Parable of the Eagles and the Vine

¹Yahweh spoke to me again, saying,

²“Son of man, propose this riddle to Israel, and speak this parable to the people.[#17:2 There is a play on words in the Hebrew. The words for “speak” and “parable” come from the same Hebrew triliteral root word.]

³Tell them to guess the meaning of what I, Yahweh , have to say to them:

“There once was this great eagle with huge wings,

whose wingspan was very wide,

with many beautiful colored feathers around its head.

One day he came to the Lebanon Mountains,

and taking a new branch of a cedar tree,

⁴he broke it off and carried it off to a land of traders.

He planted it there in a city of merchants.

⁵Next, he took a young seedling from the land

and planted it in a fertile field.

He placed it like a willow tree

by the side of a flowing stream.

⁶The young plant sprouted until it became a low spreading vine.

Its branches grew up toward the great eagle,

and its roots grew down deep into the soil.

So, it became a vine,

branching out and sprouting new shoots.

⁷But another great eagle appeared[#17:7 This second great eagle is Egypt. King Zedekiah trusted in vain for Egypt’s help against the Babylonian invaders.]

with huge wings and many feathers around its head.

And soon the vine bent its roots toward him

and stretched its branches toward this eagle

from the place where it was planted,

expecting this eagle to nourish it.

⁸The vine was planted in good soil,

by the side of a generous stream

so that the vine could branch out,

bear fruit, and become a wonderful vine.

⁹So I, Lord Yahweh , ask you:

Will the vine thrive?

Will not the first eagle come and tear out its roots?

Will it not strip off its grapes

so that all its foliage withers?

Then, even weak ones could easily uproot it!

¹⁰Yes, it is planted—but will it thrive?

Will it not shrivel up when the east wind blows?

Will it not wither in the fertile soil where it had grown?”

Yahweh Unlocks His Riddle

¹¹Then Yahweh spoke to me again, saying,

¹²“Ask that tribe of rebels if they know the meaning of my parable. Tell them: ‘Listen, the king of Babylon swooped into Jerusalem. Then he carried away the king and top officials and took them off to Babylon.[#17:12 See 2 Kings 24:10–17. Babylon and Egypt (see Ezek. 17:17) also represent spiritual forces that affect the growth and advance of the church today. We, too, are a vine, a low spreading vine that is meant to bear much fruit in our union with Christ (see v. 6; John 15). Babylon pictures the world system, and Egypt pictures leaning on the strength of man (the flesh). We need to be set free from our captivity to the world and our trust in man.]

¹³He took one from the royal family and made a treaty with him, forcing him to swear an oath of allegiance to him. He also carried off to Babylon the leading men of Israel[#17:13 That is, Zedekiah, who was the uncle of King Jehoiachin of Judah.]

¹⁴so that their kingdom would be humbled and not rise again and to ensure that the treaty would be kept.[#17:14 Or “surviving only by keeping his treaty.”]

¹⁵But he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and sent envoys to Egypt to procure himself horses and a large army. Will he get away with that? Will a man who has done this go unpunished? Will he break the treaty and still escape?

¹⁶As surely as I, Lord Yahweh , live, this king will die in Babylon! He will die in the country of the king who put him on the throne, because he despised his oath and broke the treaty he had made.

¹⁷Despite Pharaoh’s mighty army and numerous troops, he will not be able to save him in war. When the Babylonians build siege ramps and wooden towers to kill many in the city, the Egyptians will not lift a finger to help !

¹⁸For he despised his oath by breaking the treaty to which he had pledged himself, and he will not go unpunished.

¹⁹“ ‘Therefore, I, Lord Yahweh , decree, as surely as I live, I swear it. It was my oath that he has despised and my treaty which he has broken. I will punish him for this!

²⁰I will throw my net over him and trap him in it. I will take him to Babylon and render judgment against him there for all the wicked things he did against me.[#17:20 See Ezek. 12:13.]

²¹All his elite troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. And then you will know that I, Yahweh , have decreed it.’ ”

Parable of the Cedar Tree

²²Lord Yahweh says:

“I will take the highest branch from a cedar tree.

I will break off from the very top a tender shoot

and plant it myself on a high and lofty mountain.

²³I will plant it on the highest mountain in Israel,

where it will put out branches and bear fruit

and grow into a stately cedar tree.

Every kind of bird will find a home in it.

Yes, in the shade of its branches the birds will make their nests.

²⁴And all the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh , am the one[#17:24 That is, the nations of the earth.]

who brings the tall tree low and raises the low tree high,

who withers the green tree and makes the withered tree sprout again.

I, Yahweh , have spoken and have done it!”