Ezekiel 17

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,	1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 'Son of man, put a riddle, propound a parable to the House of Israel.	2 “Son of man, propose an enigma and describe a parable to the house of Israel,
3 Say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: A great eagle with great wings, long-pinioned, rich with many-coloured plumage, came to the Lebanon.	3 and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A large eagle, with great wings and elongated pinions, full of feathers with many colors, came to Lebanon. And he took the kernel of the cedar.
4 He took the top of the cedar tree, he plucked off the top branch, he carried it off to the country ofmerchants and set it down in a city of shopkeepers.	4 He tore off the summit of its branches, and he transported it to the land of Canaan; he placed it in a city of merchants.
5 Next, he took one of the country's seeds and put it in a fertile field; by the side of a generous stream,like a wil ow tree, he placed it.	5 And he took from the seed of the land and placed it in the ground for seed, so that it might take firm root above many waters; he placed it at the surface.
6 It grew and became a fruitful vine of modest size, grew up towards the eagle, its roots grewdownwards. So it became a vine, branching out and sprouting new shoots.	6 And when it had germinated, it increased into a more extensive vine, low in height, with its branches facing toward itself. And its roots were underneath it. And so, it became a vine, and sprouted branches, and produced shoots.
7 But there was another great eagle with great wings and thick plumage. And now the vine twisted itsroots towards him and stretched its branches towards him, for him to water it away from the bed where it wasplanted.	7 And there was another large eagle, with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine seemed to bend its roots towards him, extending its branches toward him, so that he might irrigate it from the garden of its germination.
8 It was in a fertile field, by the side of a wide stream that the vine had been planted, to branch out andbear fruit and become a noble vine."	8 It had been planted in a good land, above many waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, so that it would become a large vine.
9 Say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Will it succeed? Wil the eagle not tear out its roots and strip off itsfruit, so that al the new leaves it puts out wil wither, and no great strength is needed nor many people to pul itup by the roots?	9 Speak: Thus says the Lord God: What if it does not prosper? Should he not pull up its roots, and strip off its fruit, and dry up all the branches that it has produced, and let it wither, though he is without a strong arm and without many people to pull it up by the root?
10 Planted it may be -- wil it succeed? Wil it not shrivel up when the east wind blows? It wil wither inthe bed where it was growing!" '	10 Behold, it has been planted. What if it does not prosper? Should it not be dried up when the burning wind touches it, and should it not wither in the garden of its germination?”
11 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows:	11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
12 'Say to that tribe of rebels, "Do you not know what this means?" Say this, 'Look, the king of Babyloncame to Jerusalem; he carried away the king and the princes, and took them to his home in Babylon.	12 “Say to the provoking house: Do you not know what these things signify? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon arrives in Jerusalem. And he will take away its king and princes, and he will lead them away to himself in Babylon.
13 He took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, forcing him to swear loyalty, havingalready deported the leading men of the country,	13 And he will take one from the offspring of the king, and he will strike a pact with him and receive an oath from him. Moreover, he will take away the strong ones of the land,
14 so that the kingdom would remain modest and without ambitions, and would keep and honour histreaty.	14 so that it may be a lowly kingdom, and may not lift itself up, and may instead keep his pact and serve it.
15 But the prince rebelled against him and sent envoys to Egypt to procure himself horses and a largenumber of troops. Wil he succeed? Wil a man who has done this go unpunished? Can he break a treaty and gounpunished?	15 But, withdrawing from him, he sent messengers to Egypt, so that it would give him horses and many people. Should he who has done these things prosper and obtain safety? And should he who has broken the pact go free?
16 As I live, I swear it -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- in Babylon, in the country of the king who put himon the throne, whose oath he has disregarded and whose treaty he has broken, there he will die.	16 As I live, says the Lord God, in the place of the king, who appointed him as king, whose oath he has made void, and whose pact he has broken, under which he was living with him, in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.
17 Despite the pharaoh's great army and hordes of men, he wil not be able to save him by fighting,however many earthworks are raised, however many trenches dug to the loss of many lives.	17 And not with a great army, nor with many people will Pharaoh undertake a battle against him, when he will cast up ramparts and build defenses, in order to put to death many souls.
18 He has disregarded the oath by breaking the treaty to which he had pledged himself and, havingdone al this, wil not go unpunished.	18 For he has despised an oath, in that he broke the pact. And behold, he had given his hand. And so, since he has done all these things, he shall not escape.
19 "So, the Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, I swear it: my oath which he has disregarded, my treatywhich he has broken, I shall make them both recoil on his own head.	19 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will place upon his head the oath that he has spurned and the pact that he has betrayed.
20 I shal throw my net over him, he wil be caught in my mesh; I shall take him to Babylon and punishhim there for being unfaithful to me.	20 And I will spread my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him into Babylon, and I will judge him there for the transgression by which he has despised me.
21 Al the pick of al his troops wil fal by the sword, and the survivors be scattered to al the winds. Andyou wil know that I, Yahweh, have spoken.	21 And all his fugitives, with all his procession, will fall by the sword. Then the remainder will be scattered into every wind. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”
22 "The Lord Yahweh says this: From the top of the tal cedar tree, from the highest branch I shal take ashoot and plant it myself on a high and lofty mountain.	22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take from the kernel of the exalted cedar, and I will establish it. I will tear off a tender twig from the top of its branches, and I will plant it on a mountain, lofty and exalted.
23 I shal plant it on the highest mountain in Israel. It wil put out branches and bear fruit and grow into anoble cedar tree. Every kind of bird wil live beneath it, every kind of winged creature will rest in the shade of itsbranches.	23 On the sublime mountains of Israel, I will plant it. And it shall spring forth in buds and bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar. And all the birds will live under it, and every bird will make its nest under the shadow of its branches.
24 And al the trees of the countryside wil know that I, Yahweh, am the one who lays the tal tree lowand raises the low tree high, who makes the green tree wither and makes the withered bear fruit. I, Yahweh,have spoken, and I wil do it." '	24 And all the trees of the regions will know that I, the Lord, have brought low the sublime tree, and have exalted the lowly tree, and have dried up the green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted.”