Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 352
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
17:9-24
“So now the Sovereign Lord asks:
Will this vine grow and prosper?
No! I will pull it up, roots and all!
I will cut off its fruit
and let its leaves wither and die.
I will pull it up easily
without a strong arm or a large army.
But when the vine is transplanted,
will it thrive?
No, it will wither away
when the east wind blows against it.
It will die in the same good soil
where it had grown so well.”
Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Say to these rebels of
Israel: Don’t you understand the meaning of this riddle of the eagles? The
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took away her king and princes, and
brought them to Babylon. He made a treaty with a member of the royal
family and forced him to take an oath of loyalty. He also exiled Israel’s most
influential leaders, so Israel would not become strong again and revolt.
Only by keeping her treaty with Babylon could Israel survive.
“Nevertheless, this man of Israel’s royal family rebelled against Babylon,
sending ambassadors to Egypt to request a great army and many horses.
Can Israel break her sworn treaties like that and get away with it? No! For
as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, the king of Israel will die in
Babylon, the land of the king who put him in power and whose treaty he
disregarded and broke. Pharaoh and all his mighty army will fail to help
Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem again and destroys
many lives. For the king of Israel disregarded his treaty and broke it after
swearing to obey; therefore, he will not escape.
“So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will punish
him for breaking my covenant and disregarding the solemn oath he made
in my name. I will throw my net over him and capture him in my snare. I
will bring him to Babylon and put him on trial for this treason against me.
And all his best warriors will be killed in battle, and those who survive
will be scattered to the four winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord,
have spoken.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take a branch from the top
of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain.
It will become a majestic cedar, sending forth its branches and producing
seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its
branches. And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts the tall
