11. The Lord said to me,
12. “Ask these rebels if they know what the parable means. Tell them that the king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem and took the king and his officials back with him to Babylonia.
13. He took one of the king's family, made a treaty with him, and made him swear to be loyal. He took important men as hostages
14. to keep the nation from rising again and to make sure that the treaty would be kept.
15. But the king of Judah rebelled and sent agents to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can he get away with that? He cannot break the treaty and go unpunished!
16. “As surely as I am the living God,” says the Sovereign Lord, “this king will die in Babylonia because he broke his oath and the treaty he had made with the king of Babylonia, who put him on the throne.
17. Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people.
18. He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.”
19. The Sovereign Lord says, “As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty which he swore in my name to keep.
20. I will spread out a hunter's net and catch him in it. I will take him to Babylonia and punish him there, because he was unfaithful to me.
21. His best soldiers will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”
22. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“I will take the top of a tall cedarand break off a tender sprout;I will plant it on a high mountain,
23. on Israel's highest mountain.It will grow branches and bear seedand become a magnificent cedar.Birds of every kind will live thereand find shelter in its shade.
24. All the trees in the land will knowthat I am the Lord.I cut down the tall treesand make the small trees grow tall.I wither up the green treesand make the dry trees become green.I, the Lord, have spoken. I will do what I have said I would do.”