1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 3And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:17.3 divers…: Heb. embroidering 4He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. 5He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.17.5 planted…: Heb. put it in a field of seed 6And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. 7There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. 8It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.17.8 soil: Heb. field 9Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. 10Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
11¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; 13And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:17.13 taken an…: Heb. brought him to an oath 14That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.17.14 but…: Heb. to keep his covenant, to stand to it 15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? 16As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: 18Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. 19Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. 20And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 21And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
22¶ Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 23In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
Billedtale om vinstokken og ørnene
1Herren sagde til mig: 2„Du menneske, fortæl følgende gåde til Israels folk. Du skal sige til dem: Hør Herrens ord:
3-4En stor ørn med et vældigt vingefang og mange farver i sin fjerdragt kom til Libanon. Den plukkede det øverste skud fra det højeste cedertræ og bragte det til den travle by i den store handelsnation.17,3-4 „Libanon” er en henvisning til Judas kongers stolthed „Libanonskovhallen”, som nævnes i 1.Kong. 7. Det var bygget af cedertræ og udgjorde det største hus i Salomons pragtfulde paladskompleks. Det øverste skud på den kongelige stamme var kong Jojakin, der blev ført til Babylon af ørnen, kong Nebukadnezar. 5Derefter tog ørnen et af landets egne frø og plantede det i frugtbar jord, hvor der var rigeligt med vand. 6Frøet spirede og voksede til en forgrenet, lavstammet vinstok med mange sideskud og blade. Grenene voksede op mod ørnen, og rødderne strakte sig hen imod den.
7Men så kom der en anden stor ørn med vældigt vingefang og flot fjerdragt, og vinstokken strakte nu både rødder og grene imod den nye ørn, for den ville gerne have endnu mere vand. 8Men den var allerede plantet i god jord og havde rigeligt med vand, så den kunne skyde grene, sætte frugt og blive en frodig vinstok.
9Nu spørger Herren: Vil det lykkes? Mon ikke snarere dens rødder bliver rykket op? Mon ikke frugten tørrer ind, og de friske skud visner? Der skal ikke megen styrke til at rykke den op med rode. 10Vinstokken fik en lovende start, men mon den vil overleve? Vil den ikke visne, hvor den står, når østenvinden blæser imod den?”
11Derefter sagde Herren til mig: 12-13„Sig til mit oprørske folk: Forstår I, hvad gåden betyder? Lad mig forklare den: Nebukadnezar kom til Jerusalem og førte kongen og de øverste ledere i eksil i Babylon. Derefter indsatte han et medlem af den kongelige familie som konge og aftalte med ham, at han skulle være underlagt Babylons herredømme. Resten af Israels ledere tog han med til Babylon, 14så landet ikke skulle komme til kræfter og gøre oprør, men overholde fredsaftalen og have et vist selvstyre.
15Men den nye konge brød sit løfte om troskab og gjorde oprør imod Nebukadnezar. Han sendte bud til Egypten og bad om soldater og stridsvogne. Men vil hans planer lykkes? Mon han slipper godt fra at bryde sit troskabsløfte? 16Nej, så sandt jeg lever, siger Herren: Han kommer til at dø i Babylon, for han brød fredsaftalen og gjorde oprør mod den, der havde indsat ham som konge. 17Farao og hele hans mægtige hær kan ikke redde ham, når Nebukadnezar vender tilbage og belejrer Jerusalem og slår en masse mennesker ihjel. 18Zidkija brød sin ed og løftet om troskab, og det slipper han ikke godt fra.
19Så sandt jeg lever, siger Herren, skal han bøde for at have brudt den højtidelige ed, han aflagde i mit navn. 20Jeg kaster mit net over ham, så han bliver fanget i fælden, og derefter fører jeg ham til Babylon, hvor han vil blive straffet for sit oprør imod mig. 21Alle hans bedste krigere vil falde i kamp, og de som overlever, bliver spredt for alle vinde. Så vil I forstå, at jeg er Herren, og at jeg har talt.”
Løftet om en fremtidig Messias
22-23Herren fortsatte: „Jeg vil tage et skud fra cedertræets øverste top og plante det på toppen af Israels vigtigste bjerg. Det vil vokse op og blive et flot cedertræ, der skyder grene og sætter frø. Alverdens fugle vil komme for at bygge rede i dets skyggefulde grene. 24Da vil alle skovens træer forstå, at jeg, Herren, skærer de høje, stolte træer ned og giver de lave træer ære og værdighed. De vil forstå, at jeg har magt til at få et grønt træ til at visne og et udtørret træ til at blomstre. Jeg, Herren, har talt, og det vil ske, som jeg har sagt.”
