Ezekiel 17

Revised Geneva Translation

17 And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying,

² “Son of man, put forth a parable and speak a proverb to the House of Israel,

³ “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The great eagle, with great wings, long wings, full of feathers, which had diverse colors, came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar,

⁴ “and broke off the top of his twig and carried it into the land of trade and set it in a city of merchants.

⁵ “He also took from the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful ground. He placed it by great waters and set it as a willow tree.

⁶ “And it budded up and was like a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward it, and its roots were under it. So it became a vine, and it brought forth branches and shot forth buds.

⁷ “There was also another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine turned her roots toward it and spread forth her branches toward it, so that she might water it near the trenches of her planting.

⁸ “It was planted in a good soil by great waters, so that it would bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and be an excellent vine.”’

⁹ “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots and destroy its fruit and cause them to dry up? All the leaves of her bud shall wither without great power or many people to pluck it up by its roots.

¹⁰ “Behold, it was planted, but shall it prosper? Shall it not dry up and wither? When the East wind shall touch it, it shall wither in the trenches where it grew.”’”

¹¹ Moreover, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:

¹² “Now say to this rebellious House, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babel has come to Jerusalem, and has taken its king and its princes and led them with him to Babel,

¹³ ‘and has taken the king’s seed and made a covenant with him and has taken an oath from him. He has also taken the princes of the land,

¹⁴ ‘so that the kingdom might be in subjection, and not lift itself up, keeping their covenant so that it might stand.

¹⁵ ‘But he rebelled against him and sent his ambassadors into Egypt, so that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Or shall he break the covenant and still be delivered?

¹⁶ ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, with him he shall die in the midst of Babel.

¹⁷ ‘Nor shall Pharaoh, with his mighty army and great multitude of people, maintain him in the war when they have cast up siege mounds and built ramparts to destroy many people.

¹⁸ ‘For he has despised the oath and broken the covenant (yet, lo, he had given his hand). Because he has done all these things, he shall not escape.’”

¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, I will surely bring My oath that he has despised, and My Covenant that he has broken, upon his own head.

²⁰ “And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My net. And I will bring him to Babel and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has committed against Me.

²¹ “And all who flee from him, with all his army, shall fall by the sword. And those who remain shall be scattered toward all the winds. And you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it.”

²² Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also take off the top of this high cedar, and will set it out. And I will cut off the top of its tender plant; and I will plant it upon a high and great mountain.

²³ “On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. And it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be an excellent cedar. And all birds shall remain under it. Every bird shall dwell in the shadow of its branches.

²⁴ “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, that I have dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken it and have done it.”