Ezekiel 17–19

Two Eagles and a Vine

17A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, tell the people of Israel a story about their kings. Let them know what will happen to them. ³Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “A great eagle came to the city of ‘Lebanon.’ It had powerful wings and a lot of long feathers. The feathers were colorful and beautiful. The eagle landed in the top of a cedar tree. ⁴It broke off the highest twig. It carried it away to Babylonia. There are many traders in that land. The eagle planted the twig in the city of Babylon.

⁵“ ‘ “Then it got a seed from your land. It put it in rich soil near plenty of water. It planted the seed like a willow tree. ⁶The seed grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the eagle. And its roots remained under the eagle. So the seed became a vine. It produced branches and put out leaves.

⁷“ ‘ “But there was another great eagle. It also had powerful wings and a lot of feathers. The vine now sent its roots out toward that eagle. It sent them out from the place where it was planted. And it reached out its branches to the eagle for water. ⁸The seed had been planted in good soil near plenty of water. Then it could produce branches and bear fruit. It could become a beautiful vine.” ’

⁹“Ezekiel, tell the Israelites, ‘The Lord and King asks, “Will the vine grow? Won’t it be pulled up by its roots? Won’t all of its fruit be stripped off? Won’t it dry up? All of its new growth will dry up. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up. ¹⁰It will not grow even if it is pulled up and planted somewhere else. It will dry up completely when the east wind strikes it. It will dry up in the place where it grew.” ’ ”

¹¹A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ¹²“These people refuse to obey me. Ask them, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem. He was king of Babylonia. He carried off King Jehoiachin and the nobles. He brought them back with him to the city of Babylon.

¹³“ ‘Then Nebuchadnezzar made a peace treaty with Zedekiah. He was a member of Jerusalem’s royal family. Nebuchadnezzar made him take an oath and promise he would keep the treaty. He also took the leading men of the land away as prisoners. ¹⁴He did it to bring their kingdom down. It would not rise again. In fact, it would be able to last only by keeping his treaty.

¹⁵“ ‘But Zedekiah turned against him. He sent messengers to Egypt. They went there to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does things like that escape? Can he break the peace treaty and still escape?

¹⁶“ ‘Zedekiah will die in Babylon,’ announces the Lord and King. ‘And that is just as sure as I am alive. He will die in the land of King Nebuchadnezzar, who put him on the throne. He is the king whose oath Zedekiah hated. He also broke Nebuchadnezzar’s treaty.

¹⁷“ ‘So Nebuchadnezzar will build ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. He will set up war machines to destroy many lives. Pharaoh will not be able to help Zedekiah during the war. The huge and mighty army of Egypt will not be of any help.

¹⁸“ ‘Zedekiah hated Nebuchadnezzar’s oath and broke his treaty. He had made a firm promise to keep it. But he broke it anyway. So he will not escape.

¹⁹“ ‘The Lord and King says, “Zedekiah hated the oath he took in my name. He broke the treaty. So I will pay him back. And that is just as sure as I am alive. ²⁰I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. I will judge him there because he was not faithful to me.

²¹“ ‘ “All of Zedekiah’s troops will be killed with swords when they try to run away. Those who are left alive will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

²²“ ‘The Lord and King says, “I myself will get a twig from the very top of a cedar tree and plant it. I will break off the highest twig. I will plant it on a very high mountain. ²³I will plant it on the high mountains of Israel. It will produce branches and bear fruit. It will become a beautiful cedar tree. All kinds of birds will make their nests in it. They will live in the shade of its branches. ²⁴All of the trees in the fields will know that I bring tall trees down. I make short trees grow tall. I dry up green trees. And I make dry trees green.”

“ ‘I have spoken. I will do it. I am the Lord.’ ”

People Will Die Because of Their Own Sins

18A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“You people have a proverb about the land of Israel. What do you mean by it? It says,

“ ‘The parents eat sour grapes.

But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’

³“You will not use that proverb in Israel anymore,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive. ⁴Everyone belongs to me. Father and son alike belong to me. People will die because of their own sins.

⁵“Suppose a godly man

does what is fair and right.

⁶And he does not eat at the mountain temples.

He does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.

He does not have sex with another man’s wife.

He does not make love to his own wife

during her monthly period.

⁷He does not treat anyone badly.

Instead, he always gives back

what he took as security for a loan.

He does not steal.

Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.

He provides clothes for those who are naked.

⁸He does not lend money and charge too much interest.

He keeps himself from doing what is wrong.

He judges cases fairly.

⁹He follows my rules.

He is faithful in keeping my laws.

He always does what is right.

You can be sure he will live,”

announces the Lord and King.

¹⁰“But suppose he has a mean son who harms other people. The son commits murder. Or he does some other things that are wrong. ¹¹Suppose he does those things even though his father never did.

“Suppose he eats at the mountain temples.

And he has sex with another man’s wife.

¹²He treats poor and needy people badly.

He steals.

He does not pay back what he owes.

He worships statues of gods.

He does other things I hate.

¹³He lends money and charges too much interest.

Will a man like that live? He will not! You can be sure he will be put to death. And what happens to him will be his own fault. He did many things I hate.

¹⁴“But suppose that son has a son of his own. And the son sees all of the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.

¹⁵“Suppose he does not eat at the mountain temples.

And he does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.

He does not have sex with another man’s wife.

¹⁶He does not treat anyone badly.

He does not make people give him something

to prove they will pay back what they owe him.

He does not steal.

Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.

He provides clothes for those who are naked.

¹⁷He keeps himself from committing sins.

He does not lend money and charge too much interest.

He keeps my laws and follows my rules.

He will not die because of his father’s sin. You can be sure he will live. ¹⁸But his father will die because of his own sin. He got rich by cheating others. He robbed his relatives. He also did what was wrong among his people.

¹⁹“But you still ask, ‘Is the son guilty along with his father?’ No! The son did what was fair and right. He was careful to keep all of my rules. So you can be sure he will live. ²⁰People will die because of their own sins. The son will not be guilty because of what his father did. And the father will not be guilty because of what his son did. The right things a godly person does will be added to his account. The wrong things a sinful person does will be charged against him.

²¹“But suppose a sinful person turns away from all of the sins he has committed. And he keeps all my rules. He does what is fair and right. Then you can be sure he will live. He will not die. ²²None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. Because of the godly things he has done, he will live.

²³“When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy.

²⁴“Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And he commits sin. He does the same evil things a sinful person does. He does things I hate. Then he will not live. I will not remember any of the right things he has done. He has not been faithful to me. He has also committed many other sins. So he is guilty. He will die.

²⁵“But you say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ Listen to me, people of Israel. What I do is always fair. What you do is not.

²⁶“Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And he commits sin. Then he will die because of it. He will die because of the sin he has committed.

²⁷“But suppose a sinful person turns away from the evil things he has done. And he does what is fair and right. Then he will save his life. ²⁸He thinks about all of the evil things he has done. And he turns away from them. So you can be sure he will live. He will not die.

²⁹“But the people of Israel still say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ People of Israel, what I do is always fair. What you do is not.

³⁰“So I will judge you people. I will judge each of you in keeping with what you have done,” announces the Lord and King.

“Turn away from your sins! Turn away from all of the evil things you have done. Then sin will not bring you down. ³¹Get rid of all of the evil things you have done. Let me give you a new heart and a new spirit. Then you will be faithful to me. Why should you die, people of Israel? ³²When anyone dies, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “So turn away from your sins. Then you will live!

A Song of Sadness About Israel’s Princes

19“Sing a song of sadness about Israel’s princes. ²Say to Israel,

“ ‘You were like a mother lion to your princes.

She lay down among the young lions.

She brought up her cubs.

³One of them was Jehoahaz.

He became a strong lion.

He learned to tear apart what he caught.

And he ate men up.

⁴The nations heard about him.

They trapped him in their pit.

They…