1. The word of the Lord came to me:
2. “Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel.
3. Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:“‘A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers,with full plumage which was multi-hued,came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
4. He plucked off its topmost shoot;he brought it to a land of merchantsand planted it in a city of traders.
5. He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water,like a willow he planted it.
6. It sprouted and became a vine,spreading low to the ground; its branches turning toward him, its roots were under itself. So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
7. “‘There was another great eaglewith broad wings and thick plumage. Now this vine twisted its roots toward him and sent its branches toward himto be watered from the soil where it was planted.
8. In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
9. “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Will it prosper? Will he not rip out its rootsand cause its fruit to rot and wither?All its foliage will wither. No strong arm or large armywill be needed to pull it out by its roots.
10. Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it? Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
11. Then the word of the Lord came to me:
12. “Say to the rebellious house of Israel: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon.
13. He took one from the royal family, made a treaty with him, and put him under oath. He then took the leaders of the land
14. so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand.
15. But this one from Israel’s royal family rebelled against the king of Babylon by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?