Ezekiel 17:1-24

YAHWEH spoke to me again, saying, “Son of man, propose this riddle to Israel, and speak this parable to the people. Tell them to guess the meaning of what I, YAHWEH, have to say to them: “There once was this great eagle with huge wings, whose wingspan was very wide, with many beautiful colored feathers around its head. One day he came to the Lebanon Mountains, and taking a new branch of a cedar tree, he broke it off and carried it off to a land of traders. He planted it there in a city of merchants. Next, he took a young seedling from the land and planted it in a fertile field. He placed it like a willow tree by the side of a flowing stream. The young plant sprouted until it became a low spreading vine. Its branches grew up toward the great eagle, and its roots grew down deep into the soil. So, it became a vine, branching out and sprouting new shoots. But another great eagle appeared with huge wings and many feathers around its head. And soon the vine bent its roots toward him and stretched its branches toward this eagle from the place where it was planted, expecting this eagle to nourish it. The vine was planted in good soil, by the side of a generous stream so that the vine could branch out, bear fruit, and become a wonderful vine. So I, Lord YAHWEH, ask you: Will the vine thrive? Will not the first eagle come and tear out its roots? Will it not strip off its grapes so that all its foliage withers? Then, even weak ones could easily uproot it! Yes, it is planted—but will it thrive? Will it not shrivel up when the east wind blows? Will it not wither in the fertile soil where it had grown?” YAHWEH Then YAHWEH spoke to me again, saying, “Ask that tribe of rebels if they know the meaning of my parable. Tell them: ‘Listen, the king of Babylon swooped into Jerusalem. Then he carried away the king and top officials and took them off to Babylon. He took one from the royal family and made a treaty with him, forcing him to swear an oath of allegiance to him. He also carried off to Babylon the leading men of Israel so that their kingdom would be humbled and not rise again and to ensure that the treaty would be kept. But he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and sent envoys to Egypt to procure himself horses and a large army. Will he get away with that? Will a man who has done this go unpunished? Will he break the treaty and still escape? As surely as I, Lord YAHWEH, live, this king will die in Babylon! He will die in the country of the king who put him on the throne, because he despised his oath and broke the treaty he had made. Despite Pharaoh’s mighty army and numerous troops, he will not be able to save him in war. When the Babylonians build siege ramps and wooden towers to kill many in the city, the Egyptians will not lift a finger to help! For he despised his oath by breaking the treaty to which he had pledged himself, and he will not go unpunished. “ ‘Therefore, I, Lord YAHWEH, decree, as surely as I live, I swear it. It was my oath that he has despised and my treaty which he has broken. I will punish him for this! I will throw my net over him and trap him in it. I will take him to Babylon and render judgment against him there for all the wicked things he did against me. All his elite troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. And then you will know that I, YAHWEH, have decreed it.’ ” Lord YAHWEH says: “I will take the highest branch from a cedar tree. I will break off from the very top a tender shoot and plant it myself on a high and lofty mountain. I will plant it on the highest mountain in Israel, where it will put out branches and bear fruit and grow into a stately cedar tree. Every kind of bird will find a home in it. Yes, in the shade of its branches the birds will make their nests. And all the trees of the field will know that I, YAHWEH, am the one who brings the tall tree low and raises the low tree high, who withers the green tree and makes the withered tree sprout again. I, YAHWEH, have spoken and have done it!”