Ezekiel, 17

1. Thus the word of the LORD came to me:

1. The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,

2. Son of man, propose a riddle, and speak this proverb to the house of Israel:

2. 'Son of man, put a riddle, propound a parable to the House of Israel.

3. Thus speaks the Lord GOD: The great eagle, with great wings, with long pinions, with thick plumage, many-hued, came to Lebanon. He took the crest of the cedar,

3. Say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: A great eagle with great wings, long-pinioned, rich with many-coloured plumage, came to the Lebanon.

4. tearing off its topmost branch, And brought it to a land of tradesmen, set it in a city of merchants.

4. He took the top of the cedar tree, he plucked off the top branch, he carried it off to the country of merchants and set it down in a city of shopkeepers.

5. Then he took some seed of the land, and planted it in a seedbed; A shoot by plentiful waters, like a willow he placed it,

5. Next, he took one of the country's seeds and put it in a fertile field; by the side of a generous stream, like a willow tree, he placed it.

6. To sprout and grow up a vine, dense and low-lying, Its branches turned toward him, its roots lying under him. Thus it became a vine, produced branches and put forth shoots.

6. It grew and became a fruitful vine of modest size, grew up towards the eagle, its roots grew downwards. So it became a vine, branching out and sprouting new shoots.

7. But there was another great eagle, great of wing, rich in plumage; To him this vine bent its roots, sent out its branches, That he might water it more freely than the bed where it was planted.

7. But there was another great eagle with great wings and thick plumage. And now the vine twisted its roots towards him and stretched its branches towards him, for him to water it away from the bed where it was planted.

8. In a fertile field by plentiful waters it was planted, to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic vine.

8. It was in a fertile field, by the side of a wide stream that the vine had been planted, to branch out and bear fruit and become a noble vine."

9. Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Can it prosper? Will he not rather tear it out by the roots and strip off its fruit, so that all its green growth will wither when he pulls it up by the roots? (No need of a mighty arm or many people to do this.)

9. Say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Will it succeed? Will the eagle not tear out its roots and strip off its fruit, so that all the new leaves it puts out will wither, and no great strength is needed nor many people to pull it up by the roots?

10. True, it is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not rather wither, when touched by the east wind, in the bed where it grew?

10. Planted it may be -- will it succeed? Will it not shrivel up when the east wind blows? It will wither in the bed where it was growing!" '

11. Thus the word of the LORD came to me:

11. The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows:

12. Son of man, say now to the rebellious house: Do you not understand what this means? It is this: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took away its king and princes with him to Babylon.

12. 'Say to that tribe of rebels, "Do you not know what this means?" Say this, 'Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem; he carried away the king and the princes, and took them to his home in Babylon.

13. Then he selected a man of the royal line with whom he made a covenant, binding him under oath, while removing the nobles of the land,

13. He took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, forcing him to swear loyalty, having already deported the leading men of the country,

14. so that the kingdom would remain a modest one, without aspirations, and would keep his covenant and obey him.

14. so that the kingdom would remain modest and without ambitions, and would keep and honour his treaty.

15. But this man rebelled against him, sending envoys to Egypt to obtain horses and a great army. Can he prosper? Can he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still go free?

15. But the prince rebelled against him and sent envoys to Egypt to procure himself horses and a large number of troops. Will he succeed? Will a man who has done this go unpunished? Can he break a treaty and go unpunished?

16. As I live, says the Lord GOD, in the home of the king who set him up to rule, whose oath he spurned, whose covenant with him he broke, there in Babylon I swear he shall die!

16. As I live, I swear it -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- in Babylon, in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he has disregarded and whose treaty he has broken, there he will die.

17. When ramps are cast up and siege towers are built for the destruction of many lives, he shall not be saved in the conflict by Pharaoh with a great army and numerous troops.

17. Despite the pharaoh's great army and hordes of men, he will not be able to save him by fighting, however many earthworks are raised, however many trenches dug to the loss of many lives.

18. He spurned his oath, breaking his covenant. Though he gave his hand in pledge, he did all these things. He shall not escape!

18. He has disregarded the oath by breaking the treaty to which he had pledged himself and, having done all this, will not go unpunished.

19. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, my oath which he spurned, my covenant which he broke, I swear to bring down upon his head.

19. "So, the Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, I swear it: my oath which he has disregarded, my treaty which he has broken, I shall make them both recoil on his own head.

20. I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there over his breaking faith with me.

20. I shall throw my net over him, he will be caught in my mesh; I shall take him to Babylon and punish him there for being unfaithful to me.

21. All the crack troops among his forces shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered in every direction. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.

21. All the pick of all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors be scattered to all the winds. And you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken.

22. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, And plant it on a high and lofty mountain;

22. "The Lord Yahweh says this: From the top of the tall cedar tree, from the highest branch I shall take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and lofty mountain.

23. on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.

23. I shall plant it on the highest mountain in Israel. It will put out branches and bear fruit and grow into a noble cedar tree. Every kind of bird will live beneath it, every kind of winged creature will rest in the shade of its branches.

24. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, Bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, Wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.

24. And all the trees of the countryside will know that I, Yahweh, am the one who lays the tall tree low and raises the low tree high, who makes the green tree wither and makes the withered bear fruit. I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it." '