Ezekiel 17

The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Note"The LORD" in small capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, four Hebrew consonants usually written YHWH. Where verse 3 has "the Lord GOD," the Hebrew has two words: a title meaning "master, sovereign" followed by that same personal name.

2"Son of man, give the people of Israel a riddle. Tell them a story that stands for something else.

2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Note"Son of man" translates a Hebrew phrase that simply means "human being, mortal." It is how God addresses Ezekiel throughout the book, marking the distance between the speaker and the man spoken to. The two words paired here, "riddle" and "parable," mean a picture-story deliberately posed as a puzzle: the hearers are meant to work out what stands for what, and verses 12–21 give the answer.

3Tell them this is what the Lord GOD says: A great eagle came to Lebanon. It had huge wings with long feathers, and its thick coat of feathers had many colors. It took the top of the cedar tree.

3And 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:

NoteLebanon is the mountain range north of Israel, famous throughout the ancient Near East for its cedar forests. Cedar was the most prestigious building timber of the region, used for palaces and temples, so "the top of the cedar in Lebanon" is a natural image for a royal house at its height. Great birds of prey were a standard image for imperial powers swooping in from far off.

4He broke off the highest of the cedar's young shoots and carried it to a land of traders. He set it down in a city of merchants.

4He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

NoteThe "land of traders" and "city of merchants" are Babylonia and the city of Babylon, a byword for long-distance trade. Verse 12 makes the identification explicit.

5He also took some seed from the land and planted it in rich soil. He put it beside plenty of water and set it out like a willow.

5He 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.

Note"Seed of the land" means seed native to that soil, in the explanation, a member of the local royal family rather than a foreign ruler. The word translated "willow" occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible and its meaning is uncertain; some take it as a kind of willow planted by water, others as a description of how the shoot was set out.

6It grew and became a spreading vine, low to the ground. Its branches turned toward the eagle, and its roots stayed under it. So it became a vine, with branches and new shoots.

6And 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.

NoteA vine was a standard image for the kingdom of Judah in Israel's prophets. Vines were deliberately kept low and trained, so "low to the ground" is not a defect in itself; the point is that it is a vine and not a cedar. Roots and branches turning toward the eagle picture a dependent relationship, the plant looks to that power for its life.

7But there was another great eagle with huge wings and thick feathers. Look: this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, so that he could water it.

7There 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.

NoteFields and vineyards in this region were often watered from cut channels and raised planting beds. A vine already set beside plenty of water (verse 8) has no need of another gardener; reaching its roots toward a second eagle for watering pictures a client turning to a rival patron.

8It had already been planted in good soil beside plenty of water, so that it could grow branches, bear fruit, and become a fine vine.

8It 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.

9Say this: this is what the Lord GOD says. Will it do well? Will he not pull up its roots and strip off its fruit so that it dries up? All its fresh leaves will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to tear it up by the roots.

9Say 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.

10Yes, look: even though it is planted, will it do well? Will it not dry up completely when the east wind hits it? It will wither in the bed where it grew."

10Yea, 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.

NoteThe east wind is the scorching desert wind that blows into the region from the arid interior; it shrivels vegetation quickly and is a stock image for sudden ruin. Babylon also lay to the east.

11Then the LORD spoke his word to me again. He said,

11Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12"Say now to this rebellious people: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He took away its king and its officials and brought them back with him to Babylon.

12Say 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;

NoteThe king of Babylon is Nebuchadnezzar. In 597 BC he took Jerusalem and deported its king, Jehoiachin, along with the court and the leading families, the event Ezekiel and his hearers had themselves lived through, since they were among the deportees.

13He took a man from the royal family and made an agreement with him, and made him swear an oath to keep it. He also carried off the leading men of the land.

13And 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:

NoteThe "agreement" is a vassal treaty: a great king installs a lesser king, who swears an oath of loyalty and pays tribute. The man taken from the royal family is Zedekiah, Jehoiachin's uncle, placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. Carrying off the leading men both weakened the kingdom and gave Babylon hostages.

14He did this so that the kingdom would be kept low and could not rise up again, and could survive only by keeping his agreement.

14That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

15But that king rebelled against him. He sent his messengers to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he do well? Will a man who does such things get away with it? Can he break an agreement and still escape?

15But 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?

NoteEgypt was Babylon's chief rival and the traditional source of horses and chariotry, which small hill kingdoms like Judah could not breed for themselves. Sending envoys to ask for horses and troops was, in treaty terms, an act of open rebellion.

16As surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, he will die in Babylon. He will die in the land of the king who put him on the throne, the king whose oath he treated as nothing and whose agreement he broke.

16As 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.

Note"As surely as I live" is a formal oath: the speaker stakes his own life on the truth of what follows. It is the strongest form of assertion in Hebrew.

17Pharaoh will not help him in the war, not with his powerful army and his huge crowd of soldiers, when dirt ramps are piled up and siege walls built to kill many people.

17Neither 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:

Note"Pharaoh" is the title of Egypt's king, not a personal name. Ancient armies took a walled city by heaping an earth ramp against the wall and building siege works from which to attack; the picture is of Babylon besieging Jerusalem while Egypt fails to relieve it.

18He treated the oath as nothing by breaking the agreement. He had given his hand as a pledge, and yet he did all these things. He will not escape.

18Seeing 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.

NoteGiving the hand was the physical gesture that sealed a pledge or treaty, much as a handshake does now. To have given the hand and then act otherwise was a public breach of faith.

19So this is what the Lord GOD says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his own head my oath that he treated as nothing and my agreement that he broke.

19Therefore 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.

NoteA vassal treaty was sworn in the name of the gods of both parties, so Zedekiah's oath to Nebuchadnezzar was sworn by the LORD. That is why God can call it "my oath" and "my agreement": breaking it was not only treason against Babylon but perjury against the God invoked as witness. "Bring it down on his own head" means to make the consequences fall back on the man himself.

20I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon, and there I will bring charges against him for breaking faith with me.

20And 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.

NoteNets and snares here are hunting gear, the spread net used to take birds and game. The verb rendered "bring charges" is a legal one: to prosecute a case against someone, not to beg.

21All the men who run away, along with all his troops, will be killed in battle. Those who are left will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.

21And 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.

NoteThe Hebrew here is uncertain: one reading gives "his fugitives" (those who run away), another, differing by a single letter, gives "his choice troops." Ancient copies support both. "Scattered to every wind" means driven off in all four directions.

22This is what the Lord GOD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of the tall cedar, and I will set it out. I will break off a tender young shoot from its highest branches, and I will plant it on a high and towering mountain.

22Thus 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:

NoteThis reverses the opening picture: where the eagle broke off the cedar's top and carried it to Babylon, God now takes a shoot himself and plants it back in the land. The "high and towering mountain" is Zion, the hill of Jerusalem, spoken of in Israel's poetry as the highest of mountains regardless of its actual size.

23I will plant it on the high mountains of Israel. It will grow branches and bear fruit and become a fine cedar. Birds of every kind will live under it, and they will make their home in the shade of its branches.

23In 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.

NoteA great tree sheltering birds of every kind was a common ancient image for an empire under whose protection many peoples live.

24Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dried-up tree bloom. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it."

24And 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.

NoteTrees stand for kingdoms and their rulers throughout this chapter, as they often do in ancient Near Eastern writing; "all the trees of the field" therefore means all the surrounding nations.