Ezekiel 17:1-10

Ezekiel 17:1-10 The Message (MSG)

GOD’s Message came to me: “Son of man, make a riddle for the house of Israel. Tell them a story. Say, ‘GOD, the Master, says: “‘A great eagle with a huge wingspan and long feathers, In full plumage and bright colors, came to Lebanon And took the top off a cedar, broke off the top branch, Took it to a land of traders, and set it down in a city of shopkeepers. Then he took a cutting from the land and planted it in good, well-watered soil, like a willow on a riverbank. It sprouted into a flourishing vine, low to the ground. Its branches grew toward the eagle and the roots became established— A vine putting out shoots, developing branches. “‘There was another great eagle with a huge wingspan and thickly feathered. This vine sent out its roots toward him from the place where it was planted. Its branches reached out to him so he could water it from a long distance. It had been planted in good, well-watered soil, And it put out branches and bore fruit, and became a noble vine. “‘GOD, the Master, says, Will it thrive? Won’t he just pull it up by the roots and leave the grapes to rot And the branches to shrivel up, a withered, dead vine? It won’t take much strength or many hands to pull it up. Even if it’s transplanted, will it thrive? When the hot east wind strikes it, won’t it shrivel up? Won’t it dry up and blow away from the place where it was planted?’” * * *

Ezekiel 17:1-10 King James Version (KJV)

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: he cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

Ezekiel 17:1-10 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a willow. Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches. “But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was planted, that he might water it. It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.” ’ Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?” ’ ”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 New Century Version (NCV)

The LORD spoke his word to me, saying: “Human, give a riddle and tell a story to the people of Israel. Say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: A giant eagle with big wings and long feathers of many different colors came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree. He pulled off the top branch and brought it to a land of traders, where he planted it in a city of traders. “ ‘The eagle took some seed from the land and planted it in a good field near plenty of water. He planted it to grow like a willow tree. It sprouted and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The branches turned toward the eagle, but the roots were under the eagle. So the seed became a vine, and its branches grew, sending out leaves. “ ‘But there was another giant eagle with big wings and many feathers. The vine then bent its roots toward this eagle. It sent out its branches from the area where it was planted toward the eagle so he could water it. It had been planted in a good field by plenty of water so it could grow branches and give fruit. It could have become a fine vine.’ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: The vine will not continue to grow. The first eagle will pull up the vine’s roots and strip off its fruit. Then the vine and all its new leaves will dry up and die. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull the vine up by its roots. Even if it is planted again, it will not continue to grow. It will completely dry up and die when the east wind hits it in the area where it grew.’ ”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 American Standard Version (ASV)

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow-tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the beds where it grew.

Ezekiel 17:1-10 New International Version (NIV)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders. “ ‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs. “ ‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. It has been planted, but will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it—wither away in the plot where it grew?’ ”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 New King James Version (NKJV)

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon And took from the cedar the highest branch. He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants. Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in a fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow tree. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature; Its branches turned toward him, But its roots were under it. So it became a vine, Brought forth branches, And put forth shoots. “But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers; And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, And stretched its branches toward him, From the garden terrace where it had been planted, That he might water it. It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic vine.” ’ “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots, Cut off its fruit, And leave it to wither? All of its spring leaves will wither, And no great power or many people Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots. Behold, it is planted, Will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “A great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) with great wings, long pinions and a rich plumage of many colors came to Lebanon (Jerusalem) and took away the top of the cedar (Judah). He broke off the topmost of its young twigs (young King Jehoiachin) and carried it to a land of traders (Babylonia); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon). He also took some of the seed of the land (Zedekiah, of the royal family) and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. Then it sprouted and grew and became a low, spreading vine whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches. “There was [also] another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine (Zedekiah) bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him, away from the beds where it was planted, for him to water. It was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and branches and to bear fruit, so that it might become a splendid vine.” ’ Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Ask, “Will it thrive? Will he (Nebuchadnezzar) not uproot it and strip off its fruit so that all its sprouting leaves will wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to uproot it [ending Israel’s national existence]. Though it is planted, will it thrive and grow? Will it not completely wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.” ’ ”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then this message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, give this riddle, and tell this story to the people of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: “A great eagle with broad wings and long feathers, covered with many-colored plumage, came to Lebanon. He seized the top of a cedar tree and plucked off its highest branch. He carried it away to a city filled with merchants. He planted it in a city of traders. He also took a seedling from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a broad river, where it could grow like a willow tree. It took root there and grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, and its roots grew down into the ground. It produced strong branches and put out shoots. But then another great eagle came with broad wings and full plumage. So the vine now sent its roots and branches toward him for water, even though it was already planted in good soil and had plenty of water so it could grow into a splendid vine and produce rich leaves and luscious fruit. “So now the Sovereign LORD asks: Will this vine grow and prosper? No! I will pull it up, roots and all! I will cut off its fruit and let its leaves wither and die. I will pull it up easily without a strong arm or a large army. But when the vine is transplanted, will it thrive? No, it will wither away when the east wind blows against it. It will die in the same good soil where it had grown so well.”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 The Passion Translation (TPT)

YAHWEH spoke to me again, saying, “Son of man, propose this riddle to Israel, and speak this parable to the people. Tell them to guess the meaning of what I, YAHWEH, have to say to them: “There once was this great eagle with huge wings, whose wingspan was very wide, with many beautiful colored feathers around its head. One day he came to the Lebanon Mountains, and taking a new branch of a cedar tree, he broke it off and carried it off to a land of traders. He planted it there in a city of merchants. Next, he took a young seedling from the land and planted it in a fertile field. He placed it like a willow tree by the side of a flowing stream. The young plant sprouted until it became a low spreading vine. Its branches grew up toward the great eagle, and its roots grew down deep into the soil. So, it became a vine, branching out and sprouting new shoots. But another great eagle appeared with huge wings and many feathers around its head. And soon the vine bent its roots toward him and stretched its branches toward this eagle from the place where it was planted, expecting this eagle to nourish it. The vine was planted in good soil, by the side of a generous stream so that the vine could branch out, bear fruit, and become a wonderful vine. So I, Lord YAHWEH, ask you: Will the vine thrive? Will not the first eagle come and tear out its roots? Will it not strip off its grapes so that all its foliage withers? Then, even weak ones could easily uproot it! Yes, it is planted—but will it thrive? Will it not shrivel up when the east wind blows? Will it not wither in the fertile soil where it had grown?”

Ezekiel 17:1-10 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. 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. Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, and it sprouted and became a low spreading 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. “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. “Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will 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. Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”