Ezekiel employs the rare Hebrew word *chidah* (riddle) alongside *mashal* (parable), creating a double-layered prophetic puzzle that appears in only two other biblical contexts.
Ezekiel 17
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
1The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;
3and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers which had various colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
4He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, and carried it to a land of traffic. He planted it in a city of merchants.
5“‘“He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He set it as a willow tree.
6It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him. So it became a vine, produced branches, and shot out sprigs.
7“‘“There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the ground where it was planted, that he might water it.
8It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might produce branches and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a good vine.”’
9“Say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, that it may wither, that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? It can’t be raised from its roots by a strong arm or many people.
10Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the ground where it grew.”’”
The Interpretation of the Parable
11Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
12“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
13He took one of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land,
14that the kingdom might be brought low, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the covenant, and still escape?
16“‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the middle of Babylon he will die.
17Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company won’t help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts to cut off many persons.
18For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things. He won’t escape.
19“Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘As I live, I will surely bring on his own head my oath that he has despised and my covenant that he has broken.
20I will spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.
21All his fugitives in all his bands will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered toward every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken it.’
The Messianic Cedar
22“The Lord GOD says: ‘I will also take some of the lofty top of the cedar, and will plant it. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23I will plant it in the mountain of the height of Israel; and it will produce boughs, and bear fruit, and be a good cedar. Birds of every kind will dwell in the shade of its branches.
24All the trees of the field will know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish. “‘I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.’”
Font Size 17pt
Line Spacing
Theme
Ezekiel presents a parable of two eagles and a vine to illustrate Judah's political situation under Babylonian rule. The first eagle (Babylon) transplants a vine (Zedekiah) which then treacherously turns to a second eagle (Egypt) for support, leading to divine judgment for covenant breaking. The chapter concludes with a messianic promise of God planting a noble cedar that will become a great tree, offering hope beyond the immediate judgment.
Context
This chapter follows Ezekiel's previous oracles against Jerusalem and precedes further prophecies of judgment, using symbolic language to address the current political crisis.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-10 The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine God commands Ezekiel to tell a riddle about eagles and a vine that illustrates political betrayal and its consequences
- 11-21 The Interpretation of the Parable Ezekiel explains that the parable represents Babylon's dealings with Jerusalem and Zedekiah's fatal rebellion
- 22-24 The Messianic Cedar God promises to plant a tender sprig from the cedar's top that will become a magnificent tree sheltering all nations
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17:1–17:10 prophecy parable-telling warning
God commands Ezekiel to tell a parable about two eagles and a vine to the house of Israel. The parable uses symbolic imagery of eagles, cedar trees, and vines to convey a prophetic message about judgment and consequences.
person_contrast
Ezekiel employs the rare Hebrew word *chidah* (riddle) alongside *mashal* (parable), creating a double-layered prophetic puzzle that appears in only two other biblical contexts.
The Interpretation of the Parable
17:11–17:21 prophecy instruction wrathful
God provides the interpretation of the eagle parable, revealing it represents the king of Babylon's conquest of Jerusalem and the rebellious breaking of covenant. The passage pronounces judgment on those who break their oath and covenant with Babylon.
person_contrast
Ezekiel's interpretation transforms the eagle parable into a scathing indictment where breaking human covenants becomes tantamount to despising God's own oath.
The Messianic Cedar
17:22–17:24 prophecy hopeful
God promises to plant a tender cedar sprig on Israel's mountain that will grow into a great tree providing shelter. This messianic prophecy declares God's sovereignty in bringing down the high and exalting the low.
theme_rarity
God's reversal formula "bring down the high tree, make the low tree high" in verse 24 uniquely combines botanical imagery with divine sovereignty, appearing nowhere else in Scripture's messianic prophecies.
Insights
Ezekiel's interpretation transforms the eagle parable into a scathing indictment where breaking human covenants becomes tantamount to despising God's own oath.
God's reversal formula "bring down the high tree, make the low tree high" in verse 24 uniquely combines botanical imagery with divine sovereignty, appearing nowhere else in Scripture's messianic prophecies.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Ezekiel 17:2 3 references
Lexicals 3
Judges 14:13 Lexical
but if you can’t tell me the answer, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” They…
Judges 14:12 Lexical
Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, an…
Judges 14:16 Lexical
Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, “You just hate me, and don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to the children of m…
Ezekiel 17:3 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 31:3 Lexical
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, of high stature; and…
Ezekiel 31:10 Lexical
“Therefore thus said the Lord GOD: ‘Because he is exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick branches, a…
Isaiah 37:24 Lexical
By your servants, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the heig…
2 Kings 19:23 Lexical
By your messengers, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the h…
Isaiah 40:31 Lexical
but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and…
Ezekiel 17:6 3 references
Lexicals 3
Ezekiel 31:12 Lexical
Foreigners, the tyrants of the nations, have cut him off and have left him. His branches have fallen on the mountains an…
Ezekiel 31:7 Lexical
Thus it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
Isaiah 10:33 Lexical
Behold, the Lord, GOD of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be broug…
Ezekiel 17:7 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:8 2 references
Ezekiel 17:9 3 references
Lexicals 3
Hosea 9:16 Lexical
Ephraim is struck. Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, yet I will kill the be…
Isaiah 61:11 Lexical
For as the earth produces its bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD…
Ezekiel 23:34 Lexical
You will even drink it and drain it out. You will gnaw the broken pieces of it, and will tear your breasts; for I have s…
Ezekiel 17:10 2 references
Ezekiel 17:13 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:14 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:15 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:16 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 16:59 Lexical
“‘For the Lord GOD says: “I will also deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenan…
Ezekiel 16:8 Lexical
“‘“Now when I passed by you, and looked at you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my garment over you…
Ezekiel 20:33 Lexical
As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will b…
Amos 8:3 Lexical
The songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord GOD. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place t…
Ezekiel 14:18 Lexical
though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but th…
Ezekiel 17:17 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 4:2 Lexical
Lay siege against it, build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it. Also set camps against it and plant batter…
Ezekiel 26:8 Lexical
He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will make forts against you, cast up a mound against you, an…
Jeremiah 6:6 Lexical
For the LORD of Armies said, “Cut down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be visited. She…
Jeremiah 52:4 Lexical
In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,…
2 Kings 25:1 Lexical
In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,…
Ezekiel 17:18 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:19 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:20 2 references
Ezekiel 17:21 1 reference
Ezekiel 17:22 2 references
Ezekiel 17:24 3 references
Lexicals 3
Numbers 6:3 Lexical
he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink,…
Ezekiel 31:5 Lexical
Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied. Its branches became…
Joel 1:12 Lexical
The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all…
Interlinear
Word-by-word original language
v. 1
v. 2
v. 3
v. 4
v. 5
v. 6
v. 7
v. 8
v. 9
v. 10
v. 11
v. 12
v. 13
v. 14
v. 15
v. 16
v. 17
v. 18
v. 19
v. 20
v. 21
v. 22
v. 23
v. 24
Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
Loading map...
Timeline
Exile
586-538 BCThe forced deportation of Judah's population to Babylon after Jerusalem's destruction. This pivotal event reshaped Jewish identity and theology, leading to the compilation of much of the Hebrew Bible.
The eagle parable's interpretation reveals Babylon's conquest leading to Jerusalem's exile as covenant judgment.
The Interpretation of the Parable