And the word of יהוה came to me, saying:

Son of man, speak a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Yisra'el.

And you shall say, Thus says Adonai יהוה: A great eagle, with great wings, long pinions, full of feathers, with varied colors, came to the Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

He plucked the highest branch of its young shoots and brought it to the land of Kena'an; he placed it in a city of merchants.

And he took some of the seed of the land and put it in a field of seed; he set it by abundant waters, like a willow.

And it sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, so that its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under it; and it became a vine and produced branches and sent forth shoots.

And there was another great eagle, with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and sent forth its branches to him, to water it from the beds of its planting.

It was planted in a good field, by abundant waters, to produce branches and bear fruit, so that it might become a magnificent vine.

Say, Thus says Adonai יהוה: Will it succeed? Will he not tear out its roots and cut off its fruit, and dry up all its fresh shoots? It will dry up, and not by a strong arm or a great people will it be uprooted from its roots.

And behold, it was planted; will it succeed? Will it not dry up completely when the east wind touches it, dry up on the beds of its planting?

And the word of יהוה came to me, saying:

Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Say, Behold, the king of Babel came to Yerushalayim and took its king and its officials; he brought them with him to Babel.

And he took one of the royal line and made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took the mighty men of the land.

So that the kingdom might be humble, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant to stand by it.

But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers to Mitsrayim to give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape who does these things? Will he break the covenant and escape?

As I live, declares Adonai יהוה, surely in the place where the king lives who appointed him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, with him in the midst of Babel he shall die.

And Pharaoh, with a great army and a large assembly, will not help him in war, when they cast up mounds and build siege walls to cut off many lives.

Because he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand, and yet he has done all these things; he shall not escape.

Therefore, thus says Adonai יהוה: As I live, surely my oath which he despised and my covenant which he broke, I will bring it upon his head.

And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; and I will bring him to Babel and execute judgment on him there for his treachery against me.

And all his fugitives, through all his troops, will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, יהוה, have spoken.

Thus says Adonai יהוה: I myself will take some of the highest branch of the cedar and will set it; I will pluck from the top of its young shoots a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

On the high mountain of Yisra'el I will plant it, and it will produce branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar; and all birds of every wing will dwell beneath it; they will dwell in the shade of its branches.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I, יהוה, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish; I, יהוה, have spoken and have done it.