The Meaning of the Parable

¹¹ This message came to me from the Lord: ¹² “Tell my^[a] rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean? Look! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, captured her king and princes, and took them with him to Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal descendants, made a covenant with him, and put him under an oath of loyalty, taking the leaders of the land captive ¹⁴ in order to humiliate the kingdom so it wouldn’t be able to return to power, but would still be able to continue as long as he keeps his covenant. ¹⁵ But he rebelled against the king of Babylon^[b] by sending his messengers to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Or will the one who did this escape? Will he break the covenant, but still be delivered?’”

God will Punish the King

¹⁶ “As long as I live,” declares the Lord God, “in Babylon, that place where the king has enthroned him, whose oath he despised so as to break his covenant, he’ll die with him. ¹⁷ Pharaoh, with his massive army and large battalions won’t protect him when mounds and siege walls are built to destroy many people.^{[c] 18} He despised the oath he had made and broke the covenant. Look! Because he willingly submitted,^[d] yet he has done all these things, he won’t escape.

¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says, “As long as I live, because he despised my oath and broke my covenant, he’s going to suffer the consequences.^{[e] 20} I’ll spread my net over him so that he’ll be caught in my snare. I’ll bring him to Babylon and carry out my sentence there because of his treachery toward me. ²¹ The fugitives of his troops will die by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the four^[f] winds. Then you’ll know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Transplanted Vine

²² This is what the Lord God says, “I’m also going to take a shoot from the top of a cedar and plant it. I’ll pluck off its delicate twigs and transplant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ I’ll transplant it on Israel’s land, and it will grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. All sorts^[g] of birds will rest under it, and they’ll settle down in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the fields will know that I, the Lord, bring down the lofty tree and exalt the lowly tree. I dry up the green^[h] tree and cause the dry tree to bud. I the Lord have spoken this, and I will fulfill it.”