1 A nd the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

2 S on of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable or allegory to the house of Israel;

`Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

3 S ay, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar,

4 H e broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it into a land of trade; he set it in a city of merchants.

The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it.

5 H e took also of the seedlings of the land and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it as a willow tree.

And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it.

6 A nd it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots remained under and subject to him; so it became a vine and brought forth branches and shot forth leafy twigs.

And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches.

7 T here was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him, away from the beds of its planting, for him to water.

And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting,

8 T hough it was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and to bear fruit, it was transplanted, that it might become a splendid vine.

On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine.

9 T hus says the Lord God: Ask, Will it thrive? Will he not pluck up its roots and strip off its fruit so that all its fresh sprouting leaves will wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pluck it up by its roots.

Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth -- its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots.

10 Y es, behold, though transplanted, will it prosper? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the furrows and beds where it sprouted and grew.

And lo, the planted thing -- doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'

11 M oreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

12 S ay now to the rebellious house, Do you not know and realize what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king and its princes and brought them with him to Babylon.

`Say, I pray thee, to the rebellious house, Have ye not known what these ? Say, Lo, come hath the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he taketh its king, and its princes, And bringeth them to himself to Babylon.

13 A nd he took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took the mighty and chief men of the land,

And he taketh of the seed of the kingdom, And maketh with him a covenant, And bringeth him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he hath taken,

14 T hat the kingdom might become low and base and be unable to lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant -- that it may stand.

15 B ut he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Will he prosper? Will he escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant with and yet escape?

And he rebelleth against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Doth he prosper? doth he escape who is doing these things? And hath he broken covenant and escaped?

16 A s I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made king, whose oath despised and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon shall die.

I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not -- in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him -- in the midst of Babylon -- die?

17 N either shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war when the cast up mounds and build forts to destroy many lives.

And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Doth Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls.

18 F or despised the oath and broke the covenant and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape.

And he despised the oath -- to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not.

19 T herefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath that has despised and My covenant with him that he has broken, I will even bring down on his own head.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live -- Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head?

20 A nd I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare; and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment and punishment with him there for his trespass and treason that he has committed against Me.

And I have spread out for him My snare, And he hath been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he hath trespassed against Me.

21 A nd all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind. And you shall know (understand and realize) that I the Lord have spoken it.

And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken.

22 T hus says the Lord God: I Myself will take a twig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it upon a mountain high and exalted.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set, From the top of its tender shoots a tender one I crop, And I -- I have planted on a mountain high and lofty.

23 O n the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and be a noble cedar, and under it shall dwell all birds of every feather; in the shade of its branches they shall nestle and find rest.

In a mountain -- the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell.

24 A nd all the trees of the field shall know (understand and realize) that I the Lord have brought low the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.

And known have all trees of the field That I, Jehovah, have made low the high tree, I have set on high the low tree, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, Jehovah, have spoken, and have done!'