Ezekiel 17

1And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

3and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: The great eagle, great in wings, long in pinions, full of plumage, which had variegated feathers, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.’

4He plucked off the topmost of its young shoots and brought it to the land of Canaan; he set it in a city of merchants.

5Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it beside abundant waters, like a willow.

6And it sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in stature, with its branches turned toward him and its roots beneath him. So it became a vine and produced branches and sent out boughs.

7And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches to him, that he might water it from the beds where it was planted.

8It was planted in a good field by abundant waters, to produce branches and bear fruit, to become a majestic vine.

9Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it dries up? All the fresh leaves of its growth will wither. And not by a great arm or by many people will it be lifted from its roots.’

10And look, though it is planted, will it prosper? Will it not completely wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither on the beds where it sprouted.

11And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

12Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its officials and brought them to him in Babylon.’

13And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, bringing him under an oath, and he took the mighty men of the land.

14so that it might become a lowly kingdom, not lifting itself up, but keeping his covenant so as to stand.

15But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he escape, who does these things? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?

16As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he will die.

17Pharaoh will not act for him in the war with a great army and a large assembly, when they cast up a siege ramp and build a siege wall to cut off many lives.

18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant; behold, he had given his hand, yet did all these things. He will not escape.

19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke—I will place them on his own head.

20I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; then I will bring him to Babylon, and there I will enter into judgment with him for his treachery by which he acted treacherously against me.

21And all his fugitives among all his troops will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken.

22Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will take from the top of the lofty cedar and set it out. From the tip of its young shoots I myself will pluck a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

23On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it will put forth branches and bear fruit and become a majestic cedar. Under it every bird of every wing will dwell; in the shade of its boughs they will dwell.

24And all the trees of the field shall know that I am Yahweh: I have brought low the high tree, I have raised up the low tree, I have dried up the green tree, and I have made the dry tree flourish. I am Yahweh; I have spoken, and I have done it.