CHAPTER 17 Sep. 21 
A Vine and Two Great Eagles
The word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers of various colours, came to Lebanon, and took off the top of the cedar. 4   He cropped off the highest of its young twigs and carried it to a land of commerce where he set it in a city of merchants. 5    He also took the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters and set it as a willow tree. 6It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and young shoots. 7There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. This vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. 8It was planted in a good soil by many waters that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. 9Say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots. 10Yes, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew. 11Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 
Babylon and Egypt
12Say now to the rebellious people, Don’t you know what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon. 13He 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; 14that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors to Egypt that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he who does such things escape? Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape? 16As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17Neither 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 people. 18For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape. 19Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely My oath that he has despised, and My covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head. 20I will spread My net on 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 sins that he has committed against Me. 21All his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it. 22Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 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 on a high and lofty mountain. 23In 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. Under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell. 24All the trees of the field shall know that I, Yahweh, 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, Yahweh, have spoken and have done it.

Commentary

17:3 Great eagle- Nebuchadnezzar; Full of feathers –Many subject peoples; Various colours- Various nations within the Babylonian army and confederacy.
17:4 The topmost of the young twigs- The princes of Judah taken to Babylon. 
17:5 The seed of the land-  Zedekiah. Planted it in a fruitful soil- Set up as King of Judah, supported by Babylon.
17:6 A vine of low stature- Judah under Babylonian control could never become a high nation; her roots tended towards Nebuchadnezzar for all support. 
17:7 Another great eagle- Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt. This vine bent its roots toward him- Judah broke their agreement with Nebuchadnezzar and sent to Egypt for help to rebel against Babylon.
17:8 That it might be a goodly vine- If Judah had accepted their domination by Babylon as a just punishment for their rebellion against Yahweh, God potentially had set up a situation whereby this could have been fruitful for His people. Wriggling out of our sins never brings the blessing God has prepared for those who accept their sins and the consequences of them. 
17:9 Cut off its fruit- Zedekiah’s children killed. The leaves- Judah’s leadership.
17:15 Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?- God’s people are held to be honest to the agreements they make with unbelievers, as well as their covenant with God.
17:22 A tender one- Messiah, the Lord Jesus (Is. 53:2), one of the twigs of the Jewish nation as Zedekiah had been, a Jew of our human nature.
17:23 The great tree speaks of Christ’s Kingdom, under which people from all nations would find refuge (Mk. 4:32).
17:24 The low tree which is exalted speaks of Christ; the dry tree which will flourish was understood by Jesus as a reference to Himself on the cross (Lk. 23:31). There, as also explained in Is. 53, He appeared to be a “dry tree”, a man dying without any children; but through that death, He flourished into many children, in us who have believed in Him and been born anew as God’s children.