The Lord Tells Ezekiel to Say a Riddle & a Parable to the House of Israel |
Ezekiel 17:1-24 The Book of Ezekiel [in Smaller Chunks] |
And the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, [present] a riddle & [tell] a parable to the house of Israel. Say, The Lord God says [this;] A [large] eagle, with [impressive, long wings,] full of feathers, [that] had [a variety] of colors, came to Lebanon. |
[2 Kings 24:1 [During Jehoikim's] days, Nebuchadnezzar, [Babylon's king, came up & Jehoiakim became his servant 3 years. Then, [Jehoiakim] turned & rebelled against him.] |
[The eagle] took the highest branch of the cedar. [2 Kings 24:6 So, Jehoiakim slept with his [forefathers] & Jehoiachin, his son, [ruled] in his [place.] |
He cropped off the top of his young twigs, & carried it, into a land of [trade.] He [put] it in a city of merchants. [2 Kings 24:14-15 And [Nebuchadnezzar] carried away all [of] Jerusalem, [its:] princes; mighty men of valor & even 10,000 captives & all the: craftsmen & [blacksmiths.] |
None remained, [except] the poorest sort of people of the land. And he carried away [captive] from Jerusalem to Babylon, Jehoiachin & the king's: mother; wives; officers; & the mighty of the land.] |
He also took [some of] the seed of the land, & planted it in a [productive] field. [2 Kings 24:17 And [Babylon's] king made Mattaniah, [Jehoichin's uncle,] king in his [place] & changed his name to Zedekiah.] |
He placed it by [large] waters, [like] a willow tree. And it grew & became a spreading vine, of low stature, [a.k.a. status,] whose branches turned toward him, & [its] roots were under him. So, it became a vine & [produced] branches & [stems] shot [out.] |
Also, there was another [large] eagle, with [impressive] wings & many feathers. And, [look,] this vine [bent its] roots toward him, & shot [out its] branches toward him, [so] that he might water it [in the rows] of her plantation. |
[Isaiah 31:1 Woe to [those, who] go down to Egypt for help & [rely] on horses & trust in chariots & horsemen, because they [have] many & they are very strong. But they [don't] look to the Holy One of Israel & neither [do they] seek the Lord!] |
It was planted in good soil by [large] waters, [so] that it might bring [out] branches & [produce] fruit, [so] it might be a [majestic] vine. [Jeremiah 52:3 It [happened] in Jerusalem & Judah, through the anger of the Lord, [until] He had cast them out from His presence, [because] Zedekiah rebelled against [Babylon's] king.] |
You [shall] say, The Lord God says [this;] Shall it prosper? Shouldn't He pull up [its] roots & cut off [its] fruit, [so] that it [withers?] |
[Jeremiah 52:4-5 And it [happened during] 10th day, [of] the 10th month, in 9th year [Zedekiah ruled,] that Nebuchadrezzar, [a.k.a. Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's] king, came against Jerusalem, he & all his army & pitched [tents] & built forts [all around] against it. So, the city was [surrounded [& blocked off] [until] the 11th year king Zedekiah [ruled.] |
[With] all [its] spring leaves, it shall wither, even without great power, or many people to [pull] it up by [its] roots. [Still, look,] being planted, shall it still [thrive?] [Jeremiah 52:6 And [on] the 9th day of the 4th month, the famine was [severe] in the city, so that there was no [food] for the people of the land.] |
Shouldn't it [totally] wither, when the East wind, [batters] it? [Jeremiah 37:5 Then, Pharaoh's army [had] come out of Egypt & when the Chaldeans, [a.k.a. Babylonians, who surrounded] Jerusalem, heard [news] of them, they [left] from Jerusalem.] |
It shall wither in the [rows] where it grew. [Jeremiah 37:7-8 The Lord, the God of Israel says [this;] You shall say [this] to [Judah's] king, Who sent you to Me to inquire [from] Me? |
[Watch,] Pharaoh's army, [that] has come [out] to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own lands. And the Chaldeans shall [return] again & fight against this city & [capture] it & burn it with fire.] |
[Additionally,] the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, Now, say to the rebellious house, [Don't] you know what these things mean? [Explain] them. [Look,] the king of Babylon, [has] come to Jerusalem & has [captured] the king & [its] princes & led them with him to Babylon. |
[Jeremiah 39:4-5 And it [happened,] that when Zedekiah, [Judah's] king, & all the men of war saw them, they then fled & went out of the city by night, by the [road] of the king's garden, by the gate [between] the 2 walls. And he went out the [road] of the [plains.] |
But the Chaldean's army pursued after them & overtook Zedekiah in the Plains of Jericho. And when they had [captured] him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, [Babylon's] king, [at] Riblah, in the land of Hamath, where he [pronounced] judgment upon [Zedekiah.] |
And has taken [from] the king's seed & made a covenant [contract] with him & has [made] an oath [with] him. [2 Chronicles 30:8-9 Now [don't] be stiff necked like] your [forefathers] were, but yield yourselves to the Lord & enter into His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever. And serve the Lord your God, [so] that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.] |
For if you [return] again to the Lord, your brethren & your children shall find compassion before [those who] lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious & merciful & will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him.] |
He has also [captured] the mighty of the land. [Jeremiah 52:10 And [Babylon's] king slew [Zedekiah's] sons, before his eyes. He also slew all [Judah's] princes in Riblah.] |
[So,] that the kingdom might be, [lowly, so] that it might not [raise] itself up, but by keeping His Covenant, it might stand. [Jeremiah 34:8 This is the Word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after king Zedekiah had made a Covenant [contract] with all the people, [who] were [in] Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them.] |
But he rebelled against Him [by] sending his ambassadors into Egypt, [so] that they might give him: horses & [many] people. [Ezekiel 29:14-15 And I will again bring [from] Egypt [those in] captivity & will [make] them return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their [residence] & they shall be a [lowly] kingdom there. |
It shall be the [lowliest] of kingdoms. Neither shall it [elevate] itself anymore above the nations. For I will [reduce] them, [so] that they shall no [longer] rule over the nations.] |
Shall he prosper? Shall he, who does such things escape? Or shall he break the Covenant & be delivered? [2 Chronicles 36:13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he [stubbornly] stiffened his neck & hardened his heart, from turning to the Lord God of Israel.] |
The Lord God says, As I Live, surely in the place where the king [lives,] that made him king, whose oath he despised & Whose Covenant he [broke,] even with [Nebuchadnezzar,] he shall die in the midst of Babylon. [Jeremiah 39:7 [Also, Nebuchadnezzar] put out Zedekiah's eyes & bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.] |
Neither shall Pharaoh, with his mighty army & [large] company [be able to hinder Nebuchadnezzar] in the war, by casting up [embankments] & building forts, to cut off many [people.] |
He shall not escape, [since] he despised the oath by breaking the Covenant [contract] after he had given his hand, [a.k.a. sealing a deal,] & has done these things. |
[Jeremiah 34:17 Therefore, the Lord says [this;] You haven't [paid attention] to Me, [about] everyone proclaiming liberty to his brother & neighbor. The Lord says, [Watch,] I proclaim liberty to you, to the: sword; pestilence; & famine. And I will make you be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.] |
Therefore the Lord God says [this;] As I Live, surely, [My] oath that he has despised & [My] Covenant that he has broken, I will even [repay] him upon his own head. And I will spread My net upon him & he shall be [captured] in My snare. |
And I will bring him to Babylon & will plead with him there for his [sins] he has trespassed against Me. [Jeremiah 52:11 Then, [after] he put out the eyes of Zedekiah & the king of Babylon bound [Zedekiah] & carried him to Babylon & put him in prison [until] the day of his death.] |
And all his fugitives & [troops] shall fall by the sword. And [those who] remain, shall be scattered toward all [the] winds. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it. [Ezekiel 12:15-16 And they shall know that I Am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations & disperse them in the countries. |
But I will leave a few of [those] men from the: sword; famine; & pestilence, [so] that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen [where] they [go.] And they shall know that I Am the Lord.] |
The Lord God says [this;] I will also take [from] the highest branch of the [tall] cedar, [a.k.a. Jerusalem,] & I will set it & I will crop off the top from the top of his young twigs, a tender One & will plant it upon a [tall, majestic] mountain. [Isaiah 11:1-4 *And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse & a Branch shall grow out of his roots. |
*And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom & understanding, the Spirit of counsel & [strength;] the Spirit of knowledge & of the fear [respect] of the Lord. And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear [respect] of the Lord. |
And He shall not judge, [according] to the sight of His eyes & neither [reprimand, according to what is heard from] His ears, but He shall judge the poor with righteousness & [repay] the meek of the earth with equity. And He shall [strike] the earth with the breath of His lips & He shall slay the wicked.] |
I will plant it in the heights in the mountains. And it shall bring forth boughs, & [produce] fruit, & be a [majestic] cedar. And under it shall dwell all [birds] of every [type of] wing; in the [shade] of the branches & they shall dwell there. |
And all the trees of the field, shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, & have exalted the [lowly] tree, & have dried up the green tree & have made the dry tree to flourish. |
[Jeremiah 23:5-6 *The Lord says, [Watch,] the days come, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch & a King shall [rule] & prosper & shall [carry out] judgment & justice [on] the earth. *In His days, Judah shall be saved, & Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His Name [by which] He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.] |
I, the Lord, have spoken & have done it. [Revelation 22:16-17 I, Jesus, have sent [My] Angel to testify these things to you in the churches. I Am the Root & the offspring of David & the Bright & Morning Star. And the Spirit & the bride say, Come. And let him, [who] hears say, Come. And let him, [who is thirsty,] come. And [whoever is willing,] let him take the Water of Life freely.] |