Ezekiel 17:2–18

²“Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a ^aparable to the house of Israel,

³¹saying, ‘Thus says the Lord ²God, “A great ^aeagle with ^bgreat wings, long pinions and a full plumage of many colors came to ^cLebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

⁴“He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders.

⁵“He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in ^1afertile soil. He ²placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^bwillow.

⁶“Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.

⁷“But there was ¹another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^aplanted, that he might water it.

⁸“It was planted in good ¹soil beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.” ’

⁹“Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great ¹strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again.

¹⁰“Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^acompletely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?” ’ ”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹²“Say now to the ^arebellious house, ‘Do you not ^bknow what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^cking of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and princes and brought them to him in Babylon.

¹³‘He took one of the royal ^1afamily and made a covenant with him, ²putting him under ^boath. He also took away the ^cmighty of the land,

¹⁴that the kingdom might ^abe ¹in subjection, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant that it might continue.

¹⁵‘But he ^arebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many ¹troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things ^bescape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?

¹⁶‘As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Surely in the ¹country of the king who ²put him on the throne, whose oath he ^adespised and whose covenant he broke, ^3bin Babylon he shall die.

¹⁷‘^aPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not ¹help him in the war, when they cast up ramps and build siege walls to cut off many lives.

¹⁸‘Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^1apledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’ ”