1The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
2Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.
3Say: Thus says the Lord Yahweh: The great eagle, great of wings, long of pinion, full of plumage, which had many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
4He plucked off the topmost of its young shoots and brought it to a land of trade; in a city of merchants he set it.
5He took from the seed of the land and set it in a field of seed; a slip beside abundant waters, as a willow he placed it.
6It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low of stature, its branches turning toward him and its roots being under him. So it became a vine and produced boughs and sent out shoots.
7But there was another great eagle, great of wings and abundant in plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and stretched out its branches toward him, that he might water it, away from the beds where it was planted.
8It had been planted in a good field beside abundant waters, to produce branches and bear fruit, to become a splendid vine.
9Say: Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and strip off its fruit so that it withers—all its fresh sprouting leaves will wither? And not with a great arm or many people will it be lifted from its roots.
10And behold, though planted, will it thrive? When the east wind touches it, will it not utterly wither? On the beds where it sprouted it will wither.
11The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
12Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its officials, and brought them to himself in Babylon.
13He took one of the royal seed and cut a covenant with him and brought him under an oath; and he took the leaders of the land,
14so that the kingdom would be lowly, unable to lift itself up, keeping his covenant that it might stand.
15But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt, so that they might give him horses and many people. Will he thrive? Will the one who does these things escape? Can he break a covenant and escape?
16As I live, declares the Lord Yahweh, surely in the place of the king who made him king—whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him, in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.
17And Pharaoh will not act for him in the war with a great army or a mighty assembly, when a siege ramp is heaped up and siege walls are built to cut off many lives.
18He despised an oath, breaking a covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, yet he did all these things. He will not escape.
19Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely my oath which he despised and my covenant which he broke—I will bring it upon his head.
20I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he committed against me.
21And all his fugitives among all his troops will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken.
22Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I myself will take from the top of the lofty cedar and set it out; from the topmost of its young shoots I will pluck a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, and it will lift up boughs and bear fruit and become a majestic cedar; and under it will dwell every bird of every wing—in the shade of its branches they will dwell.
24And all the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, have brought low the high tree, raised up the low tree, dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree flourish. I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will do it.
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