1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^c“Son of man, ^dpropound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: ^eA great eagle ^fwith great wings and long pinions, ^frich in plumage of many colors, came ^gto Lebanon ^hand took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land ⁱand planted it in fertile soil.¹ He placed it beside abundant waters. ^jHe set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a ^klow ^lspreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

7 ^m“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, ^mand behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from ⁿthe bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 ⁱIt had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: ^mWill it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? ^oWill it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”