4. He plucked a twig from the cedar’s crown, brought it to the land of traders, and set it down in a city of merchants.
5. He took a native seed and planted it in a prepared field, placing it like a willow beside plentiful water.
6. It grew and became a low-spreading vine. Its foliage turned toward him, and its roots developed under him. And so it became a vine, and it produced branches and sent out its shoots.
7. Now there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage. This vine bent its roots and turned its branches toward him so that it might draw more water from him than from its own bed,
8. a good field with plentiful water where it was planted to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.
9. Say, The Lord God proclaims: Will it thrive? Won’t he tear out its roots, strip its fruit, and cause all the leaves of its branches to wither? It will dry up, and no one will need a strong arm or a mighty army to uproot it.
10. Though it is planted, will it thrive? When the east wind touches it, won’t it completely wither? On the bed in which it was planted, it will wither away.
11. The Lord’s word came to me:
12. Say now to the rebellious household: Don’t you know what these things mean? Say: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and carried its king and its officers away with him to Babylon.
13. Then he took a prince from the royal line, made an agreement with him, and made him take a solemn pledge of loyalty. He also took away the land’s officials.
14. Thus it would be a lowly kingdom, not asserting its own interests but observing the agreement so that it would survive.
15. But the prince rebelled against him and sent messengers to Egypt to supply him with horses and a great army. Can such a person succeed? Can one who does these things escape? Can he overturn the agreement and escape capture?