Ezekiel 17:3

17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ¹ 

“‘A great eagle ²  with broad wings, long feathers, ³ 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, ⁴ 

came to Lebanon ⁵  and took the top of the cedar.

Ezekiel 17:12

17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: ⁶  ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ ⁷  Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem ⁸  and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon.

[17:3]  ¹ tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.

[17:3]  ² sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

[17:3]  ³ tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).

[17:3]  ⁴ tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

[17:3]  ⁵ sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).

[17:12]  ⁶ tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.

[17:12]  ⁷ sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.

[17:12]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.