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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”

The Meaning of the Parable

11 This message came to me from the Lord: 12 “Tell my[a] rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean? Look! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, captured her king and princes, and took them with him to Babylon. 13 Then he took one of the royal descendants, made a covenant with him, and put him under an oath of loyalty, taking the leaders of the land captive 14 in order to humiliate the kingdom so it wouldn’t be able to return to power, but would still be able to continue as long as he keeps his covenant. 15 But he rebelled against the king of Babylon[b] by sending his messengers to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Or will the one who did this escape? Will he break the covenant, but still be delivered?’”

God will Punish the King

16 “As long as I live,” declares the Lord God, “in Babylon, that place where the king has enthroned him, whose oath he despised so as to break his covenant, he’ll die with him. 17 Pharaoh, with his massive army and large battalions won’t protect him when mounds and siege walls are built to destroy many people.[c] 18 He despised the oath he had made and broke the covenant. Look! Because he willingly submitted,[d] yet he has done all these things, he won’t escape.

19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says, “As long as I live, because he despised my oath and broke my covenant, he’s going to suffer the consequences.[e] 20 I’ll spread my net over him so that he’ll be caught in my snare. I’ll bring him to Babylon and carry out my sentence there because of his treachery toward me. 21 The fugitives of his troops will die by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the four[f] winds. Then you’ll know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Transplanted Vine

22 This is what the Lord God says, “I’m also going to take a shoot from the top of a cedar and plant it. I’ll pluck off its delicate twigs and transplant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 I’ll transplant it on Israel’s land, and it will grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. All sorts[g] of birds will rest under it, and they’ll settle down in the shade of its branches. 24 Then all the trees of the fields will know that I, the Lord, bring down the lofty tree and exalt the lowly tree. I dry up the green[h] tree and cause the dry tree to bud. I the Lord have spoken this, and I will fulfill it.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:12 Lit. the
  2. Ezekiel 17:15 Lit. against him
  3. Ezekiel 17:17 Lit. souls
  4. Ezekiel 17:18 Lit. He has given his hand
  5. Ezekiel 17:19 Lit. covenant, I’ll bring it upon his head
  6. Ezekiel 17:21 Lit. to all the
  7. Ezekiel 17:23 Lit. wing
  8. Ezekiel 17:24 Or fresh