Ezekiel 17

All 24 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1The word of the LORD came to me:
2. 2"Son of man, tell a riddle and speak a parable to the people of Israel.
3. 3Say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: A great eagle with large wings and a wide wingspan, covered in feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar.'
4. 4He cut off the top of its young twigs and carried it into a land of trade. He set it in a city of merchants.
5. 5He took a seed from the land and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters and set it as a willow tree.
6. 6The seed grew into a spreading vine, low to the ground. Its branches reached toward the eagle, and its roots grew beneath him. So it became a vine that produced branches and sent out new shoots.
7. 7But then another great eagle appeared, also with large wings and many feathers. This vine bent its roots toward him and stretched its branches toward him, so he might water it from the garden beds where it was planted.
8. 8Yet the vine had already been planted in good soil beside plenty of water — everything it needed to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent vine.'
9. 9"Now say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: Will this vine thrive? Won't the first eagle rip out its roots and strip off its fruit so that it withers? Every fresh leaf will shrivel up. It won't take a mighty army or a large force to pull it out by the roots.
10. 10Even though it was planted, will it flourish? When the scorching east wind strikes it, won't it wither completely — right there in the garden beds where it grew?'"
11. 11Then the word of the LORD came to me again:
12. 12Say to this rebellious house, 'Don't you know what these things mean?' Tell them: 'The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, seized its king and its officials, and took them back with him to Babylon.'
13. 13He chose someone from the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land,
14. 14so that the kingdom would be kept weak and unable to rise up — surviving only by honoring the covenant.
15. 15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending ambassadors to Egypt, asking for horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can anyone do something like this and get away with it? Can he break a covenant and still escape?
16. 16"'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'he will die in Babylon — in the very land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he treated with contempt and whose covenant he shattered.
17. 17Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in the war by raising siege mounds and building forts to cut off many people.
18. 18He treated the oath with contempt and broke the covenant. He shook hands on the deal and then did all these things anyway. He will not escape.
19. 19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: As I live, I will repay on his own head for despising my oath and breaking my covenant.
20. 20I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon and will confront him there for his trespass against me.
21. 21All his fugitives with all his troops will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to all the winds. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.
22. 22This is what the Lord GOD says: 'I will take a shoot from the top of the tall cedar and plant it. I will break off a tender twig from its highest branches and plant it on a high and prominent mountain.
23. 23I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.
24. 24Then every tree in the field will know that I, the LORD, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low one. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree bloom. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.'"