Ezekiel 17
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 “Son of man, propose a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel.
3 And say: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: «A great eagle, with great wings and long feathers, covered in colorful plumage, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
4 It plucked off the tip of its young branches and carried it to the land of Canaan; it set it in a city of merchants.
5 Then it took a seed from the land and put it in a field for planting; it carried it beside abundant waters and planted it like a willow.
6 It sprouted and became a spreading vine of low stature, with its branches turned toward the eagle and its roots beneath it. So it became a vine, put out branches, and sent out shoots.
7 There was another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers; and that vine turned its roots toward it and stretched its branches toward it, so it could water it, away from the beds where it had been planted.
8 It had been planted in good soil, beside abundant waters, to put out branches, bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.»’
9 Say: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: «Will it thrive? Won’t its roots be torn out and its fruit stripped away, so that it withers? All its fresh leaves will wither; no strong arm or large force will be needed to pull it up by its roots.
10 Look, it has been planted. Will it thrive? When the east wind touches it, won’t it wither completely? It will wither in the beds where it sprouted.»’”
11 The word of the LORD came to me:
12 “Say now to the rebellious house: ‘Don’t you know what this means?’ Say: ‘Look: the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them with him to Babylon.’”
13 “‘He took someone from the royal family, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath; he also took the powerful men of the land.
14 The kingdom was to be humbled and kept from rising up, by keeping his covenant so it could stand.
15 But he rebelled against the king and sent his messengers to Egypt to get horses and a large force. Will he thrive? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?
16 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, there in Babylon he will die.
17 Pharaoh will do nothing for him in battle, even with a great army and a large crowd, when ramps are raised and siege walls are built to take many lives.
18 He despised the oath and broke the covenant. Look, he gave his hand and did all these things. He will not escape.
19 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: «As surely as I live, I will bring down on his head my oath, which he despised, and my covenant, which he broke.
20 I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon and there I will judge him for the unfaithfulness he committed against me.
21 All his fugitives, in all his troops, will fall by the sword; and those who remain will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.»
22 This is what the Lord GOD says: «I myself will take a sprig from the top of the cedar and set it there; from the highest of its young branches I will pluck a tender shoot, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 I will plant it on Israel’s high mountain; it will put out branches and bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Every kind of bird will live beneath it, and they will dwell in the shade of its branches.
24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I, the LORD, have brought down the tall tree and raised up the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.»’”
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