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Ezekiel 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.
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