And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto {Or, the land of Canaan}a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in {Hebrew: a field of seed.}a fruitful soil; he placed it beside {Or, great}many waters; he set it as a willow-tree.
And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.
It was planted in a good {Hebrew: field.}soil by {Or, great}many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof.
Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the beds where it grew.
Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon.
And he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;
that the kingdom might be {Hebrew: low.}base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.
For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet hath done all these things; he shall not escape.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head.
And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain:
in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
And all the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it.
Querverweise zu Hesekiel 17,23 Hes 17,23
The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree:He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow dwelt all great nations.
They are planted in the house of Jehovah;They shall flourish in the courts of our God.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,Nor {Or, a lawgiver}the ruler's staff from between his feet, {Or, Til he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples Or, according to Syriac, Til he come whose it is &c.}Until Shiloh come:And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
{Or, In the generations that come}In days to come shall Jacob take root; Israel shall blossom and bud; and they shall fill the face of the world with fruit.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah;And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
For the kingdom is Jehovah's;And he is the ruler over the nations.
All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship:All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him,Even he that cannot keep his soul alive.
A seed shall serve him;It shall be {Or, counted unto the Lord for his generations}told of the Lord unto the next generation.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,And from the River unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;And his enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute:The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him;All nations shall serve him.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein {Or, was}is my Father glorified, {Many ancient authorities read that ye bear much fruit, and be my disciples.}that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.
And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established {Or, at the head}on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be {Hebrew: glory.}glorious.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be {Hebrew: nursed upon the side.}carried in the arms.
Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the {Or, young camels}dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall {Hebrew: bring good tidings of the praises.}proclaim the praises of Jehovah.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar; and I will {Or, beautify}glorify {Or, my beautiful house}the house of my glory.
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?
Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath {Or, beautified}glorified thee.
And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.
Thy gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.
For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the vine: {Or, his memorial}the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a {Greek: drag-net.}net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away.
And the {Greek: bondservant.}servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his {Greek: bondservant.}servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame.
And the {Greek: bondservant.}servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room.
And the lord said unto the {Greek: bondservant.}servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled.
and he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth:
wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven.
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.
where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said,The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign {Greek: unto the ages of the ages}for ever and ever.