Ezekiel 17:1-24
Two Eagles and a Vine
A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, “Son of man, tell the people of Israel a story about their kings. Let them know what will happen to them. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “A great eagle came to the city of ‘Lebanon.’ It had powerful wings and a lot of long feathers. The feathers were colorful and beautiful. The eagle landed in the top of a cedar tree. It broke off the highest twig. The eagle carried it away to the land of Babylon. There are many traders in that land. The eagle planted the twig in the city of Babylon.
“ ‘ “Then it took from the land a seed that had just sprouted. It put it in rich soil near plenty of water. It planted the seed like a willow tree. The seed grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the eagle. And its roots remained under the eagle. So the seed became a vine. It produced branches and put out leaves.
“ ‘ “But there was another great eagle. It also had powerful wings and a lot of feathers. The vine now sent out its roots toward that eagle. It sent them out from the place where it was planted. And it reached out its branches to the eagle for water. The seed had been planted in good soil near plenty of water. Then it could produce branches and bear fruit. It could become a beautiful vine.” ’
“Ezekiel, tell the Israelites, ‘The Lord and King asks, “Will the vine grow? Won’t it be pulled up by its roots? Won’t all its fruit be stripped off? Won’t it dry up? All its new growth will dry up. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up. It has been planted, but will it grow? No. It will dry up completely when the east wind strikes it. It will dry up in the place where it grew.” ’ ”
A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, “These people refuse to obey me. Ask them, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem. He was the king of Babylon. He carried off King Jehoiachin and the nobles. He brought them back with him to the city of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made a peace treaty with Zedekiah. He was a member of Jerusalem’s royal family. Nebuchadnezzar made him promise he would keep the treaty. He also took away the leading men of the land as prisoners. He did it to bring down their kingdom. It would not rise again. In fact, it would be able to last only by keeping his treaty. But Zedekiah turned against him. He sent messengers to Egypt. They went there to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does things like that escape? Can he break the peace treaty and still escape?
“ ‘Zedekiah will die in Babylon,’ announces the Lord and King. ‘And that is just as sure as I am alive. He will die in the land of King Nebuchadnezzar, who put him on the throne. Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty. So Nebuchadnezzar will build ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. He will set up war machines to destroy many lives. Pharaoh will not be able to help Zedekiah during the war. The huge and mighty army of Egypt will not be of any help. Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty. Zedekiah had made a firm promise to keep it. But he broke it anyway. So he will not escape.
“ ‘The Lord and King says, “Zedekiah didn’t keep the promise he made in my name. He broke the treaty. So I will pay him back. And that is just as sure as I am alive. I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. I will judge him there because he was not faithful to me. All Zedekiah’s best troops will be killed by swords. Those who are left alive will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I have spoken. I am the Lord.”
“ ‘The Lord and King says, “I myself will get a twig from the very top of a cedar tree and plant it. I will break off the highest twig. I will plant it on a very high mountain. I will plant it on the high mountains of Israel. It will produce branches and bear fruit. It will become a beautiful cedar tree. All kinds of birds will make their nests in it. They will live in the shade of its branches. All the trees in the forest will know that I bring down tall trees. I make short trees grow tall. I dry up green trees. And I make dry trees green.”
“ ‘I have spoken. I will do this. I am the Lord.’ ”
Ezekiel 18:1-32
People Will Die Because of Their Own Sins
A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, “You people have a proverb about the land of Israel. What do you mean by it? It says,
“ ‘The parents eat sour grapes.
But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’
“You will not use that proverb in Israel anymore,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive. Everyone belongs to me. Parents and children alike belong to me. A person will die because of their own sins.
“Suppose there is a godly man
who does what is fair and right.
And he does not eat at the mountain temples.
He does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.
He does not sleep with another man’s wife.
He does not have sex with his own wife
during her monthly period.
He does not treat anyone badly.
Instead, he always returns things he takes
to make sure loans are paid back.
He does not steal.
Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.
He provides clothes for those who are naked.
He does not charge interest when he lends money to them.
He does not make money from them.
He keeps himself from doing what is wrong.
He judges cases fairly.
He obeys my rules.
He is faithful in keeping my laws.
He always does what is right.
You can be sure he will live,”
announces the Lord and King.
“But suppose he has a mean son who harms other people. The son commits murder. Or he does some other things that are wrong. Suppose he does these things even though his father never did.
“Suppose the son eats at the mountain temples.
And he sleeps with another man’s wife.
He treats poor and needy people badly.
He steals.
He does not pay back what he owes.
He worships statues of gods.
He does other things I hate.
He charges interest when he lends money to poor people. He makes money from them.
Will a man like that live? He will not! He must be put to death. And what happens to him will be his own fault. He did many things I hate.
“But suppose this son has a son of his own. And the son sees all the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.
“Suppose he does not eat at the mountain temples.
And he does not worship the statues of Israel’s gods.
He does not sleep with another man’s wife.
He does not treat anyone badly.
He does not make people give him something
to prove they will pay back what they owe him.
He does not steal.
Instead, he gives his food to hungry people.
He provides clothes for those who are naked.
He keeps himself from committing sins.
He does not charge interest when he lends money to poor people.
He does not make money from them.
He keeps my laws and obeys my rules.
He will not die because of his father’s sin. You can be sure he will live. But his father will die because of his own sin. He got rich by cheating others. He robbed his relatives. He also did what was wrong among his people.
“But you still ask, ‘Is the son guilty along with his father?’ No! The son did what was fair and right. He was careful to obey all my rules. So you can be sure he will live. A person will die because of their own sins. A child will not be guilty because of what their parent did. And a parent will not be guilty because of what their child did. The right things a godly person does will be added to their account. The wrong things a sinful person does will be charged against them.
“But suppose a sinful person turns away from all the sins they have committed. And they obey all my rules. They do what is fair and right. Then you can be sure they will live. They will not die. None of the sins they have committed will be held against them. Because of the godly things they have done, they will live. When sinful people die, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “But when they turn away from their sins and live, that makes me very happy.
“Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. They do the same evil things a sinful person does. They do things I hate. Then they will not live. I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They have not been faithful to me. They have also committed many other sins. So they are guilty. They will die.
“But you say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ Listen to me, you Israelites. What I do is always fair. What you do is not. Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. Then they will die because of it. They will die because of the sin they have committed. But suppose a sinful person turns away from the evil things they have done. And they do what is fair and right. Then they will save their life. They think about all the evil things they have done. And they turn away from them. So you can be sure they will live. They will not die. But the Israelites still say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ People of Israel, what I do is always fair. What you do is not.
“So I will judge you Israelites. I will judge each of you in keeping with what you have done,” announces the Lord and King. “Turn away from your sins! Turn away from all the evil things you have done. Then sin will not bring you down. Get rid of all the evil things you have done. Let me give you a new heart and a new spirit. Then you will be faithful to me. Why should you die, people of Israel? When anyone dies, it does not give me any joy,” announces the Lord and King. “So turn away from your sins. Then you will live!
