1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
3. and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:
4. he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.
5. He 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.
6. And 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.
7. There 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.