Ezekiel:17

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* And the word of the LORD came to me , saying , * "Son of man , pose a riddle , and speak a parable to the house of Israel , * and say , "Thus says the Lord GOD : "A great eagle with large wings and long pinions , Full of feathers of various colors , Came to Lebanon And took from the cedar the highest branch . * He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade ; He set it in a city of merchants . * Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in a fertile field ; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow tree . * And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature ; Its branches turned toward him , But its roots were under it . So it became a vine , Brought forth branches , And put forth shoots . * "But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers ; And behold , this vine bent its roots toward him , And stretched its branches toward him , From the garden terrace where it had been planted , That he might water it . * It was planted in good soil by many waters , To bring forth branches , bear fruit , And become a majestic vine ."' * "Say , "Thus says the Lord GOD : "Will it thrive ? Will he not pull up its roots , Cut off its fruit , And leave it to wither ? All of its spring leaves will wither , And no great power or many people Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots . * Behold , it is planted , Will it thrive ? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it ? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew .""' * Moreover the word of the LORD came to me , saying , * "Say now to the rebellious house : "Do you not know what these things mean ?' Tell them , "Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes , and led them with him to Babylon . * And he took the king 's offspring , made a covenant with him , and put him under oath . He also took away the mighty of the land , * that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up , but that by keeping his covenant it might stand . * But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt , that they might give him horses and many people . Will he prosper ? Will he who does such things escape ? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered ? * "As I live ,' says the Lord GOD , "surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king , whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke--with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die . * Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war , when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons . * Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant , and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things , he shall not escape ."' * Therefore thus says the Lord GOD : "As I live , surely My oath which he despised , and My covenant which he broke , I will recompense on his own head . * I will spread My net over him , and he shall be taken in My snare . I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me . * All his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword , and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind ; and you shall know that I , the LORD , have spoken ." * Thus says the Lord GOD : "I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out . I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one , and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain . * On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it ; and it will bring forth boughs , and bear fruit , and be a majestic cedar . Under it will dwell birds of every sort ; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell . * And all the trees of the field shall know that I , the LORD , have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree , dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish ; I , the LORD , have spoken and have done it ."

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