Ezequiel 17

¹ And the worde of the Lorde came vnto mee, saying,

² Sonne of man, put foorth a parable and speake a prouerbe vnto the house of Israel,

³ And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A greatThat is, Nebuchadnezzar who had great power, riches and many countries under him, will come to Jerusalem and take away Jeconiah the king, as in (Eze_17:12).eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had various colours, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

⁴ He cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land ofMeaning to Babylon.trade; he set it in a city of merchants.

⁵ He took also of theThat is, Zedekiah who was of the king's blood and was left at Jerusalem and made king instead of Jeconiah, (2Ki_24:17; Jer_37:1).seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed [it] by great waters, [and] set it [as] a willow tree.

⁶ And it grew, and becameThis was Zedekiah's kingdom.a spreading vine ofThat is, might not have power to rebel against Babylon, as in (Eze_17:14).low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

⁷ There was alsoMeaning, the king of Egypt from whom Zedekiah sought comfort against Nebuchadnezzar.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.

⁸ It was planted in a good soil by greatThey thought to be moistened by the waters of the Nile.waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a well favoured vine.

⁹ Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shallShall not Nebuchadnezzar destroy it?he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by its roots.

¹⁰ Yea, behold, [being] planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither,By this dry wind he means the Babylonians.when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

¹¹ Moreouer, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

¹² Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these [things mean]? tell [them], Behold, the king of Babylon hath come to Jerusalem, and hath takenThat is, Jeconiah, (2Ki_24:15).its king, and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon;

¹³ And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath takenFor his subjection and obedience.an oath from him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:

¹⁴ That the kingdome might be in subiection, and not lift it selfe vp, but keepe their couenant, and stand to it.

¹⁵ But he rebelled against him, and sent his ambassadours into Egypt, that they might giue him horses, and much people: shall hee prosper? shall he escape, that doeth such things? or shal he breake the couenant, and be deliuered?

¹⁶ As I liue, saith the Lord God, he shall die in the middes of Babel, in the place of the King, that had made him King, whose othe he despised, and whose couenant made with him, he brake.

¹⁷ Neither shall Pharaoh with his mightie hoste, and great multitude of people, mainteine him in the warre, when they haue cast vp mounts, and builded ramparts to destroy many persons.

¹⁸ Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had givenBecause he took the name of God in vain, and broke his oath which he had confirmed by giving his hand: therefore the prophet declares that God would not permit such perjury and infidelity to escape punishment.his hand, and hath done all these [things], he shall not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore, thus sayth the Lord God, As I liue, I wil surely bring mine othe that he hath despised, and my couenant that he hath broken vpon his owne head.

²⁰ And I wil spread my net vpon him, & he shalbe taken in my net, & I wil bring him to Babel, and will enter into iudgement with him there for his trespas that he hath committed against me.

²¹ And all that flee from him with all his hoste, shal fall by the sword, & they that remaine, shalbe scattered towarde all the windes: and ye shall know that I the Lord haue spoken it.

²² Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branchThis promise is made to the Church which will be as a small remnant, and as the top of a tree.of the high cedar, and will set [it]; I will crop off from theI will trim it, and dress it.top of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant [it] upon an high mountain and eminent:

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 well favoured cedar: and under it shall dwell allBoth the Jews and Gentiles will be gathered into it.fowl of every wing; in the shadow of its branches shall they dwell.

²⁴ And all theAll the world will know that I have plucked down the proud enemies, and set up my Church which was low and contemned.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].