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17:1  The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying:
17:2  “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], give a ·riddle [allegory] and tell a ·story [parable] to the ·people [L house] of Israel.
17:3  Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A ·giant [great; mighty] eagle with ·big [great] wings and long ·feathers [L feathers and plumage] of many different colors [16:10] came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree.
17:4  He pulled off the top ·branch [shoot] and brought it to a land of ·traders [merchants; C Babylon], where he planted it in a city of traders [C the eagle symbolizes King Nebuchadnezzar; v. 12].
17:5  “‘The eagle took ·some seed [or a seedling] from the land and planted it in ·a good field [fertile soil] near plenty of water. He planted it to grow like a willow tree.
17:6  It sprouted and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The branches turned toward the eagle, but the roots were under ·the eagle [or itself; L it]. So the seed became a vine, and its ·branches [shoots] grew, sending out ·leaves [or branches; boughs].
17:7  “‘But there was another ·giant [great; mighty] eagle with ·big [great] wings and ·many feathers [full plumage]. The vine then ·bent [sent] its roots toward this eagle. It ·sent [stretched; shot] out its branches from the ·area [bed; plot] where it was planted toward the eagle ·so he could water it [to get water].
17:8  It had been planted in ·a good field [good soil] by plenty of water so it could grow branches and bear fruit. It could have become a ·fine [beautiful; splendid] vine.’
17:9  “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: ·The vine will not continue to grow [L Will it thrive/prosper?]. ·The first eagle will [L Will he not…?] pull up the vine’s roots and strip off its fruit. Then the vine and all its new leaves will ·dry up and die [wither]. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull the vine up by its roots.
17:10  [L Look; T Behold] Even if it is planted again, ·it will not [L will it…?] ·continue to grow [thrive]. ·It will [L Will it not…?] completely ·dry up and die [wither] when the east wind hits it. ·It will [or Will it not…?] ·dry up and die [wither] in the ·area [bed; plot] where it ·grew [sprouted].’”
17:11  Then the ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying:
17:12  “Say now to the ·people who refuse to obey [L rebellious house]: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Say: ‘[L Look; T Behold] The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took the king [C Jehoiachin; 2 Kin. 24:12] and ·important men [nobles; officials] of Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon.
17:13  Then he took ·a member of the family of the king of Judah [L from the royal offspring/seed; C Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle; 2 Kin. 24:17] and made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him, ·forcing him to take an [putting him under] oath. The king also took away the leaders of ·Judah [L the land]
17:14  to ·make the kingdom weak [humble/bring low the kingdom] so it would not ·be strong [rise; exalt itself] again. Then the kingdom of Judah ·could continue only [would stand] by keeping its ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the king of Babylon.
17:15  But ·the king of Judah [L he; C referring to Zedekiah; 2 Kin. 24:20] ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Babylon by sending his ·messengers [emissaries] to Egypt and asking them for horses and many soldiers [2 Kin. 24:20]. Will ·the king of Judah succeed [he prosper/succeed]? Will the one who does such things escape? ·He cannot [L Can he…?] break the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and escape.
17:16  “‘As surely as I live, says the Lord God, he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who made him king of Judah. The king of Judah ·hated [despised] his ·promise [oath] to the king of Babylon and broke his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with him.
17:17  ·The king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] with his mighty army and ·many people [vast horde] will not help ·the king of Judah [L him] in the war. The Babylonians will build ·devices [ramps and siege walls] to attack the cities and to ·kill [destroy; cut off] many people.
17:18  The king of Judah showed that he ·hated [despised] the ·promise [oath] by breaking the ·agreement [covenant; treaty]. He ·promised to support Babylon [L gave his hand (in pledge)], but he did all these things. So he will not escape.
17:19  “‘So this is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, I will ·pay back the king of Judah [L bring down on his head] for ·hating [despising] my ·promise [oath] and breaking my ·agreement [covenant; treaty].
17:20  I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my ·trap [snare]. Then I will bring him to Babylon, where I will ·punish [execute judgment on] him for the ·unfaithful acts [treachery] he did against me.
17:21  All the ·best [choice men] of his soldiers will die by the sword, and those who live will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
17:22  “‘This is what the Lord God says: I myself will also take a ·young branch [shoot; sprig] from the top of a tall cedar tree, and I will plant it. I will cut off a ·small [tender] twig from the top of the tree’s young branches, and I will plant it on a ·very high [L high and lofty] mountain.
17:23  I will plant it on the ·high mountain [mountain heights] of Israel. Then it will grow branches and give fruit and become a ·great [beautiful; majestic] cedar tree. Birds of every kind will build nests in it and live in the ·shelter [shade] of the tree’s branches.
17:24  Then all the trees in the ·countryside [field] will know that I am the Lord. I bring down the high tree and make the low tree tall. I ·dry up [wither] the green tree and make the dry tree ·grow [thrive; flourish]. I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.’”