Two Eagles and a Vine
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable. 3Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, 4he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.
5“ ‘He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, 6and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.
7“ ‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. 8It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’
9“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. 10It has been planted, but will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it—wither away in the plot where it grew?’ ”
11Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12“Say to this rebellious people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. 13Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, 14so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?
16“ ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. 17Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. 18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.
19“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant. 20I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to me. 21All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken.
22“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.
“ ‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’ ”
鹰和葡萄树的比喻
1耶和华对我说： 2“人子啊，你要向以色列人出谜语，讲比喻， 3告诉他们，主耶和华说，‘有一只大鹰翅膀宽大，羽毛丰满，色彩缤纷。这只鹰飞到黎巴嫩的香柏树上，折去树梢， 4掐下树梢的嫩枝，叼到一个商贾云集的城市，栽在那里。 5它又把以色列的树苗像栽柳树一样，栽在水源丰沛的沃土里。 6树苗发了芽，成为向四面蔓延的矮小葡萄树，它向下扎根，长出枝干，枝子向着鹰伸展。
7“‘又有一只大鹰，翅膀宽大，羽毛丰满。这葡萄树把根和枝子从园圃中转向这只鹰，好得到它的浇灌。 8但这树已栽在水源丰沛的沃土里，可以生枝结果，成为美好的葡萄树。’
9“你要告诉他们，主耶和华这样说，‘这树能长得茂盛吗？难道那鹰不把它连根拔起，摘掉它的果子，使树和嫩叶全部枯萎吗？不必费多大力气，也不需要多少人就可以把它连根拔起。 10这树虽然被栽种了，又岂能长得茂盛呢？东风一吹，它岂不在园圃中完全枯萎吗？’”
11耶和华对我说： 12“你要对这些悖逆的人说，‘你们不明白这比喻的意思吗？’要告诉他们，巴比伦王攻取了耶路撒冷，把其中的君王和大臣掳到巴比伦， 13并从犹大王室中选出一人与他立约，要他宣誓效忠。巴比伦王也掳去犹大国的重臣， 14使犹大国臣服于他，无法图强，只能遵守盟约，以求生存。 15后来，犹大王背叛了巴比伦王，派使者到埃及请求支援军队马匹。他能成功吗？他这样做怎能逃脱惩罚呢？他这样背约怎能逃脱惩罚呢？
16“主耶和华说，‘我凭我的永恒起誓，巴比伦王立他做王，他却藐视所起的誓，背弃所立的约，他必死在巴比伦。 17敌人筑起围攻的土垒和高台大肆杀戮的时候，法老虽然兵强马壮，人多势众，仍无法帮他抗敌。 18他起誓降服，却弃约背誓，出尔反尔，所以绝不能逃避后果。
19“‘因此，主耶和华说：我凭我的永恒起誓，他既藐视我的誓言，背弃我的约，我必惩罚他。 20我要撒开网罗抓住他，把他带到巴比伦，审判他对我不忠的罪。 21他所有的精兵都要丧身刀下，余下的也要四散逃窜。这样，你们就知道这是我耶和华说的。
22“‘主耶和华说：我要从香柏树高高的树梢上折下一根细枝栽上，我要从树的顶端折下嫩枝栽在巍峨的高山上。 23我要把它栽在以色列的高山上，使它生枝结果，成为一棵美丽的香柏树，各类飞鸟都要栖息在树上，栖息在枝头的树荫里。 24田野所有的树都会知道我耶和华使高树倒下、矮树长高、青树枯萎、枯树发荣。我耶和华言出必行。’”
