1. 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, long-pinioned, full of feathers, which was of divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar.
4. He cropped off the top of its young shoots, and carried it into a merchants' land; he set it in a city of traders.
5. And he took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, he set it as a willow tree.
6. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, so that its branches should turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; and it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
7. And there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, from the beds of her plantation, this vine did bend her roots unto him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it.