17 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ² Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; ³ and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: ⁴ he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it unto ^[a]a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. ⁵ He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in ^[b]a fruitful soil; he placed it beside ^[c]many waters; he set it as a willow-tree. ⁶ And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

⁷ There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in a good ^[d]soil by ^[e]many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. ⁹ Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof. ¹⁰ Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the beds where it grew.