Ezekiel 17:3

New Century Version

Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A giant eagle with big wings and long feathers of many different colors came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A huge eagle with powerful wings, long feathers, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

Hebrew Names Version
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Levanon, and took the top of the cedar:

King James Version
And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

English Standard Version
say, Thus says the Lord God : A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

New American Standard Bible
saying, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Amplified Bible
saying, '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).

World English Bible
and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

Geneva Bible (1587)
And say, Thus saith the Lorde God, The great egle with great wings, and long wings, and ful of fethers, which had diuers colours, came vnto Lebanon, & tooke the hiest branch of the cedar,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A great eagle with great wings, long pinions and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Legacy Standard Bible
and you will say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, "A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Berean Standard Bible
and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers of many colors, came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar.

Contemporary English Version
so they will understand what I am saying to them: A large eagle with strong wings and beautiful feathers once flew to Lebanon. It broke the top branch off a cedar tree,

Complete Jewish Bible
say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘A big eagle having great wings and long pinions full of varicolored feathers came to the L'vanon and took over the top of the cedar.

Darby Translation
and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings, long-pinioned, full of feathers, which was of divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar.

Easy-to-Read Version
Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: "‘A large eagle with big wings came to Lebanon. He had feathers covered with spots.

George Lamsa Translation
And say, Thus says the LORD God: A great eagle with large wings and long pinions and fully developed claws, and thickly feathered, came to Lebanon and took the choicest branch of the cedar:

Good News Translation
to let them know what I, the Sovereign Lord , am saying to them: There was a giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings, spread wide. He flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top of a cedar tree,

Lexham English Bible
and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The great eagle with great wings and long feathers and full of variegated plumage came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar.

Literal Translation
And say, So says the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle came to Lebanon, one with great wings, long of pinion, full of feathers, having different colors to him. And he took the top of the cedar.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and saye: Thus saieth the LORDE God: There came a greate Aegle with greate wynges, yee wt mightie longe wynges, and full of fethers of dyuerse colours, vpon the mount of Libanus, and toke a braunch from a Cedre tre,

American Standard Version
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:

Bible in Basic English
And say, This is what the Lord has said: A great eagle with great wings, full of long feathers of different colours, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar;

King James Version (1611)
And say, Thus saith the Lord God, A great eagle with great wings, long wing'd, full of feathers, which had diuers colours, came vnto Lebanon, and tooke the highest branch of the Cedar.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And say, Thus saith the Lorde God: There came a great Egle, with great winges, yea with a mightie long body, and ful of fethers of diuers colours, vppon the mount of Libanus, and toke the hyest braunche of a Cedar tree.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; A great eagle with large wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of entering into Libanus—and he took the choice branches of the cedar:

English Revised Version
and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thou schalt seie, The Lord God seith these thingis. A greet egle of grete wyngis, with long stretchyng out of membris, ful of fetheris and of dyuersite, cam to the Liban, and took awei the merowe of the cedre.

Update Bible Version
and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had diverse colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

Webster's Bible Translation
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

New English Translation
Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: "‘A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers, with full plumage which was multi-hued, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

New King James Version
and say, "Thus says the Lord GOD: "A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon And took from the cedar the highest branch.

New Living Translation
Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord : "A great eagle with broad wings and long feathers, covered with many-colored plumage, came to Lebanon. He seized the top of a cedar tree

New Life Bible
Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, "A large eagle with big wings and long feathers of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar tree.

New Revised Standard
Say: Thus says the Lord God : A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to the Lebanon. He took the top of the cedar,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then thou shalt say, Thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, - A great eagle, with large wings of long pinion, full of plumage, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And say: Thus saith the Lord God; A large eagle with great wings, long-limbed, full of feathers, and of variety, came to Libanus, and took away the marrow of the cedar.

Revised Standard Version
say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar;

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar,

Contextual Overview

¹ The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ² "Human, give a riddle and tell a story to the people of Israel. ³ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A giant eagle with big wings and long feathers of many different colors came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree. ⁴ He pulled off the top branch and brought it to a land of traders, where he planted it in a city of traders. ⁵ "‘The eagle took some seed from the land and planted it in a good field near plenty of water. He planted it to grow like a willow tree. ⁶ It sprouted and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The branches turned toward the eagle, but the roots were under the eagle. So the seed became a vine, and its branches grew, sending out leaves. ⁷ "‘But there was another giant eagle with big wings and many feathers. The vine then bent its roots toward this eagle. It sent out its branches from the area where it was planted toward the eagle so he could water it. ⁸ It had been planted in a good field by plenty of water so it could grow branches and give fruit. It could have become a fine vine.' ⁹ "Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: The vine will not continue to grow. The first eagle will pull up the vine's roots and strip off its fruit. Then the vine and all its new leaves will dry up and die. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull the vine up by its roots. ¹⁰ Even if it is planted again, it will not continue to grow. It will completely dry up and die when the east wind hits it in the area where it grew.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

A great: Nebuchadnezzar, so called from his towering ambition and rapaciousness. Ezekiel 17:7, Ezekiel 17:12-21, Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 4:13, Jeremiah 48:40, Jeremiah 49:16, Lamentations 4:19, Hosea 8:1, Matthew 24:28

great wings: Extensive empire, both in length and breadth. Daniel 2:38, Daniel 4:22, Daniel 7:4

full: Numerous subjects, of various nations, and of different languages and manners.

divers colours: Heb. embroidering

came: Came against Judah and Jerusalem. Ezekiel 17:12, 2 Kings 24:10-16, 2 Chronicles 36:9, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Jeremiah 22:23-28, Jeremiah 24:1

the highest: Jeconiah, whom he took captive to Babylon.

the cedar: The royal and ancient family of David.

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:11 - fowls Deuteronomy 28:48 - serve Judges 9:8 - The trees Job 14:9 - and bring Isaiah 8:8 - the stretching Ezekiel 15:6 - General Ezekiel 31:3 - a cedar Daniel 7:6 - four wings Habakkuk 1:8 - they

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?"

Genesis 17:18
Then Abraham said to God, "Please let Ishmael be the son you promised."

Genesis 17:23
Then Abraham gathered Ishmael, all the males born in his camp, and the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp as God had told him to do.

Genesis 17:24
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

Exodus 3:6
I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Numbers 14:5
Then Moses and Aaron bowed facedown in front of all the Israelites gathered there.

Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron bowed facedown and cried out, "God, you are the God over the spirits of all people. Please don't be angry with this whole group. Only one man has really sinned."

Numbers 16:45
"Move away from these people so I can destroy them quickly." So Moses and Aaron bowed facedown.

Joshua 5:14
The man answered, "I am neither. I have come as the commander of the Lord 's army." Then Joshua bowed facedown on the ground and asked, "Does my master have a command for me, his servant?"

Judges 13:20
The flames went up to the sky from the altar. As the fire burned, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And say, thus saith the Lord God,.... The riddle is not the prophet's, nor the parable his, but the Lord God's; and exceeding beautiful and apt it is, to signify the things designed by it; the wisdom of God is greatly displayed in it:

a great eagle; which is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as it is explained, Ezekiel 17:12; who is compared to an eagle for his power and authority, that being the king of birds, and for his swiftness and voracity in conquering and subduing kingdoms; see Jeremiah 48:40;

with great wings; so the Babylonish monarchy is signified by a lion with eagle's wings, Daniel 7:4; and the two parts of the Roman empire, into which it was divided at the death of Theodosius, are called two wings of a great eagle, Revelation 12:14; and so here it may denote the large kingdoms and provinces which belonged to the Babylonian monarchy; see Esther 1:1;

longwinged; or having a "long member" m; meaning the body of the wing, which was long; and so, as the wings spread, may signify the breadth of his dominion, this the length of them, and both their extensiveness:

full of feathers; of cities, towns, people, armies, wealth, and riches:

which had divers colours; or an "embroidery" n; like that of the weaver, only needle work, consisting of various colours; and so it alludes to such eagles as are called the golden eagle, and "asterias", from their golden colour, and their being spotted like stars, and which are said to be of the largest size, as Bochart, from Aelianus o, observes; and may signify people of divers languages, customs, manners, and circumstances, subject to the government of the king of Babylon:

came unto Lebanon; the northern border of the land of Judea, and invaded it; where were the mountain and forest of Lebanon, famous for the cedars that grew there, from whence the whole land may here take its name, as being more apt for the allegory used: or the city of Jerusalem, where were the temple built of the cedars of Lebanon, as many of its palaces and houses also were; whither the king of Babylon came, and took it, and who came northward, as Babylon was:

and took the highest branch of the cedar; by the "cedar" is meant, either the nation in general, or the royal family in particular; and by the "highest branch" the then reigning king, Jeconiah with the princes and nobles of the land, who were taken and carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar; see 2 Kings 24:14.

m ארך האבר "longa corpore", Castalio; "longa membris", Munster, Grotius; "longo membororum ductu", Pradus. n אשר לו הרקמה, Heb; "opus phrygionicum", Piscator. o Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 39.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A great eagle ... - Probably the golden eagle, whose plumage has the variety of color here depicted. The eagle (the king of birds) is a natural representative of monarchs (compare, Jeremiah 48:40), and was an Assyrian emblem.

With great wings, Iongwinged - literally, “great of wing, long of pinion,” because he has swept victoriously over widely distant lands - of divers colors, because his subjects are of various races and tongues. Jerusalem is here called “Lebanon” because Lebanon is the proper home of the cedar. The “highest branch” or “topshoot” is Jeconiah, the rightful king of Jerusalem, the “young twigs” are his children and the princes carried by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 17:3. A great eagle — Nebuchadnezzar. See Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22; Daniel 7:4. And see here, Ezekiel 17:12, where it is so applied.

Great wings — Extensive empire.

Long-winged — Rapid in his conquests.

Full of feathers — Having multitudes of subjects.

Divers colours — People of various nations.

Came unto Lebanon — Came against Judea.

The highest branch — King Jehoiachin he took captive to Babylon.

The cedar — The Jewish state and king.