Yehezkiel 17:2-10
Konteks17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle, 1 and tell a parable to the house of Israel. 17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: 2
“‘A great eagle 3 with broad wings, long feathers, 4
with full plumage which was multi-hued, 5
came to Lebanon 6 and took the top of the cedar.
17:4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;
he brought it to a land of merchants
and planted it in a city of traders.
17:5 He took one of the seedlings 7 of the land,
placed it in a cultivated plot; 8
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground; 9
its branches turning toward him, 10 its roots were under itself. 11
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle 12
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.
17:8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted
to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
17:9 “‘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 13 and wither?
All its foliage 14 will wither.
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots. 15
17:10 Consider! 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?’”
Yehezkiel 17:22-24
Konteks17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig 16 from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. 17
I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;
I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
17:23 I 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.
17:24 All 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!’”
Yehezkiel 34:29
Konteks34:29 I will prepare for them a healthy 18 planting. They will no longer be victims 19 of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations.
[17:2] 1 sn The verb occurs elsewhere in the OT only in Judg 14:12-19, where Samson supplies a riddle.
[17:3] 2 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.
[17:3] 3 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).
[17:3] 4 tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).
[17:3] 5 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.
[17:3] 6 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).
[17:5] 7 tn Heb “took of the seed of the land.” For the vine imagery, “seedling” is a better translation, though in its subsequent interpretation the “seed” refers to Zedekiah through its common application to offspring.
[17:5] 8 tn Heb “a field for seed.”
[17:6] 9 tn Heb “short of stature.”
[17:6] 10 tn That is, the eagle.
[17:6] 11 tn Or “him,” i.e., the eagle.
[17:7] 12 sn The phrase another great eagle refers to Pharaoh Hophra.
[17:9] 13 tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT and appears to have the meaning of “strip off.” In application to fruit the meaning may be “cause to rot.”
[17:9] 14 tn Heb “all the טַרְפֵּי (tarpey) of branches.” The word טַרְפֵּי occurs only here in the Bible; its precise meaning is uncertain.
[17:9] 15 tn Or “there will be no strong arm or large army when it is pulled up by the roots.”
[17:22] 16 sn The language is analogous to messianic imagery in Isa 11:1; Zech 3:8; 6:4 although the technical terminology is not the same.
[17:22] 17 tc The LXX lacks “and plant it.”
[34:29] 18 tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (lÿshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom) as was read by the LXX.
