Yechezkel - Chapter 17

1. Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2. "Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.

3. And you shall say; So said the Lord God: The great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, who had diverse colors, came to the Lebanon and took the lofty top of the cedar.

4. He plucked the top of its branches and brought it to a land of merchants; in a city of traffickers he placed it.

5. Then he took of the seed of the land and placed it in a fertile field; it took [root] beside abundant waters; a mountain willow he made it.

6. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, to turn its tendrils to him, and its roots were under him, and it became a vine and it sprouted branches and sent forth boughs.

7. Now there was one great eagle with great wings and many feathers, and behold, this vine gathered its roots upon him, and its tendrils it sent forth to him, to water it from the furrows of its planting.

8. In a good field, beside abundant waters it is planted, to sprout branches and to bear fruit, to become a sturdy vine.

9. Say; So said the Lord God: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit so that it will wither? All the leaves of its plant will dry up, and not with great power and many people [will he come] against those who rip it out by its roots.

10. And behold it is planted-will it prosper? when the east wind touches it, will it not wither? By the furrows of its planting it will wither."

11. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

12. "Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these are? Say; Behold the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.

13. And he took of the royal seed and formed a covenant with him, and he brought him into an oath and the mighty of the land he took away.

14. To be a lowly kingdom, that it might not elevate itself, to keep his covenant that it might stand.

15. But he rebelled against him by sending his emissaries to Egypt to give him horses and many men. Will he prosper? Will one who does these escape? Can one violate a covenant and escape?

16. As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the locality of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he violated, with him in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.

17. And not with a great army and a great multitude will Pharaoh aid him in the war, when he casts up mounds and builds forts, to cut off many souls.

18. Seeing that he disparaged the oath to break the covenant, and behold he gave his hand, yet he did all these! He shall not escape.

19. Therefore, so said the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath that he disparaged and My covenant that he broke, I will bring it upon his head.

20. And I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and contend with him there for his treachery that he committed against Me.

21. And all his fugitives with all his wings shall fall by the sword, and the survivors will disperse in every direction and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

22. So says the Lord God: And I Myself will take from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will place [it]; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I Myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain.

23. In the mountain of the height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bear boughs and bring forth fruit and become a sturdy cedar, and under it shall dwell all birds of every feather; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

24. And all the trees of the field will recognize that I, the Lord, have lowered the high tree, have raised aloft the low tree; that I have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree blossom. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will accomplish it."