Ezekiel 17:1-10

The Parable of the Eagles and the Vine

17¹ And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, ² 'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel, ³ and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar, ⁴ The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it. ⁵ And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it. ⁶ And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches. ⁷ And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting, ⁸ On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine. ⁹ Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth—its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? 'In' all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots. ¹⁰ And lo, the planted thing—doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'