Ezekiel 17

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, propound a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings, long in the extent of its limbs, full of feathers and of variety, came to Lebanon and took the marrow of the cedar; it plucked off the top of its foliage and carried it over into the land of Canaan; in a city of merchants it set it. And it took of the seed of the land and set it in the ground for seed, that it might make firm its root upon many waters; on the surface it set it. And when it had sprouted, it grew into a broader vine of low stature, its branches looking toward it, and its roots were under it; so it became a vine, and bore fruit in vine-shoots and sent out offshoots. (LXX: "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, narrate a narration and speak a parable to the house of Israel, and you shall say: Thus says Adonai the Lord: A great eagle with great wings, of long extent, full of talons, which has the leading to enter into Lebanon, and it took the choice parts of the cedar; it plucked off the tops of the tenderness and brought them into the land of Canaan; in a walled city it set it. And it took of the seed of the land and gave it in a plain as a planting upon many waters, that it might be looked upon, and it set it, and it sprang up and became a weak vine and small in size, so that only its branches appeared under it, and its roots were beneath it; and it became a vine, and made offshoots and stretched out its branches.") When it is said to the prophet: Propound a riddle, tell a parable (or, as the Seventy translated: Narrate a narration and speak a parable), it is shown that what is said is obscure; for no one doubts that both a riddle and a parable put forward one thing in the words and hold another in the sense: for the Savior too spoke to the people in parables, which he explained privately to the apostles; therefore we must understand the riddle and the parable in just this way, as a riddle and a parable.

Now in the present prophecy of Ezekiel two eagles are set forth; of the first we must speak now, of the other we shall treat in what follows. And meanwhile let us gather the simple history. A great eagle with great wings, long in the extent of its limbs, full of feathers and of variety (or, as the Seventy rendered, full of talons) is Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans, of whom Hosea also speaks: As an eagle over the house of the Lord. He, ruling over many nations and hedged about by a countless army, came upon the house of God — no doubt it means the temple — or, as Scripture now says, to Lebanon, of which Zechariah speaks: Open your gates, O Lebanon; and let fire devour your cedars. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, since the magnificent have been laid waste; and often the temple, which was renowned and lofty, is called Lebanon in the holy Scriptures. And it took the marrow of the cedar, and plucked off the top of its foliage and carried it over into the land of Canaan; in a city of merchants it set it (for 'merchants', or 'commerce', the Seventy translated 'walled'); and it indicates Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar captured together with his mother and the princes of the people and all the wealth of Jerusalem and the vessels of the temple, and carried over to Babylon, which is in the land of Canaan, and there he grew old; of whose line afterward, as the writing of Matthew the evangelist testifies, our Lord and Savior was born, through Shealtiel and Zerubbabel.

According to anagogy — although the interpretation may seem forced — this must be known: that, just as the other living creatures are customarily referred both to a good and to a bad sense, so also is the eagle. Of the lion it is said in a good sense: A lion's whelp is Judah; in the contrary sense: Our adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, and that in the psalm: He lies in wait in secret, like a lion in his den. He lies in wait to seize the poor. In a good sense it is said of the eagle that the righteous man, having become rich, may make himself wings like an eagle, that he may be able to return to the house of his superior, and in Isaiah it is written that the righteous may put forth feathers like eagles, may run and not grow weary, may walk and not hunger; but rightly he who had said: I will do strength and wisdom of understanding, I will remove the boundaries of the nations and plunder their strength, and I will shake the cities that are inhabited, and I will grasp the whole world in my hand like a nest and like broken eggs, is now described in the person of an eagle: in that he by no means wishes to strip from Lebanon — which means 'whiteness' and is referred to incense — the small and low shrubs, but the tops of the cedars, and of the princes and the royal stock, according to that saying of Habakkuk: His food is choice. And he makes a covenant with those whom he has captured, that they may bow their necks to the Babylonian king and fulfill what the Apostle says: Whom I have delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme, and in another place: Whom I have delivered, he says, to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. We ought not, then, if perhaps on account of some sin we are cast out of the congregation of the brethren and out of the house of God, to struggle against it, but to bear with an even mind the sentence brought against us and to say with the prophet: I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he justifies my cause, and so on. And it often happens that, being subject to one, we go over to another who promises us his help and does not make us abide in the former sentence; which must be avoided by every means, lest our vine-shoots be dried up and our sprouts wither, and we be believed to act against the compact of God.

He came to that Lebanon, which is the church, where the offerings of God and the incense of his prayers are celebrated, that great true evil, Nebuchadnezzar, that is, the devil, and he sees it.

In his place he took of the seed of the same land, that is, of the royal stock, Mattaniah, the paternal uncle of Jeconiah, whose name he changed, and he called him Zedekiah and set him as king in Jerusalem, and put him over many peoples. And yet he set him on the surface, and did not make his power firm with a deep root of rule, but set him so that he might be looked upon and be under Babylonian power, or: Of low stature, its branches looking toward it, so that he would indeed rule over the peoples of the Jews, but would look to the authority of the Babylonian who gave the orders: for this is what Scripture says: Of low stature, its branches looking toward it — understand: toward the eagle — which the Seventy rendered more plainly: And it sprang up — what had been planted — and became a weak and small vine, so that only its branches appeared, and he would seem indeed to have a kingdom, but his kingdom itself, low and weak, would be ruled by the will of the Babylonian prince. So much for the present passage for now; let us join the rest to it as well.

Whoever has been under the wings of this sun [of justice and healing] who has said in the Gospel: how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you would not! shall be safe from the devil hawk, safe under the great wings of that mighty eagle in Ezekiel, and all the wounds of his sins shall be healed.

Afterwards, intending to speak of the oaths and treaties, "He took," saith he, "of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field, that it might take root by great waters. He placed it to be looked upon; and it grew, and became a weak vine, and of small stature, and it stretched out its branches towards him, and its roots were under him." Here he calls the city of Jerusalem a vine; but in saying that it stretched out its branches towards the eagle, and that its roots were under him, he refers to the treaties and alliances made with him; and that it cast itself upon him.

As long as it was on holy ground, the vine was huge; but when it was taken to the land of sinners, it was made infirm and small.

And there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine, as if sending its roots to it, stretched out its vine-shoots to it, that it might water it from the beds of its growth. In good land upon many waters he planted it, that it may make foliage and bear fruit, and become a great vine. Say: Thus says the Lord God: Shall it then prosper? Will he not pull up its roots and strip off its fruit, and dry up all the vine-shoots of its growth, and it will wither? And not with a great arm nor with many peoples, so as to pull it up by the roots. Behold, it is planted; shall it then prosper? Will it not, when the burning wind touches it, be dried up, and wither in the beds of its growth? (LXX: "And there was another great eagle with great wings, with very many talons; and behold, this vine was entwined toward it, and its roots toward it, and it stretched out its branches toward it, that it might water it with the clod of its planting. In a good plain upon much water it was fattened, that it might make sprouts and bring forth fruit, and become a great vine. Therefore thus says Adonai the Lord: Shall it be guided aright? Will not the roots of its tenderness and its fruit rot, and all that has sprung from it wither? And not with a great arm nor with a numerous people, so as to pull it up from its roots. And behold, it is fattened; shall it be guided aright? Will it not, as soon as the burning wind touches it, wither, and be dried up with dryness? With the clod of its growth it will wither.") The second eagle, that is, the other one, itself also great, full of feathers and of many talons, because of its rapacity and its devastation of very many nations, is Pharaoh king of Egypt. And behold, this vine — understand: King Zedekiah, who had been set up in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar — began, it says, to send its offshoots to it, that is, to direct envoys to the king of the Egyptians and to ask him for help against the king to whom he was subject — for this is what Scripture now says: That it might water it from the beds of its growth —.

Another crowd was taken by him, and it became a vine, less vigorous than it was when it was in the vineyard of God and on holy ground, where the sacrifices of God are celebrated, but it was transferred to Babylon as a weak vine.

It had been planted in good land by Nebuchadnezzar, that it might make foliage and bring forth fruit and grow into a broader vine; therefore the prophet is commanded to speak to the vine which had been planted by Nebuchadnezzar and had sent its branches to the Egyptian eagle: 'Shall it prosper because it has attempted to do this, and will not all its offshoots and vine-shoots at once be dried up? And not,' it says, 'with a great arm nor with a numerous people'; for Zedekiah, fleeing and left destitute of the help of the Egyptian king, was caught by the leaders of Nebuchadnezzar in the deserts of Jericho, and all his companions were scattered here and there, as is written in the volume of Kings and in Παραλιπομήνῳ [Chronicles] and in Jeremiah.

One who was condemned by God does not escape his sentence and does not want to change the will of he who judges him, but he will bear it with all patience until God frees the one who he has condemned.

When the association of such different natures is made in faith in Christ, the lion will no longer be impure, and all the animals called impure in the law of God will receive the purity of their former condition.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Say to the provoking house: Do you not know what these things signify? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon comes to Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its princes, and lead them to himself into Babylon; and he will take of the seed of the kingdom, and strike a covenant with him, and receive an oath from him; but he will also take away the mighty of the land, that the kingdom may be lowly and not lift itself up, but keep his compact and observe it. But he, withdrawing from him, sent messengers to Egypt, that it might give him horses and a numerous people; shall he prosper or obtain safety who has done these things? And shall he who has broken the compact escape? As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he made void and whose compact, which he had with him, he broke, in the midst of Babylon he shall die. And not with a great army nor with a numerous people will Pharaoh make war against him, in the casting up of a mound and the building of ramparts, to kill many souls. For he had despised the oath so as to break the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand; and when he has done all these things, he shall not escape. This is the riddle and this is the parable: that under two eagles and a vine Scripture was showing two kings, of Babylon and of Egypt, and King Zedekiah, who, against his oath, abandoning his friendship with Nebuchadnezzar, transferred himself to the Egyptian king: And he will strike, it says, a covenant with him, and receive an oath from him, that he may keep his compact and observe it. He who has dissolved, it says, the compact, shall he escape? From this we learn that faith must be kept even among enemies, and that one must consider not to whom but by whom you have sworn; for far more faithful is he found who, on account of the name of God, trusted you and was deceived, than you who, under pretext of the divine majesty, plotted snares against your enemy, nay rather, by now your friend.

I am inclined to think that by the good quality of their conduct they increase yet more the agreeableness of the words of God, mixing the sweetness of the life with the sweet savor of the word.

If we who appear to stand over the church have sinned and given place to the devil against the teaching of Paul when he says "do not give any place to the devil," in the same way the faults committed at Jerusalem mean that we provide Nebuchadnezzar with the chance to enter into the holy city and to take away those whom he chooses.

If you have the covenant with us in a blessing, Nebuchadnezzar cannot make a covenant with you.

God makes covenant with us in a blessing; Nebuchadnezzar establishes his covenant in abuse.

Surely, it says, in the place of the king who made him king, whose oath he made void and whose compact, which he had with him, he broke, in the midst of Babylon he shall die; for we read that Zedekiah was captured, led to Riblah, and there, after his sons had been killed, blinded, and, shut in a cage like a wild beast, carried over to Babylon — whence also Scripture, though it seems to be contrary to itself, is nevertheless most true in both: it had been said to Zedekiah: And you shall enter Babylon and: You shall not see it: for he entered, because he was led to Babylon, and he did not see it, because he had been blinded —.

As holy Scripture tells us, God intends that the covenant with Israel is an abuse against Nebuchadnezzar.

But what follows: And not with a great army nor with a numerous people will Pharaoh make war against him, in the casting up of a mound and the building of ramparts, to kill many souls, is understood in two ways: either the Egyptian king, coming against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, will not be able to give battle nor with a small army resist so great a multitude; or Zedekiah himself will be conquered by Pharaoh, from whom he hoped for help, not that Pharaoh conquered him — or that Scripture anywhere attests this —, but that Nebuchadnezzar's conquest was brought about on the occasion given by the king of Egypt; and that not he who was besieging seemed to conquer Jerusalem, but he in whom Zedekiah had hoped in vain.

Behold, it says, he gave his hand to the king of Egypt, and handed himself over, and committed the sacrilege of perjury against God: 'Will it,' it says, 'profit him?'. And when he has done all these things, he shall not escape.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely the oath that he despised and the covenant that he transgressed I will lay upon his head, and I will spread my net over him and he shall be caught in my dragnet, and I will bring him into Babylon, and I will judge him there in the transgression by which he despised me. And all his fugitives with the whole column shall fall by the sword; and the rest shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken. It is a worldly maxim: Deceit or valor, who would ask, in an enemy?, which those who say that enemies are to be deceived by fraud are wont to set against us; yet even if we were to assent to it, Zedekiah did much worse: for he did not deceive an enemy, but a friend to whom he had been bound by a covenant of the Lord. Therefore, so long as you do not swear and do not enter into a compact under the name of God, it belongs to prudence and courage either to deceive or to overcome the adversary in whatever way you can; but when you have bound yourself by an oath, he who trusted you is by no means an adversary but a friend, and he was deceived under pretext of an oath, that is, of the invocation of God. That is why Scripture now says: The oath that he despised and the covenant that he transgressed I will lay upon his head; and lest we should think that the oath and the covenant and the compact belonged to the king of Babylon or to Zedekiah who had made it, there follows: In the transgression by which he despised me. So he who scorns an oath despises him by whom he swore, and does wrong to him in whose name the adversary trusted; for which reason: I will spread, it says, my net over him and he shall be caught in my dragnet, and I will bring him into Babylon, and I will judge him there. Whatever, then, Nebuchadnezzar did against Zedekiah, he did not do by his own strength, but by the wrath of God, in whose name perjury had been committed.

Thus says the Lord: And I myself will take of the marrow of the lofty cedar, and will set it; from the top of its branches I will strip off a tender shoot, and I will plant it upon a high and eminent mountain. On the lofty mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it will break forth into a sprout and bear fruit, and it will become a great cedar, and all birds will dwell under it, every winged creature nesting under the shade of its foliage. And all the trees of the region shall know that I the Lord have brought low the lofty tree and raised up the low tree, and dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it. (LXX: "For thus says Adonai the Lord: And I will take away of the choice parts of the cedar from the top ※ and I will give from the head of its branches ⁚, from their heart I will take away, and I will plant upon a high mountain; and I will hang it on the lofty mountain of Israel, and I will plant, and it will bring forth a sprout and bear fruit and will become a great cedar, and every bird will rest under it, and every winged creature will rest under its shade ÷ and its branches will be restored ⁚. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord who bring low the lofty tree and exalt the low tree, and make the green tree dry and make the dry tree sprout: I the Lord have spoken and I do it.") What is read in the Seventy: And I will give from the head of its branches, has been added from the edition of Theodotion; and again what follows: And its branches will be restored, must be marked with an obelus, because it is not found in the Hebrew. The real Nebuchadnezzar takes of the marrow of the lofty cedar, from the top of its branches, for this purpose: That the kingdom may be lowly and not lift itself up; but the Lord God, the Father almighty, who spoke to Ezekiel, takes from the royal stock and from the line of David: And plants it upon a high and eminent mountain; he it is who speaks in the psalm: But I have been set up as king by him upon Zion, his holy mountain. For the prince had failed from Judah and the leader from Israel, until he should come for whom it is reserved: And he shall be the expectation of the nations.

There is one who dishonors the judgment of God; there is another who honors it.

To the one who has transgressed and has dishonored the judgment of God, Pharaoh cannot come to the rescue; he will die in the center of Babylon for his transgressions.

He broke forth into a sprout and bore fruit, and surpassed all the cedars by his loftiness, so that all the birds of heaven dwell under him, and all winged creatures are protected by his shade — he of whom Habakkuk says: Horns in his hands: there his strength is hidden, and who desires to gather, like a hen, the chicks under his wings —, so that all the trees of the region may know that he himself is the Lord; τροπικῶς [figuratively] speaking of believers: he who brought low Israel, once a lofty tree, and exalted the lowly people of the Gentiles; who dried up the green tree of the Jews, flowering and sprouting in the Law and the Prophets, and made the dry tree of the nations flourish, so that what he had always spoken he might fulfill in deed; the same thing is signified also by the words of Simeon in the Gospel, saying: Behold, this one is set for the ruin and for the resurrection of many, and by the grain of mustard seed which, though it is the smallest of all seeds, once it has grown is a dwelling place for birds.

Consider the sublime grandeur of the church of Christ, to understand that according to the promise of God the word has been realized.… It will become a noble cedar; and under it will dwell all kinds of beasts; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.

Take the wings of the word of God, and you will be able to repose under this tree that has been planted over a high mountain.

He says, know that it is easy for me both to humble what is lofty and to raise up what is lowly; to make dry what is wet and to manifest what is dry to be in flower.

Some interpret it otherwise, referring the lofty tree brought low and the low tree exalted to the passion of the Lord Savior: Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant; and after the resurrection the very tree was afterward raised on high which, at first green, was dried up in death and afterward, reviving, recovered its former greenness. Others, in Jewish fashion, refer both to Israel: that at the first coming it was brought low and dried up, and at the second it will be restored to its former state, when that is fulfilled which the apostle Paul says: When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved.