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.