Ezekiel 17

1 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
2 Son of man, propose a riddle, and speak this proverb to the house of Israel:
3 Thus speaks the Lord GOD: The great eagle, with great wings, with long pinions, with thick plumage, many-hued, came to Lebanon. He took the crest of the cedar,
4 tearing off its topmost branch, And brought it to a land of tradesmen, set it in a city of merchants.
5 Then he took some seed of the land, and planted it in a seedbed; A shoot by plentiful waters, like a willow he placed it,
6 To sprout and grow up a vine, dense and low-lying, Its branches turned toward him, its roots lying under him. Thus it became a vine, produced branches and put forth shoots.
7 But there was another great eagle, great of wing, rich in plumage; To him this vine bent its roots, sent out its branches, That he might water it more freely than the bed where it was planted.
8 In a fertile field by plentiful waters it was planted, to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic vine.
9 Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Can it prosper? Will he not rather tear it out by the roots and strip off its fruit, so that all its green growth will wither when he pulls it up by the roots? (No need of a mighty arm or many people to do this.)
10 True, it is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not rather wither, when touched by the east wind, in the bed where it grew?
11 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
12 Son of man, say now to the rebellious house: Do you not understand what this means? It is this: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took away its king and princes with him to Babylon.
13 Then he selected a man of the royal line with whom he made a covenant, binding him under oath, while removing the nobles of the land,
14 so that the kingdom would remain a modest one, without aspirations, and would keep his covenant and obey him.
15 But this man rebelled against him, sending envoys to Egypt to obtain horses and a great army. Can he prosper? Can he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still go free?
16 As I live, says the Lord GOD, in the home of the king who set him up to rule, whose oath he spurned, whose covenant with him he broke, there in Babylon I swear he shall die!
17 When ramps are cast up and siege towers are built for the destruction of many lives, he shall not be saved in the conflict by Pharaoh with a great army and numerous troops.
18 He spurned his oath, breaking his covenant. Though he gave his hand in pledge, he did all these things. He shall not escape!
19 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, my oath which he spurned, my covenant which he broke, I swear to bring down upon his head.
20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there over his breaking faith with me.
21 All the crack troops among his forces shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered in every direction. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.
22 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, And plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
23 on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, Bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, Wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.

Ezekiel 18

1 Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
2 what is the meaning of this proverb that you recite in the land of Israel: Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children's teeth are on edge?
3 As I live, says the Lord GOD: I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you who will repeat this proverb in Israel.
4 For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die.
5 If a man is virtuous--if he does what is right and just,
6 if he does not eat on the mountains, nor raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; if he does not defile his neighbor's wife, nor have relations with a woman in her menstrual period;
7 if he oppresses no one, gives back the pledge received for a debt, commits no robbery; if he gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked;
8 if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury; if he holds off from evildoing, judges fairly between a man and his opponent;
9 if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances, that man is virtuous--he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.
10 But if he begets a son who is a thief, a murderer, or who does any of these things
11 (though the father does none of them), a son who eats on the mountains, defiles the wife of his neighbor,
12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not give back a pledge, raises his eyes to idols, does abominable things,
13 lends at interest and exacts usury--this son certainly shall not live. Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die; his death shall be his own fault.
14 On the other hand, if a man begets a son who, seeing all the sins his father commits, yet fears and does not imitate him;
15 a son who does not eat on the mountains, or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife;
16 who does not oppress anyone, or exact a pledge, or commit robbery; who gives his food to the hungry and clothes the naked;
17 who holds off from evildoing, accepts no interest or usury, but keeps my ordinances and lives by my statutes--this one shall not die for the sins of his father, but shall surely live.
18 Only the father, since he violated rights, and robbed, and did what was not good among his people, shall in truth die for his sins.
19 You ask: Why is not the son charged with the guilt of his father? Because the son has done what is right and just, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.
20 Only the one who sins shall die. The son shall not be charged with the guilt of his father, nor shall the father be charged with the guilt of his son. The virtuous man's virtue shall be his own, as the wicked man's wickedness shall be his own.
21 But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.
23 Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?
24 And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die.
25 You say, The LORD'S way is not fair! Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
26 When a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
27 But if a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life;
28 since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 And yet the house of Israel says, The LORD'S way is not fair! Is it my way that is not fair, house of Israel, or rather, is it not that your ways are not fair?
30 Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Turn and be converted from all your crimes, that they may be no cause of guilt for you.
31 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord GOD. Return and live!

Ezekiel 19

1 As for you, son of man, raise a lamentation over the prince of Israel:
2 What a lioness was your mother, a lion of lions! Among young lions she couched to rear her whelps.
3 One whelp she raised up, a young lion he became; He learned to seize prey, men he devoured.
4 Then nations raised cries against him, in their pit he was caught; They took him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 Then she saw that in vain she had waited, her hope was destroyed. She took another of her whelps, him she made a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions, a young lion he became; He learned to seize prey, men he devoured;
7 He ravaged their strongholds, their cities he wasted. The land and all in it were appalled at the noise of his roar.
8 Nations laid out against him snares all about him; They spread their net to take him, in their pit he was caught.
9 They put him in a cage and took him away to the king of Babylon, So that his voice would not be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine planted by the water; Fruitful and branchy was she because of the abundant water.
11 One strong branch she put out as a royal scepter. Stately was her height amid the dense foliage; Notably tall was she with her many clusters.
12 But she was torn up in fury and flung to the ground; The east wind withered her up, her fruit was torn off; Then her strong branch withered up, fire devoured it.
13 So now she is planted in the desert, in a land dry and parched,
14 For fire came out of the branch and devoured her shoots; She is now without a strong branch, a ruler's scepter. This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.