Ezekiel 17:2–18

^2c“Son of man, ^dpropound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; ³say, 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. ⁴He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. ⁵Then 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, ⁶and 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.

^7m“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. ⁸ⁱIt 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. ¹⁰Behold, 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?”

¹¹Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹²“Say now to ^pthe rebellious house, ^qDo you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ^rthe king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. ^13sAnd he took one of the royal offspring^{2 t}and made a covenant with him, ^uputting him under oath (^vthe chief men of the land he had taken away), ¹⁴that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. ^15wBut he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ^xto Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ^yWill he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ^zbreak the covenant and yet escape?

^16a“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely ^bin the place where the king dwells ^cwho made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. ^17dPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ^ewhen mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. ¹⁸He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape.