Ezekiel 17:3

17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: 1 

“‘A great eagle 2  with broad wings, long feathers, 3 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, 4 

came to Lebanon 5  and took the top of the cedar.

Ezekiel 17:12

17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: 6  ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ 7  Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem 8  and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon.

1 tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.

2 sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

3 tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).

4 tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

5 sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).

6 tn The words “of Israel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation as a clarification of the referent.

sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

7 sn The narrative description of this interpretation of the riddle is given in 2 Kgs 24:11-15.

8 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.