| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 2“Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel, | 2"Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel. |
| 3and 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. | 3Say to them: 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: "'A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers, with full plumage which was multi-hued, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. |
| 4He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants. | 4He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders. |
| 5Then 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. | 5He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it. |
| 6And 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. | 6It sprouted and became a vine, spreading low to the ground; its branches turning toward him, its roots were under itself. So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches. |
| 7“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. | 7"'There was another great eagle with broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward him to be watered from the soil where it was planted. |
| 8It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic vine.” ’ | 8In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine. |
| 9“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. | 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 and wither? All its foliage will wither. No strong arm or large army will be needed to pull it out by its roots. |
| 10Behold, 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.” ’ ” | 10Consider! 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?'" |
| 11Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, | 11Then the word of the LORD came to me: |
| 12“Say now to the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. | 12"Say to the rebellious house of Israel: 'Don't you know what these things mean?' Say: 'See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon. |
| 13And he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, | 13He took one from the royal family, made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. He then took the leaders of the land |
| 14that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. | 14so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. |
| 15But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered? | 15But this one from Israel's royal family rebelled against the king of Babylon 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? |
| 16‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. | 16"'As surely as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, surely in the city of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke--in the middle of Babylon he will die! |
| 17Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons. | 17Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. |
| 18Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ” | 18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note--he gave his promise and did all these things--he will not escape! |
| 19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. | 19"'Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! |
| 20I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me. | 20I 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. |
| 21All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.” | 21All the choice men among his troops will die by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken! |
| 22Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. | 22"'This is what the sovereign LORD says: "'I will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. |
| 23On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. | 23I 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. |
| 24And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.” | 24All 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!'" |
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