1And the word of the LORD 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 GOD; A great eagle with great wings,
longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came
unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4He
cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a
land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5He took
also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful
field; he placed it by great waters, and 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 her roots toward him, and shot
forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the
furrows of her plantation.
8It was
planted in a good soil by great 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 GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull
up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it
wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even
without great power or many people to pluck it up by 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
furrows where it grew.
11Moreover
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12Say now
to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean?
tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem,
and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and
led them with him to Babylon;
13And hath
taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and
hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of
the land:
14That the
kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but
that by keeping of 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? or shall he
break the covenant, and be delivered?
16As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, 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 make for
him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to
cut off many persons:
18Seeing
he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he
had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall
not escape.
19Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As
I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my
covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense 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 plead with
him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
21And all
his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and
they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye
shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
22Thus
saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of
the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top
of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an
high mountain and eminent:
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 fowl of every wing; in the shadow of
the branches thereof shall they dwell.
24And all
the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD 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 the
LORD have spoken and have done it.
