Ezekiel 17:8-24

17:8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted

to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.

17:9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Will it prosper?

Will he not rip out its roots

and cause its fruit to rot ¹  and wither?

All its foliage ²  will wither.

No strong arm or large army

will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ³ 

17:10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?

Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?

Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”

17:11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: ⁴  ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ ⁵  Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem ⁶  and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. 17:13 He took one from the royal family, ⁷  made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. ⁸  He then took the leaders of the land 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But this one from Israel’s royal family ⁹  rebelled against the king of Babylon ¹⁰  by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?

17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city ¹¹  of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke – in the middle of Babylon he will die! 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help ¹²  him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note ¹³  – he gave his promise ¹⁴  and did all these things – he will not escape!

17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him ¹⁵  for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me. 17:21 All the choice men ¹⁶  among his troops will die ¹⁷  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will take a sprig ¹⁸  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ¹⁹ 

I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;

I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,

and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.

Every bird will live under it;

Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

[17:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.”

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.

[17:9]  ³ tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”

[17:12]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.

[17:12]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[17:13]  ⁷ tn Or “descendants”; Heb “seed” (cf. v. 5).

[17:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “caused him to enter into an oath.”

[17:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the member of the royal family, v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “place.”

[17:17]  ¹² tn Heb “deal with” or “work with.”

[17:18]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates being aware of or taking notice of something.

[17:18]  ¹⁴ sn Heb “hand.” “Giving one’s hand” is a gesture of promise (2 Kgs 10:15).

[17:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “place it on his head.”

[17:21]  ¹⁶ tc Some manuscripts and versions read “choice men,” while most manuscripts read “fugitives”; the difference arises from the reversal, or metathesis, of two letters, מִבְרָחָיו (mivrakhyv) for מִבְחָריו (mivkharyv).

[17:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “fall.”

[17:22]  ¹⁸ sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.

[17:22]  ¹⁹ tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”