Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 And the word of Yahweh came^[a] to me, saying,^{[b] 2} “Son of man,^[c] tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel, ³ and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The great eagle with great wings and long feathers^[d] and full of variegated plumage^[e] came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar. ⁴ He plucked the top of its new plant shoot, and he brought it to the land of Canaan and put it in a city of merchants, ⁵ and he took from the seed of the land and placed it in fertile soil^[f] on^[g] many waters; like a willow he planted it. ⁶ And it sprouted, and it became a vine spreading out,^[h] low of height, turning its branches to him, and its roots were under it, and it became a vine,^[i] and it made^[j] branches, and it sent out foliage.

⁷ “‘“And there was another great eagle, great of wings and with abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed where it was planted.^{[k] 8} It was planted in^[l] a good field by^[m] many waters^[n] to produce branches^[o] and to bear fruit to become^[p] a beautiful vine.”’^{[q] 9} Say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots will not require great strength or many people.^{[r] 10} And look! Though it is planted, will it prosper? When the east wind strikes it,^[s] will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!”’”