Ezekiel 17
1And
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2Son
of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
3And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which
had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a
city of merchants.
5He took also of the seed
of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
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.
7There was also another great eagle with great
wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that
he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.
8It
was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might
be a goodly vine.
9Say thou, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall
wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
10Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when
the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
11Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king
of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
13And hath taken of the king's seed, and made
a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:
14That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by
keeping of his covenant it might stand.
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? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?
16As I live, saith the Lord GOD, 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.
17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in
the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:
18Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done
all these things, he shall not escape.
19Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will
I recompense upon his own head.
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 plead with him there
for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
21And
all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and
ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
22Thus
saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top
of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
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 fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches
thereof shall they dwell.
24And all the trees
of the field shall know that I the LORD 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 the LORD have spoken and have done it.
