1The word of the LORD came to me, saying.2Son of man, propound a riddle and utter a parable to the house of Israel.3And you shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: the great eagle, great of wings, long of pinion, full of feathers, which had embroidery, came to the Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.4He plucked the head of his shoots and brought it to the land of Canaan, to a city of merchants—its name.5He took some of the seed of the earth and planted it in a field for seed. He set it upon many waters; he made it a poplar.6It sprouted and became a sprawling, low vine, with its branches turned toward him and its roots under him. So it became a vine, produced shoots, and sent out branches.7And there was one eagle, great, with great wings and abundant feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches to him to water it from the beds of its planting.8It was planted in a good field by abundant waters, to produce branches and bear fruit, to become a splendid vine.9Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will its roots not be torn out and its fruit lopped off, and it wither? All the fresh growth of its shoot will wither, and not by great seed or by much people to lift it up from its roots.10Look, the planting—will it succeed? Will it not wither when the east wind touches it? It will dry up on the bed where its shoot grew.11And the word of the LORD came to me, saying.12Say to the house of rebellion: Do you not know what these things are? He said: Look, the king of Babel came to Jerusalem, and he took its king and its officials and brought them to him in Babel.13He took some of the seed of the kingship, cut a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath. He also took the rams of the earth.14to be a lowly kingdom so as not to lift itself up, to keep his covenant, to stand.15But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Egypt to get horses and a great army. Will he succeed? Will he escape—this one who despised the oath and broke the covenant?16"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "in the place of the king who made him king, who despised his oath and broke his covenant with him—in the midst of Babel he will die."17Pharaoh will not support him with great might or a large assembly in warfare, by pouring a siege mound or building a ramp to cut off many lives.18And he broke the oath in this way and the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and all these he did—he will not escape.
**19Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: As I live, surely I will repay on his own head my oath, which he despised, and my covenant, which he broke.20And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my trap. And I will bring him to Babylon, and I will judge him there for his trespass that he trespassed against me.21And all his fugitives among all his wings will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to every wind, and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.22Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take from the top of the tall cedar and set on the head of its tender young shoots a tender one. I will pluck it and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.23On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it will bear a branch and bear fruit, and it will be a majestic cedar. And they will dwell under it—all birds, every winged one—in the shade of its branches they will dwell.24And all the trees of the field will know that I, the LORD, have humbled the high tree, have heightened the low tree, have withered the lush tree, and have made the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.