Ezekiel 17 — Legacy Standard Bible

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²“Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a ^aparable to the house of Israel, ³and you will say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A great ^aeagle with ^bgreat wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of ¹many colors came to ^cLebanon and took away the top of the cedar. ⁴“He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. ⁵“He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a ^afield fit for seed. He ¹placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^bwillow. ⁶“Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its foliage turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.

⁷“But there was ¹another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its foliage toward him from the beds where it was ^aplanted, that he might water it. ⁸“It was planted in a good field beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a majestic vine.”’ ⁹“Say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Will it succeed? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it dries up—so that all its sprouting leaves dry up? And neither by great ¹strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰“And behold, though it is planted, will it succeed? Will it not ^acompletely dry up as soon as the east wind strikes it—dry up on the beds where it sprouted?”’”

The King Shall Die in Babylon

¹¹Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹²“Say now to the ^arebellious house, ‘Do you not ^bknow what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^cking of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and princes, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³‘He took one of the royal ^aseed and cut a covenant with him and brought him under ^boath. He also took away the ^cdominant one of the land, ¹⁴that the kingdom might ¹^,^abecome lowly, not lifting itself up, but keeping his covenant that it might continue. ¹⁵‘But he ^arebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt that they might give him horses and many ¹troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things ^bescape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶‘As I live,’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘Surely in the ¹country of the king who made him king, whose oath he ^adespised and whose covenant he broke, ²^,^bin Babylon he shall die. ¹⁷‘^aAnd Pharaoh with his mighty military force and great assembly will not ¹help him in the war, when they cast up ramps and build siege walls to cut off many lives. ¹⁸‘Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ¹^,^apledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “As I live, surely My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will ¹put on his head. ²⁰“I will spread My ^anet over him, and he will be ^bcaught in My snare. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^center into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹“All the ¹^,^achoice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the remnant will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken.”

²²Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on an ^aexalted and lofty mountain. ²³“On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may lift up ¹boughs and yield fruit and become a majestic ^acedar. And birds of every ²kind will dwell under it; they will dwell in the shade of its ³branches. ²⁴“And all the ^atrees of the field will know that I am Yahweh; I bring down the exalted tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^bflourish. I am Yahweh; I have spoken, and I will do it.”