Chapter 17

¹ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel: ³ and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord;

Ezk 17:1-3

⁴ he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Canaan; he laid them up in a walled city. ⁵ And he took of the seed of the land, and sowed it in a field planted by much water; he set it in a conspicuous place. ⁶ And it sprang up, and became a weak and little vine, so that the branches thereof appeared [upon] it, and its roots were under it: and it became a vine, and put forth shoots, and sent forth its tendrils.

Ezk 17:4-6

⁷ And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward him, and her roots [were turned] toward him, and she sent forth her branches toward him, that [he] might water her together with the growth of her plantation. ⁸ She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine.

Ezk 17:7-8

⁹ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the roots of her tender stem and her fruit be blighted? yea, all her early shoots shall be dried up, and [that] not by a mighty arm, nor by many people, to tear her up from her roots. ¹⁰ And, behold, it thrives: shall it prosper? shall it not wither as soon as the east wind touches it? it shall be withered together with the growth of its shoots.

Ezk 17:9-10

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know ye not what these things were? say [to them], Whenever the king of Babylon shall come against Jerusalem, then he shall take her king and her princes, and shall take them home to Babylon. ¹³ And he shall take of the seed royal, and shall make a covenant with him, and shall bind him with an oath: and he shall take the princes of the land: ¹⁴ that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that he may keep his covenant, and establish it. ¹⁵ And [if] he shall revolt from him, to send his messengers into Egypt, that [they] may give him horses and much people; shall he prosper? shall he that acts as an adversary be preserved? and shall he that transgresses the covenant be preserved?

Ezk 17:11-15

¹⁶ [As] I live, saith the Lord, verily in [the same] place where the king is that made him king, who dishonored my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon. ¹⁷ And Pharaoh shall make war upon him not with a large force or great multitude, in throwing up a mound, and in building of forts, to cut off souls. ¹⁸ Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when, behold, I engaged his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall not escape.

Ezk 17:16-18

¹⁹ Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; [As] I live, surely mine oath which he has profaned, and my covenant which he has transgressed, I will even recompense it upon his head. ²⁰ And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare. ²¹ In every battle of his they shall fall by the sword, and I will scatter [his] remnant to every wind: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

Ezk 17:19-21

²² For thus saith the Lord; I will even take of the choice [branches] of the cedar from the top [thereof], I will crop off their hearts, and I will plant it on a high mountain: ²³ and I will hang it on a lofty mountain of Israel: yea, I will plant it, and it shall put forth shoots, and shall bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar: and every bird shall rest beneath it, even every fowl shall rest under its shadow: its branches shall be restored. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord that bring low the high tree, and exalt the low tree, and wither the green tree, and cause the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].

Ezk 17:22-24