17:1 And the word of the Lord came to me,
saying,
17:2 Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel:
17:3 and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; A great eagle with large
wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of
entering into Libanus-- and he took the choice [branches] of the cedar:
17:4 he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the
land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city.
17:5 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.
17:6 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.
17:7 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] towards him, and she sent forth her branches towards him, that [he]
might water her together with the growth of her plantation.
17:8 She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear
fruit, that she might become a great vine.
17:9 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the
roots of her tender stem and her fruit e 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.
17:10 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.
17:11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,
17:12 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.
17:13 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:
17:14 that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that
he may keep his covenant, and establish it.
17:15 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?
17:16 [As] I live, saith the Lord, verily in [the] place where the king is
that made him king, who dishonoured my oath, and who broke my covenant,
shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon.
17:17 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.
17:18 Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when,
behold, I engage his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall
not escape.
17:19 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.
17:20 And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare.
17:21 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.
17:22 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:
17:23 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.
17:24 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]. |
17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of
Israel;
17:3 And 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:
17:4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land
of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
17:5 He 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.
17:6 And 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.
17:7 There 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.
17:8 It 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.
17:9 Say 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.
17:10 Yea, 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.
17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
17:12 Say 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;
17:13 And 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:
17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but
that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
17:15 But 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?
17:16 As 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.
17:17 Neither 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:
17:18 Seeing 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.
17:19 Therefore 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.
17:20 And 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.
17:21 And 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.
17:22 Thus 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:
17:23 In 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.
17:24 And 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. |