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 17:7

17:7 “‘There was another great eagle ⁶ 

with broad wings and thick plumage.

Now this vine twisted its roots toward him

and sent its branches toward him

to be watered from the soil where it was planted.

Matthew 13:4

13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds ⁷  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

[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).

[17:7]  ⁶ sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.

[13:4]  ⁷ tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [Ja…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).