Eze 17 | ESV | STEP | The word of the Lord came to me:

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^a“Son of man, ^bpropound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: ^cA great eagle ^dwith great wings and long pinions, ^erich in plumage of many colors, came ^fto Lebanon ^gand took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land ^hand planted it in fertile soil. ^{▼▼Hebrew in a field of seed} He placed it beside abundant waters. ^jHe set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a ^klow ^lspreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

7 ^m“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, ⁿand behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from ^othe bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 ^pIt had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: ^qWill it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? ^rWill it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to ^sthe rebellious house, ^tDo you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ^uthe king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 ^vAnd he took one of the royal offspring ^{▼▼Hebrew seed} ^xand made a covenant with him, ^yputting him under oath ( ^zthe chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 ^aaBut he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ^abto Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ^acWill he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ^adbreak the covenant and yet escape?

16 ^ae“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely ^afin the place where the king dwells ^agwho made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 ^ahPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ^aiwhen mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 ^ajI will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon ^akand enter into judgment with him there ^alfor the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives} of his troops shall fall by the sword, ^anand the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that ^aoI am the Lord; I have spoken.”

22 Thus says the Lord God: ^ap“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. ^aqI will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and ^arI myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 ^asOn the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. ^atAnd under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; ^auI bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up ^avthe green tree, and make ^awthe dry tree flourish. ^axI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”