Two Eagles and a Vine

¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

²Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,[#Jdg 14:12–19; Eze 20:49]

³and say, Thus says the Lord God : A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers which had various colors, came to Lebanon and took away the highest branch of the cedar.[#Jer 48:40; Da 7:4; Hos 8:1]

⁴He cropped off the top of its young twigs and carried it into a land of merchants. He set it in a city of dealers.

⁵He took also some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fruitful field. He placed it by great waters and set it as a willow tree.[#Dt 8:7–9; #Isa 44:4]

⁶It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under it. So it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

⁷There was also another great eagle with great wings and much plumage. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him, that he might water it by the bed where it was planted.[#Eze 17:15; 31:4]

⁸It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a splendid vine.

⁹Say: Thus says the Lord God : Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its spring leaves wither? It will not take a great power or many people to pull it from its roots.

¹⁰Behold, though it has been planted, will it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind hits it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew.[#Hos 13:15]

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

¹²Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its officials, and led them to him in Babylon.[#Eze 24:19; #Eze 1:2]

¹³He took one of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He has also taken away the mighty of the land,[#2Ch 36:13; #2Ki 24:15–17]

¹⁴that the kingdom might be debased, that it might not lift itself up, but by the keeping of his covenant it might stand.[#Eze 29:14]

¹⁵But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Can he indeed break the covenant and be delivered?[#Dt 17:16; 2Ki 24:20]

¹⁶As I live, says the Lord God , surely in the country of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in the midst of Babylon he shall die.[#Jer 52:11; Eze 12:13]

¹⁷Nor shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war by casting up mounts and building forts to cut off many persons.[#Isa 36:6; Jer 37:7]

¹⁸Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, behold, when he had given his allegiance and has done all these things, he shall not escape.[#1Ch 29:24]

¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God : As I live, surely My oath that he has despised and My covenant that he has broken, I will inflict upon his own head.

²⁰I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against Me.[#Eze 12:13; #Jer 2:35]

²¹All the choice men in all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward all winds. And you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.[#2Ki 25:5, 11]

²²Thus says the Lord God : I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar and set it aside. I will crop off from the top of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.[#Ps 2:6; Eze 20:40]

²³On the mountain of the height of Israel I will plant it. And it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a splendid cedar. And under it all fowl of every wing shall nest. In the shadow of its branches they shall nest.[#Eze 31:6; Mt 13:32]

²⁴All the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish.[#Am 9:11]

I, the Lord , have spoken and will do it.