The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel ^(A)sang this song to the Lord, saying,

¹⁹ For when ^(AO)the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, ^(AP)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. ²⁰ Then ^(AQ)Miriam ^(AR)the prophetess, the ^(AS)sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and ^(AT)all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. ²¹ And Miriam sang to them:

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; ³ say, Thus says the Lord God: ^(C)A great eagle ^(D)with great wings and long pinions, ^(E)rich in plumage of many colors, came ^(F)to Lebanon ^(G)and took the top of the cedar. ⁴ He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. ⁵ Then he took of the seed of the land ^(H)and planted it in fertile soil.^[a] He placed it beside abundant waters. ^(I)He set it like a willow twig, ⁶ and it sprouted and became a ^(J)low ^(K)spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

^7 (L)“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, ^(M)and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from ^(N)the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. ^8 (O)It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

⁹ “Say, Thus says the Lord God: ^(P)Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰ Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? ^(Q)Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

²² Thus says the Lord God: ^(A)“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. ^(B)I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and ^(C)I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ^23 (D)On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. ^(E)And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; ^(F)I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up ^(G)the green tree, and make ^(H)the dry tree flourish. ^(I)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

⁷ When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of ^(A)Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. ^8 (B)The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ^(C)‘Reign over us.’ ⁹ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹² And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹³ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that ^(D)cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ ¹⁴ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and ^(E)take refuge in my shade, but if not, ^(F)let fire come out of the bramble and devour ^(G)the cedars of Lebanon.’