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Read the Bible

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Ezekiel 17:2

Son of man Put thou forth a riddle And speak thou a parable,- Unto the house of Israel:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Ezekiel;   Scofield Reference Index - Parables;   Thompson Chain Reference - Riddles;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Babylon;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Allegory;   Parable;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Riddle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Fable;   Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Parable;   Vine, Vineyard;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Proverb;   Riddle;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Parable;   Proverb;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Allegory in the Old Testament;   Poetry;  

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.
Amplified Bible
"Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a parable to the house 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.
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

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying: 2 Son of man Put thou forth a riddle And speak thou a parable,- Unto the house of Israel: 3 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: 4 The crown of its young twigs, plucked he off, and brought it into a land of traffic, :in a city of merchants, he t it. 5 So he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a field for seed,- He took it near mighty waters, Like a willow-tree, he set it. 6 And it shot forth, and became a spreading vine of lowly stature, Its branches turning towards him, And its roots under him spread,- So it became a vine, And brought forth shoots, And sent forth boughs. 7 And it came to pass that there was another great eagle, with large wings, and abundant plumage,- And lo! this vine, stretched its roots hungry towards him. And its branches, sent it forth unto him, That he might cause it to drink out of the beds where it was planted: 8 In a goodly field by mighty waters, was it planted,- That it might bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, That it might become a splendid vine. 9 Say thou, Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, I Shall it thrive? Its roots, will he not tear up? Its fruit, will he not cut off, that it wither? All the fresh leaves it hath caused to spring forth shall wither without a strong I arm. or many people, to pull it up by its roots. 10 Lo! therefore though it remain planted, shall it thrive? As soon as an east wind toucheth it, will it not utterly wither? On the beds where it sprang up, will it not wither?

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
I, therefore, behold me! establishing my covenant with you, - and with your seed after you;
Genesis 12:2
That I may make thee into a great nation, And bless thee and make great thy name, And become thou a blessing;
Genesis 13:16
and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, - so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, thy seed also, may be numbered.
Genesis 15:18
In that day, did Yahweh solemnise with Abram a covenant, saying, - To thy seed, have I given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river - the river Euphrates:
Genesis 17:4
As for me, lo! my covenant is with thee, - So shalt thou become - father of a multitude of nations;
Genesis 17:6
And I will make thee fruitful, exceedingly, and grant thee to be nations, - Yea kings, out of thee, shall come forth;
Genesis 17:8
And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings - all the land of Canaan, for an age-abiding possession - And I will be to them a God.
Genesis 17:11
So shall ye be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, - So shall it become a sign of a covenant, betwixt me and you.
Genesis 17:17
And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, - and said in his heart To one a hundred years old, shall a child be born? And shall even Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?
Genesis 17:18
And Abraham said unto God, - Oh that, Ishmael, might live before thee!

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.


 
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