1. AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2. Son of man, put forth a riddle and speak a parable or allegory to the house of Israel;
3. Say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle [Nebuchadnezzar] with great wings and long pinions, rich in feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon [symbolic of Jerusalem] and took the top of the cedar [tree].
4. He broke off the topmost of its young twigs [the youthful King Jehoiachin] and carried it into a land of trade [Babylon]; he set it in a city of merchants.
5. He took also of the seedlings of the land [Zedekiah, one of the native royal family] and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it as a willow tree [to succeed Zedekiah's nephew Jehoiachin in Judah as vassal king].
6. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low [not Davidic] stature, whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, and its roots remained under and subject to him [the king of Babylon]; so it became a vine and brought forth branches and shot forth leafy twigs.