And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Yisra᾽el;

and say, Thus says the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colours, came to the Levanon, and took the top of the cedar:

he broke off the topmost of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of trade; he set it in a city of merchants.

He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it like a willow tree.

And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose tendrils turned towards him, and the roots of which were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and sent out sprigs.

But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots towards him, and send out her tendrils towards him, from its plantations, that he might water it.

It 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.

Say thou, Thus says the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it wither? it shall wither in all its sprouting leaves; it will not need great power or many people to pluck it up by its roots.

Yea, behold, planted though it is, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? it shall wither in the plantations where it grew.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Say now to the rebellious house, Know you not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Bavel is come to Yerushalayim, and has taken its king, and its princes, and has led them with him to Bavel;

and has taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and has put him on oath: he has also taken away the mighty of the land:

that the kingdom might be lowly, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Miżrayim, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he that does such things escape? or shall he break the covenant, and yet be saved?

As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Bavel he shall die.

Neither shall Par῾o with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, by casting up mounds, and building siege works, to cut off many persons:

seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant; for, surely, having given his hand, and having done all these things, he shall not escape.

Therefore thus says the Lord God; As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, even that will I recompense upon his own head.

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Bavel, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.

And all his fugitives of all his troops shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered to all the winds: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

Thus says the Lord God; I will also take of the top of the high cedar, and will set it; I will pluck off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain:

in the mountain of the height of Yisra᾽el will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a stately cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shadow of its branches they shall dwell.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, and have exalted the low tree; have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.