Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a ^(A)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [a]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[b]God says: “A great ^[c](B)eagle with ^(C)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[d](D)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[e]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[f]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[g]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[h]from the seed of the land and planted ^[i]it in ^[j](E)fertile soil, a ^[k]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(F)willow. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

⁷ “But there was ^[l]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^(G)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[m]soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ ⁹ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great ^[n]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^(H)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to the ^(I)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(J)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(K)king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal ^[o](L)family and made a covenant with him, ^[p]putting him under ^(M)oath. He also took away the ^(N)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(O)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[q]he ^(P)revolted against ^[r]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[s]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(Q)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[t]country of the king who ^[u]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(R)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[v](S)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (T)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[w]help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. ¹⁸ Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^[x](U)pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly ^[y]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(V)net over him, and he will be ^(W)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(X)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[z](Y)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

²² This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and ^[aa]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(Z)high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately ^(AA)cedar. And ^[ab]birds of every ^[ac]kind will ^[ad]nest under it; they will ^[ae]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(AB)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^(AC)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”