⁸ The vine had been planted in lush, fertile soil beside abundant waters in order to produce healthy growth and branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent vine instead of remaining a lowly one.

⁹ Now I, the Eternal Lord, ask, will that vine continue to flourish? Won’t the eagle pull it out of the lush, fertile soil by its roots, strip it of its fruit, and leave it to wither? It won’t take much strength or many people to pull it up by the roots. ¹⁰ Now if it is transplanted, will it flourish? When the angry east wind strikes it, won’t it wither away completely? Won’t it shrivel up in the plot of ground where it had grown?