Ezekiel 17:2

Amplified Bible

"Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.

Hebrew Names Version
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Yisra'el;

King James Version
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

English Standard Version
"Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

New American Standard Bible
"Son of man, ask a riddle and present a parable to the house of Israel,

New Century Version
"Human, give a riddle and tell a story to the people of Israel.

World English Bible
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Sonne of man, put foorth a parable and speake a prouerbe vnto the house of Israel,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

Legacy Standard Bible
"Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

Berean Standard Bible
"Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel

Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel the following story,

Complete Jewish Bible
"Human being, propound this riddle, tell the house of Isra'el this allegory,

Darby Translation
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel,

Easy-to-Read Version
"Son of man, I have a story with a hidden meaning for you to tell the family of Israel.

George Lamsa Translation
Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

Good News Translation
"Mortal man," he said, "tell the Israelites a parable

Lexham English Bible
"Son of man, tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel,

Literal Translation
Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou sonne of man: put forth a darcke speakynge and a parable, vnto the house of Israel,

American Standard Version
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Bible in Basic English
Son of man, give out a dark saying, and make a comparison for the children of Israel,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel,

King James Version (1611)
Sonne of man, put foorth a riddle, and speake a parable vnto the house of Israel,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou sonne of man, put foorth a parable, & speake a prouerbe vnto the house of Israel,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel:

English Revised Version
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he seide, Sone of man, sette forth a derk speche, and telle thou a parable to the hous of Israel;

Update Bible Version
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

Webster's Bible Translation
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

New English Translation
"Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel.

New King James Version
"Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

New Living Translation
"Son of man, give this riddle, and tell this story to the people of Israel.

New Life Bible
"Son of man, give the people of Israel this picture-story to think about.

New Revised Standard
O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Son of man Put thou forth a riddle And speak thou a parable,- Unto the house of Israel:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

Revised Standard Version
"Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel;

Young's Literal Translation
`Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

Contextual Overview

¹Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²"Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel,³saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) with great wings, long pinions and a rich plumage of many colors came to Lebanon (Jerusalem) and took away the top of the cedar (Judah). ⁴"He broke off the topmost of its young twigs (young King Jehoiachin) and carried it to a land of traders (Babylonia); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon). ⁵"He also took some of the seed of the land (Zedekiah, of the royal family) and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. ⁶"Then it sprouted and grew and became a low, spreading vine whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches. ⁷"There was [also] another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine (Zedekiah) bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him, away from the beds where it was planted, for him to water. ⁸"It was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and branches and to bear fruit, so that it might become a splendid vine."' ⁹"Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Ask, "Will it thrive? Will he (Nebuchadnezzar) not uproot it and strip off its fruit so that all its sprouting leaves will wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to uproot it [ending Israel's national existence]. ¹⁰"Though it is planted, will it thrive and grow? Will it not completely wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew."'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ezekiel 20:49, Judges 9:8-15, Judges 14:12-19, 2 Samuel 12:1-4, Hosea 12:10, Matthew 13:13, Matthew 13:14, Matthew 13:35, Mark 4:33, Mark 4:34, 1 Corinthians 13:12

Reciprocal: Numbers 12:8 - dark speeches Numbers 23:7 - he took Jeremiah 23:5 - Branch Ezekiel 2:1 - Son Ezekiel 24:3 - utter Matthew 13:24 - put Mark 12:15 - Why Luke 14:7 - put

Cross-References

Genesis 9:9
"Now behold, I am establishing My covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you and with your descendants after you

Genesis 12:2
And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you [abundantly], And make your name great (exalted, distinguished); And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others];

Genesis 13:16
"I will make your descendants [as numerous] as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the [grains of] dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

Genesis 15:18
On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—

Genesis 17:4
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And [as a result] you shall be the father of many nations.

Genesis 17:6
"I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

Genesis 17:8
"I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger [moving from place to place], all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession [of property]; and I will be their God."

Genesis 17:11
"And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you.

Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

Genesis 17:18
And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael [my firstborn] might live before You!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Son of man, put forth a riddle,.... A dark saying, but a smart one: "whet a whetting" k, as in the Hebrew; something at first sight difficult to be understood, yet amusing and entertaining; and, when solved, very useful and instructive:

and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; or, "concerning the house of Israel" l; as the Targum and Syriac version; something relating to them, and what would aptly describe and represent their case; for the prophet was bid to take such a method, not to hide things from them, but rather the more strongly to represent them to them; seeing hereby their attention would be excited, and things would be more fixed in their memories, and they would be put upon studying the meaning of them; and when explained to them, and understood, which was quickly done, they might be the more affected with them.

k חוד חידה, Heb. "acue acumen", Piscator. l אל בית ישראל "de domo Israelis", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 17:2. Son of man, put forth a riddle — Riddle, [Anglo-Saxon] or [A.S.], Anglo-Saxon, from [A.S.] to divine; a thing that must be curiously investigated and sifted, to find out the meaning; and hence, riddle, a sort of coarse sieve to clean corn, to separate coarse chaff and straws from the pure grain. An instrument formerly used for divination. This is not far removed from the Hebrew חידה chidah, from חד chad, to penetrate; not that which penetrates the mind, but which we must penetrate to find out the sense.