Ezekiel 17

¹ And there is a word of Yahweh unto me, saying, ² "Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel, ³ and you have said: Thus said the Lord Yahweh: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that has diverse colors, Has come in unto Lebanon, And it takes the foliage of the cedar, ⁴ The top of its tender twigs it has cropped, And it brings it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it has placed it. ⁵ And it takes of the seed of the land, And does put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it has set it. ⁶ And it springs up, and becomes a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becomes a vine, and makes boughs, And sends forth beauteous branches. ⁷ And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine has bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it has sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting, ⁸ On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine. ⁹ Say: Thus said the Lord Yahweh: It prospers - its roots does he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? [In] all the leaves of its springing it withers, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots. ¹⁰ And lo, the planted thing - does it prosper? When come against it does the east wind, Does it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withers." ¹¹ And there is a word of Yahweh unto me, saying: ¹² "Say, I pray you, to the rebellious house, Have you not known what these [are]? Say, Lo, come has the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he takes its king, and its princes, And brings them to himself to Babylon. ¹³ And he takes of the seed of the kingdom, And makes with him a covenant, And brings him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he has taken, ¹⁴ That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant - that it may stand. ¹⁵ And he rebels against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Does he prosper? does he escape who is doing these things? And has he broken covenant and escaped? ¹⁶ I live - an affirmation of the Lord Yahweh, Does he not - in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he has despised, And whose covenant he has broken, With him - in the midst of Babylon - die? ¹⁷ And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Does Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls. ¹⁸ And he despised the oath - to break covenant, And lo, he has given his hand, And all these he has done, he escapes not. ¹⁹ Therefore, thus said the Lord Yahweh: I live - Mine oath that he has despised, And My covenant that he has broken, Have I not put it on his head? ²⁰ And I have spread out for him My snare, And he has been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he has trespassed against Me. ²¹ And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And you have known that I, Yahweh, have spoken. ²² Thus said the Lord Yahweh: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set [it], From the top of its tender shoots a tender one I crop, And I - I have planted [it] on a mountain high and lofty. ²³ In a mountain - the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it has borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell. ²⁴ And known have all trees of the field That I, Yahweh, have made low the high tree, I have set on high the low tree, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, Yahweh, have spoken, and have done [it]!"