Ezekiel 17:1-10

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

A great eagle with great wings and long pinions,
    rich in plumage of many colors,
    came to the Lebanon.
He took the top of the cedar,^(B)
4     broke off its topmost shoot;
he carried it to a land of trade,
    set it in a city of merchants.
⁵ Then he took a seedling from the land,
    placed it in fertile soil;
a plant^[a] by abundant waters,
    he set it like a willow twig.^(C)
6 It sprouted and became a vine
    spreading out but low;
its branches turned toward him;
    its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine;
    it brought forth branches,
    put forth foliage.

⁷ There was another great eagle
    with great wings and much plumage.
And see! This vine stretched out
    its roots toward him;
it shot out its branches toward him
    from the bed where it was planted
    so that he might water it.^(D)
8 It had been transplanted
    to good soil by abundant waters,
so that it might produce branches
    and bear fruit
    and become a noble vine.

Will it prosper?
Will he not pull up its roots,
    cause its fruit to rot^[b] and wither,
    its fresh sprouting leaves to fade?
No strong arm or mighty army will be needed
    to pull it from its roots.
¹⁰ Look, it has been transplanted. Will it thrive?
When the east wind strikes it,
    will it not utterly wither,
    wither on the bed where it grew?^(E)