Ezekiel 17–19

17TH CHAPTER

Judah Is Compared to a Tree

¹The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ²“Son of man, tell this riddle. Give this illustration to the nation of Israel. ³Say, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: A large eagle came to Lebanon. It had large wings with long, colorful feathers. It took hold of the top of a cedar tree. ⁴It broke off the highest twig and carried it to a country of merchants. It planted the twig in a city of merchants. 

⁵“ ‘Then it took a seedling from that country and planted the seedling in fertile soil. The eagle planted the seedling like a willow where there was plenty of water. ⁶The plant sprouted and grew into a low vine that spread over the ground. Its branches turned upward toward the eagle, but its roots grew downward. So it became a vine, producing branches and growing shoots. 

⁷“ ‘There was another large eagle with large wings and many feathers. Now, the vine stretched its roots toward this eagle and sent its branches toward the eagle so that the eagle could water it. The vine turned away from the garden where it was planted. ⁸It was planted in good soil beside plenty of water so that it could grow branches, bear fruit, and become a wonderful vine.’ 

⁹“Tell the nation of Israel, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: Will this vine live and grow? Won’t the first eagle uproot it and tear off its fruit? Then it will wither. All the leaves on its branches will wither. It won’t take much strength or many people to pull the vine up by its roots. ¹⁰It might be planted again, but will it live and grow? It will wither completely when the east wind blows on it. It will certainly wither in the garden where it is growing.’ ” 

¹¹The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ¹²“Ask these rebellious people, ‘Don’t you know what this means?’ Tell them, ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured its king and its leaders. He brought them home with him to Babylon. ¹³Then he took someone from the royal family, made a treaty with him, and made him promise to be loyal. He took away the leading citizens from Judah ¹⁴so that it would remain a humiliated country and be unable to regain its power. The country could only survive by keeping the treaty. ¹⁵But the king of Judah rebelled against the king of Babylon by sending his messengers to Egypt to get horses and many soldiers. Will the king of Judah succeed? Will anyone who does such things escape? He can’t break a treaty and go unpunished. 

¹⁶“ ‘As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, the king of Judah will die in Babylonia. He will die in the country of the king who appointed him king of Judah. The king of Judah broke his promise and his treaty with the king of Babylon. ¹⁷Even with a large army and many people, Pharaoh will not be able to help him in battle when the Babylonians put up dirt ramps and set up blockades to kill many people. ¹⁸The king of Judah broke the promise and the treaty that he pledged to keep. He did all these things, and he can’t go unpunished. 

¹⁹“ ‘So this is what the Almighty Lord says: As I live, I will certainly punish you for rejecting my promise and hating my treaty. ²⁰I will spread my net over you to catch you in my trap. I will take you to Babylon and judge you there for rebelling against me. ²¹The best of your troops will die in battle. Anyone who remains will be scattered in every direction that the wind blows. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken. 

²²“ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I, too, will take hold of the top of a cedar tree. I will break off the highest twig and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³I will plant it on a high mountain in Israel. It will grow branches and produce fruit. It will become a magnificent cedar tree. Every kind of bird will nest in it and find a home in the shelter of its branches. ²⁴Then all the trees in the field will know that I am the Lord. I cut down tall trees, and I make small trees grow tall. I dry up green trees, and I make dry trees grow. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.’ ” 

18TH CHAPTER

Everyone Will Suffer for His Own Sins

¹The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ²“What do you mean when you use this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. ⁴The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die. 

⁵“Suppose a righteous person does what is fair and right. ⁶He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife or have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is having her period. ⁷He doesn’t oppress anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ⁸He doesn’t lend money for interest or make an excessive profit. He refuses to do evil things, and he judges everyone fairly. ⁹He lives by my rules and obeys my laws faithfully. This person is righteous. He will certainly live,” declares the Almighty Lord. 

¹⁰“But suppose this person has a son who robs and murders. The son does all the things ¹¹that his father never did. He eats at the illegal mountain worship sites. He dishonors his neighbor’s wife. ¹²He oppresses the poor and needy. He robs. He doesn’t return the security for a loan. He looks to idols for help. He does disgusting things. ¹³He lends money for interest and makes excessive profits. Will this person live? He will not live. He has done all these disgusting things. So he must die, and he will be responsible for his own death. 

¹⁴“But suppose this person has a son. The son sees all the sins that his father does. He is afraid, so he doesn’t do such things.^a15He doesn’t eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t dishonor his neighbor’s wife. ¹⁶He doesn’t oppress anyone. He doesn’t keep the security for a loan. He doesn’t rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked. ¹⁷He refuses to hurt the poor. He doesn’t charge interest or make excessive profits. He obeys my rules and lives by my laws. He won’t die for his father’s sins. He will certainly live. ¹⁸But his father has oppressed others, robbed his relative, and done what is wrong among his people. So the father will die because of his sin. 

¹⁹“But you ask, ‘Why isn’t the son punished for his father’s sin?’ It is because the son has done what is fair and right. He obeyed my rules and followed them. He will certainly live. ²⁰The person who sins will die. A son will not be punished for his father’s sins, and a father will not be punished for his son’s sins. The righteousness of the righteous person will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be his own. 

²¹“But suppose a wicked person turns away from all the sins that he has done. He obeys all my laws and does what is fair and right. He will certainly live. He will not die. ²²All the rebellious things that he did will not be remembered. He will live because of the right things that he did. ²³I don’t want wicked people to die.” declares the Almighty Lord. “I want them to turn from their evil ways and live. 

²⁴“But suppose a righteous person turns away from doing right and he does evil things. He does all the disgusting things that the wicked person did. Will he live? All the right things that he has done will not be remembered because of his unfaithfulness and because of his sin. He will die because of them. 

²⁵“But you say, ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Listen, nation of Israel, isn’t my way fair? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair? ²⁶When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. ²⁷When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. ²⁸He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die. 

²⁹“But the nation of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Isn’t my way fair, nation of Israel? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair? 

³⁰“That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel,” declares the Almighty Lord. “Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. ³¹Stop all the rebellious things that you are doing. Get yourselves new hearts and new spirits. Why do you want to die, nation of Israel? ³²I don’t want anyone to die,” declares the Almighty Lord. “Change the way you think and act!” 

19TH CHAPTER

Funeral Songs for Israel’s Princes

¹Sing a funeral song for the princes of Israel. ²Say: 

Your mother was like a lioness. 

She lay down among the lions. 

She fed many cubs. 

³One of the cubs she raised became a young lion. 

He learned to tear apart the animals he hunted. 

He ate people. 

⁴The nations heard about him, 

caught him in their pit, 

and brought him with hooks to Egypt. 

⁵The lioness waited until she saw that there was no more hope. 

Then she took another one of her cubs 

and raised him into a young lion. 

⁶He became a young lion, and he prowled among the lions. 

He learned to tear apart the animals he hunted. 

He ate people. 

⁷He destroyed fortresses 

and turned cities into wastelands. 

The land and everyone living in it 

were terrified by the sound of his roar. 

⁸The nations from every region came together against him. 

They spread their net over him 

and caught him in their pit. 

⁹With hooks they put him in a cage 

and brought him to the king of Babylon. 

They put him in prison 

so that his roar wouldn’t be heard anymore 

on the mountains of Israel. 

¹⁰Your mother was like a grapevine 

that was planted near water. 

It had a…