|
Chapter 17 |
| 1 | And the word
of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
| 2 | Son of man, put forth a riddle,
and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; |
| 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: |
| 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.
|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 11 | Moreover the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, |
| 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; |
|
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: |
| 14 | That the kingdom might be base, that it
might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might
stand. |
| 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? |
| 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 | 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: |
| 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. |
| 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. |
|
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. |
| 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. |
|
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: |
| 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. |
|
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. |
