17:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 17:2 “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 eagle3 with broad wings, long feathers, and thick, many-colored plumage came to Lebanon4 and took the top of the cedar.
17:4 He plucked its topmost shoot;
brought it to a land of merchants,
and planted it in a city of traders.
17:5 He took a seed5 from the land,
placed it in fertile soil;6
by abundant water he planted it like a willow.
17:6 It sprouted and became a spreading vine of low stature;
its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him.
So it became a vine, it brought forth shoots and sent forth branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle,7 with broad wings and thick plumage.
Now this vine stretched out 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 transplanted 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 rot8 and wither?
Every leaf it sprouted will wither, and no strong arm or large army will be needed to pull it out by its roots.
17:10 Although it is transplanted, will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it grew?’”
17:11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 17:12 “Say to the rebellious house: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’9 Say: ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem10 and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to Babylon. 17:13 He took one of the royal descendants, made a treaty with him, and put him under oath.11 He then took the leaders of the land, 17:14 so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand. 17:15 But he rebelled against the king of Babylon12 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 treaty and escape?
17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, surely in the city13 of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—in the middle of Babylon he will die. 17:17 Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help14 him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. 17:18 He despised the oath by breaking the treaty. Because he gave his promise15 and did all these things—he will not escape!
17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him16 for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! 17:20 I 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. 17:21 All the fugitives17 among his troops will fall by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!
17:22 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig18 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.
17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,
and it will send forth branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.
Every bird of every kind will live under it;
in the shade of its branches they will live.
17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord, have brought low the high tree, raised up the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree sprout.
I, the Lord have spoken, and I will carry it out.’”
Individual Retribution