Ezekiel 17

1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

1The word of the LORD came to me, saying:

2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

2"Son of man, tell a riddle and a parable to the people of Israel.

3and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

3Say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with huge wings, long feathers, and thick, multi-colored plumage came to Lebanon. He took hold of the top of a cedar tree.

4he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

4He broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants; he set it down in a city of traders.

5He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow-tree.

5Then he took some seed from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it like a willow tree next to plenty of water.

6And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

6It grew and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained under him. So it became a vine, producing branches and sending out shoots.

7There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

7But there was another great eagle with huge wings and many feathers. This vine then stretched its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, hoping he would water it.

8It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

8It had been planted in good soil beside plenty of water so that it could produce branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent vine.'

9Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof.

9Say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it succeed? Won't the first eagle pull it up by the roots and strip off its fruit so that it withers? All its new leaves will dry up. It won't take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.

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

10Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Won't it wither completely when the east wind blows on it? It will wither right in the garden bed where it grew.'"

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

11Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

12Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon.

12"Ask this rebellious nation, 'Don't you know what these things mean?' Tell them: 'The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.

13And he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;

13He took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the leading men of the land,

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

14so that the kingdom would be humbled and not rise up again, and that it would survive only by keeping his treaty.

15But 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? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?

15But the king of Judah rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape after doing such things? Can he break a treaty and still go free?

16As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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.

16As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he ignored and whose treaty he broke.

17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.

17Pharaoh with his mighty army and many troops will be of no help to him in the war, when the Babylonians build ramps and siege walls to destroy many lives.

18For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet hath done all these things; he shall not escape.

18Because the king ignored the oath and broke the treaty—even though he had given his hand in a promise—and did all these things, he will not escape.

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

19Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his head my own oath that he despised and my own treaty that he broke.

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

20I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to me.

21And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

21All his best soldiers will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the four winds. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.'

22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain:

22This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a tall cedar and plant it. I will break off a tender twig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

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

23I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow branches, produce fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.

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

24Then all the trees of the field will know that I, the LORD, bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow high. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it."