1And the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 2Son of man , put forth a riddle , and speak a parable unto the house of Israel ; 3and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers , which had divers colors , came unto Lebanon , and took the top of the cedar: 4he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof , and carried it unto a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants . 5He took also of the seed of the land , and planted it in a fruitful soil ; he placed it beside many waters ; he set it as a willow-tree. 6And it grew , and became a spreading vine of low stature , whose branches turned toward him , and the roots thereof were under him : so it became a vine , and brought forth branches , and shot forth sprigs . 7There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers : and , behold , this vine did bend 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 thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Shall it prosper ? shall he not pull up the roots thereof , and cut off the fruit thereof , that it may wither ; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither ? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof . 10Yea, behold , being planted , shall it prosper ? shall it not utterly wither , when the east wind toucheth it ? it shall wither in the beds where it grew .
The Interpretation of the Parable
11Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 12Say now to the rebellious house , Know ye not what these things mean? tell them , Behold , the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem , and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon. 13And he 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 into Egypt , that they might give him horses and much people . Shall he prosper ? shall he escape that doeth such things ? shall he break the covenant , and yet escape ? 16As I live , saith the Lord Jehovah , surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king , whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake , 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 persons . 18For he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant ; and behold , he had given his hand , and yet hath done all these things ; he shall not escape . 19Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : As I live , surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken , I will even bring it upon his own head . 20And I will spread my net upon 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 trespass that he hath trespassed against me . 21And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword , and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind : and ye shall know that I , Jehovah , have spoken it .
The Promise of Restoration
22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : 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 upon 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: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing ; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell . 24And all the trees of the field shall know that I , Jehovah , 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 , Jehovah , have spoken and have done it .