Ezekiel 17:1-6

New International Version

Two Eagles and a Vine

17 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable.^{(A) 3} Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle^(B) with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon.^(C) Taking hold of the top of a cedar, ⁴ he broke off^(D) its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

⁵ “‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,^{(E) 6} and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches^(F) turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.^(G)