17 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

² Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel,

³ and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings, long-pinioned, full of feathers, which was of divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar.

⁴ He cropped off the top of its young shoots, and carried it into a merchants' land; he set it in a city of traders.

⁵ And he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, he set it as a willow tree.

⁶ And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, so that its branches should turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; and it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

⁷ And there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, from the beds of her plantation, this vine did bend her roots unto him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it.

⁸ It was planted in a good field by many waters, that it might bring forth branches and bear fruit, that it might be a noble vine.

⁹ Say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither? All its fresh sprouting leaves shall wither, even without a great arm and many people to pluck it up by its roots.

¹⁰ And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew.

¹¹ And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

¹² Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things are? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon.

¹³ And he took of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and he took away the mighty of the land;

¹⁴ that the kingdom might be abased, that it might not lift itself up, that it might keep his covenant in order to stand.

¹⁵ 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 doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?

¹⁶ [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily in the place of the king that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him, in the midst of Babylon, shall he die.

¹⁷ Neither shall Pharaoh with a mighty army and a great assemblage do anything for him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts to cut off many persons.

¹⁸ He despised the oath, and broke the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, yet hath he done all these things: he shall not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily, mine oath which he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his head.

²⁰ 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 enter into judgment with him there for his unfaithfulness in which he hath been unfaithful against me.

²¹ And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken.

²² Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the highest branch of the lofty cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of its young shoots a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and eminent mountain:

²³ upon the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I Jehovah have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish: I Jehovah have spoken, and will do [it].

18 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

² What mean ye, ye who use this proverb of the land of Israel, saying, [The] fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

³ [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have any more to use this proverb in Israel.

⁴ Behold, all the souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

⁵ And if a man be righteous, and do judgment and justice:

⁶ —he hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, nor come near to a woman in her separation,

⁷ and hath not oppressed any; he hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath not exercised robbery, hath given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment;

⁸ he hath not given forth upon usury, nor taken increase; he hath withdrawn his hand from unrighteousness, hath executed true judgment between man and man,

⁹ hath walked in my statutes, and kept mine ordinances, to deal faithfully: he is righteous, he shall certainly live, saith the Lord Jehovah.

¹⁰ And if he have begotten a son that is violent, a shedder of blood, and that doeth only one of any of these [things],

¹¹ and that doeth not any of those [duties], but also hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,

¹² hath oppressed the poor and needy, exercised robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, committed abomination,

¹³ given forth upon usury, and taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall certainly die; his blood shall be upon him.

¹⁴ But lo, if he have begotten a son that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like:

¹⁵ —he hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,

¹⁶ and hath not oppressed any, nor withholden the pledge, neither hath exercised robbery; he hath given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment;

¹⁷ he hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, [and] walked in my statutes: he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall certainly live.

¹⁸ As for his father, because he practised oppression, exercised robbery upon his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity.

¹⁹ And ye say, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? But the son hath done judgment and justice, hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them; he shall certainly live.

²⁰ The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

²¹ And the wicked, if he turn from all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do judgment and justice, he shall certainly live, he shall not die.

²² None of his transgressions which he hath committed shall be remembered against him; in his righteousness which he hath done shall he live.

²³ Have I any pleasure at all in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; is it not in his turning from his way, that he may live?

²⁴ And when the righteous turneth from his righteousness and practiseth what is wrong, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done shall be remembered: in his unfaithfulness which he hath wrought, and in his sin which he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

²⁵ And ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear then, house of Israel. Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

²⁶ When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and practiseth what is wrong, and dieth for it; in his wrong that he hath done shall he die.

²⁷ And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness which he hath committed, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall keep his soul alive.

²⁸ Because he considereth, and turneth from all his transgressions which he hath committed, he shall certainly live, he shall not die.

²⁹ But the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal?

³⁰ Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare.

³¹ Cast away from you all your transgressions wherewith ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: why then will ye die, house of Israel?

³² For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah; therefore turn ye and live.

19 And thou, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

² and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps in the midst of the young lions.

³ And she brought up one of her whelps; it became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

⁴ And the nations heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with nose-rings into the land of Egypt.

⁵ And when she saw that she had waited [and] her hope was lost, she took another of her whelps, [and] made him a young lion.

⁶ And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

⁷ And he knew their [desolate] palaces, and he laid waste their cities, so that the land was desolate, and all it contained, by the noise of his roaring.

⁸ Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.

⁹ And they put him in a cage with nose-rings, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ Thy mother was as a vine, in thy rest, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

¹¹ And it had strong rods for sceptres of them that bear rule, and its stature was exalted between the thick boughs; and it was conspicuous by its height with the multitude of its branches.

¹² But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

¹³ And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground:

¹⁴ and a fire is gone out of a rod of its branches, [which] hath devoured its fruit; so that it hath no strong rod to be a sceptre for ruling. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

20 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth [month], the tenth of the month, [that] certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Jehovah, and they sat before me.

² And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

³ Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Are ye come to inquire of me? [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will not be inquired of by you.

⁴ Wilt thou judge them, wilt thou judge, son of man? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers,

⁵ and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand unto them, saying, I [am] Jehovah your God,

⁶ in that day I lifted up my hand unto them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the ornament of all lands;

⁷ and I said unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I [am] Jehovah your God.

⁸ But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: none of them cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I thought to pour out my fury upon them, so as to accomplish mine anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹ But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they were, in whose sight I had made myself known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹ And I gave them my statutes, and made known unto them mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them.

¹² And I also gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I [am] Jehovah that hallow them.

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they rejected mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned: and I said I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴ But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.

¹⁵ And I also lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land that I had given [them], flowing with milk and honey, which is the ornament of all lands;

¹⁶ because they rejected mine ordinances and walked not in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷ But mine eye spared them so as not to destroy them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ And I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk not in the statutes of your fathers, neither keep their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

¹⁹ I [am] Jehovah your God: walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them;

²⁰ and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I [am] Jehovah your God.

²¹ And the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept mine ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live by them; they profaned my sabbaths: and I said I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish mine anger against them in the wilderness.

²² But I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.

²³ I lifted up my hand also unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries;

²⁴ because they performed not mine ordinances, and rejected my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.

²⁵ And I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances whereby they should not live;

²⁶ and I defiled them by their own gifts, in that they devoted all that opened the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I [am] Jehovah.

²⁷ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have wrought unfaithfulness against me.

²⁸ When I had brought them into the land which I had lifted up my hand to give unto them, then they saw every high hill and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering; and there they placed their sweet savour, and there poured out their drink-offerings.

²⁹ And I said unto them, What is the high place whither ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.

³⁰ Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Do ye defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers? and do ye commit fornication after their abominations?

³¹ And when ye offer your gifts, making your sons to pass through the fire, ye defile yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day; and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I will not be inquired of by you.

³² And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, in serving wood and stone.

³³ [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I reign over you.

³⁴ And I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out;

³⁵ and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face.

³⁶ Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, saith the Lord Jehovah.

³⁷ And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

³⁸ And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me; I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

³⁹ As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Go ye, serve every one his idols henceforth also, if none of you will hearken unto me; but profane my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols.

⁴⁰ For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, there shall all the house of Israel serve me, the whole of it, in the land; there will I accept them, and there will I require your heave-offerings and the first-fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.

⁴¹ As a sweet savour will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you in the sight of the nations.

⁴² And ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have brought you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up my hand to give to your fathers.

⁴³ And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils which ye have committed.

⁴⁴ And ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

⁴⁵ And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

⁴⁶ Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [words] against the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

⁴⁷ and say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flashing flame shall not be quenched; and all that it meets from the south to the north shall be burned thereby.

⁴⁸ And all flesh shall see that I Jehovah have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

⁴⁹ And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?