring[l] them to himself,[m] 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,[n] 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.[o] 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,’[p] declares[q] the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely[r] in the place of the king who made[s] 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[t] 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,[u] surely[v] 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,[w] they will be scattered to all the directions of the wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:7 Literally “from the garden bed of its planting”
  2. Ezekiel 17:8 Or “to”
  3. Ezekiel 17:8 Or “to”
  4. Ezekiel 17:8 Hebrew “water”
  5. Ezekiel 17:8 Hebrew “branch”
  6. Ezekiel 17:8 Hebrew “be”
  7. Ezekiel 17:8 Literally “to a vine of splendor”
  8. Ezekiel 17:9 Literally “not with strong arm and with many people”
  9. Ezekiel 17:10 Literally “at striking her/it the wind of the east”
  10. Ezekiel 17:11 Literally “was”
  11. Ezekiel 17:12 Or “mean”
  12. Ezekiel 17:12 Or “take”
  13. Ezekiel 17:12 Hebrew “him”
  14. Ezekiel 17:13 Literally “and he brought him into oath”
  15. Ezekiel 17:14 Literally “to standing her”; or “to let her stand”
  16. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “live I”
  17. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “declaration of”
  18. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “if not”
  19. Ezekiel 17:16 Literally “who he was making”
  20. Ezekiel 17:17 Or “help/aid”
  21. Ezekiel 17:19 Literally “live I”
  22. Ezekiel 17:19 Literally “if not”
  23. Ezekiel 17:21 Or “left over”