Ezekiel 17:3

Translations

Modern

…and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Traditional

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

Literal

…and say, thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘A great eagle, great of wings and long of pinions, full of feathers that are unto it of many colors, came to Lebanon, and took from the treetop of the cedar.

Latin

…et dices: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Aquila grandis magnarum alarum, longo membrorum ductu, plena plumis et varietate, venit ad Libanum, et tulit medullam cedri.

Original

Hebrew

English

…and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Notes

Ezekiel 17:3–6

Babylon was the city filled with merchants (see Ezekiel 16:29).

Ezekiel 17:1–24

This chapter includes a riddle. A riddle is a type of metaphorical speech (language that uses pictures and comparisons). It both hides and shows the meaning at the same time.

The chapter is also a fable. A fable is a story that teaches a moral lesson. It often tells the lesson through plants or animals instead of people.

This creative setting creates distance between the story and real life. That distance helps the listener receive the message. It lowers resistance to a message that may be hard or unpleasant to hear.

Ezekiel 15:1–24:14

This section includes eight metaphors, each showing from a different angle the certainty of Jerusalem's upcoming judgment. The images are of:

a worthless vine (Ezekiel 15);
a faithless wife (Ezekiel 16);
a vine and two eagles (Ezekiel 17);
Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18);
a lion and her cubs (Ezekiel 19);
a sword (Ezekiel 21);
two corrupt sisters (Ezekiel 23); and
a cooking pot (Ezekiel 24).

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
Jeremiah 48:40
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
Ezekiel 17:7
But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that he might water it.
Daniel 4:22
…you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.
Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
2 Chronicles 36:9–10
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
Jeremiah 24:1
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
Ezekiel 17:12–21
“Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
2 Kings 24:10–16
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
Lamentations 4:19
Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

Parallels

Matthew 13:24–30

People

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Places

Lebanon: A mountainous region known for its cedar trees

Glossary

Alliance Cedar Color Eagle Ezekiel, Book of Hosea, Book of Riddle Vulture

Topics

Babylon: Represented by a Great Eagle Babylon: Revolt of the Jews From, and Their Punishment Illustrated Eagle: Symbolical Ezekiel: Teaches by Pantomime: Prophesies by Parable of an Eagle Prophets: Frequently Spoke in Parables and Riddles The Cedar: The Eagle Alluded to as Perching on the High Branches of The Eagle of Great and Powerful Kings The Eagle: Delights in the Lofty Cedars The Eagle: Different Kinds of The Eagle: Greatness of Its Wings Alluded To Trees: Often Propagated by Birds Who Carry the Seeds Along with Them

Ezekiel 17:3

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Original?

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Events?

Related verses?

Parallels?