The Lantern

Ezekiel17

The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to 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 its roots 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 indeed, 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 fine vine.

Say you, Thus says the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, 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 its roots.

Yes, look, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

The Parable Explained

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Say now to the rebellious house, Know you not what these things mean? tell them, Look, the king of Babylon has come to Jerusalem, and has taken its king, and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon;

And has taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and has taken an oath of him: he has also taken the mighty of the land:

That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that does such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, look, he had given his hand, and has done all these things, he shall not escape.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.

And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

Thus says the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent:

In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a fine cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in its shadow of the branches shall they dwell.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.