Dual Panel1This word of the LORD came to me:
2“O man, pose this riddle, expound this parable to the Israelites.
3Tell them that these are the words of the Lord GOD: A great eagle with broad wings and long pinions, in full plumage, richly patterned, came to Lebanon. He took the very top of a cedar tree,
4plucked its highest twig; he carried it off to a land of traders, and planted it in a city of merchants.
5Then he took a native seed and put it in a prepared plot; he set it like a willow, a shoot beside abundant water.
6It sprouted and became a vine, sprawling low along the ground and bending its boughs towards him with its roots growing beneath him. So it became a vine; it branched out and sent forth shoots.
7“But there was another great eagle with broad wings and thick plumage; and this vine gave its roots a twist towards him; from the bed where it was planted, seeking drink, it pushed out its trailing boughs towards him,
8though it had been set in good ground beside abundant water that it might branch out and be fruitful, and become a noble vine.
9“Tell them that the Lord GOD says: Will such a vine flourish? Will not its roots be torn up and its fruit stripped off, and all its freshly sprouted leaves wither, until it is uprooted and carried away with little effort and a small force?
10If it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not be utterly shrivelled, as though by the touch of the east wind, on the bed where it ought to sprout?”
11This word of the LORD came to me:
12“Say to that rebellious people: Have you no idea what all this means? The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and those in high office, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
13He chose a prince of the royal line and made a treaty with him, putting him on his oath. He carried away the chief men of the country,
14so that it should become a humble kingdom, submissive, ready to observe the treaty and keep it in force.
15But the prince rebelled against him and sent envoys to Egypt with a request for horses and a large force of troops. Will such a man be successful? Will he escape destruction if he acts in this way? Can he violate a treaty and escape unpunished?
16As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear that he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, the king whose oath he disregarded, whose treaty he violated.
17No large army will come from Pharaoh, no great force to be a protection for him in battle, when siege-ramps are thrown up and towers are built for the destruction of many.
18Because he violated a treaty and disregarded his oath, because he submitted, and yet did all these things, he will not escape.
19“The Lord GOD says: As I live, he has made light of the oath sworn in my name and has violated the covenant he made with me. For this I shall bring retribution upon him.
20Because he has broken faith with me I shall throw my net over him, and he will be caught in the meshes; I shall carry him to Babylon and bring him to judgement there.
21The picked troops in all his squadrons will fall by the sword; those who are left will be scattered to all the winds. Thus you will know that it is I, the LORD, who have spoken.
22“The Lord GOD says: I, too, shall take a slip from the lofty crown of the cedar and set it in the soil; I shall pluck a tender shoot from the topmost branch and plant it on a high and lofty mountain,
23the highest mountain in Israel. It will put out branches, bear its fruit, and become a noble cedar. Birds of every kind will roost under it, perching in the shelter of its boughs.
24All the trees of the countryside will know that it is I, the LORD, who bring low the tall tree and raise the lowly tree high, who shrivel up the green tree and make the shrivelled tree put forth buds. I, the LORD, have spoken; I shall do it.”