The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
(Matthew 13:24-30)
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: 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. 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. 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.
The Parable Explained
11Moreover 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: 14That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 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.
22Thus 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.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
(Matthew 13:24–30)
1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar: 4 he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree. 6 It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. 8 It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. 9 Say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots. 10 Yes, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? it shall wither in the beds where it grew.
The Parable Explained
11 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Don’t you know what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon: 13 and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land; 14 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape who does such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape? 16 As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons. 18 For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head. 20 I will spread my net on him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me. 21 All his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
22 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain: 23 in 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 birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell. 24 All the trees of the field shall know that I, Yahweh, 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, Yahweh, have spoken and have done it.
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
(Matthew 13:24–30)
1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel 3 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, a
full of feathers of many colors,
came to Lebanon
and took away the top of the cedar.
4 He plucked off its topmost shoot,
carried it to the land of merchants,
and planted it in a city of traders.
5 He took some of the seed of the land
and planted it in fertile soil; b
he placed it by abundant waters
and set it out like a willow.
6 It sprouted and became a spreading vine,
low in height, with branches turned toward him;
yet its roots remained where it stood.
So it became a vine and yielded branches
and sent out shoots.
7 But there was another great eagle
with great wings and many feathers.
And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him.
It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.
8 It had been planted in good soil
by abundant waters
in order to yield branches and bear fruit
and become a splendid vine.’
9 So you are to tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:
‘Will it flourish?
Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit
so that it shrivels?
All its foliage will wither!
It will not take a strong arm or many people
to pull it up by its roots.
10 Even if it is transplanted,
will it flourish?
Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes?
It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’ ”
The Parable Explained
11 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’
Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. 13 He took a member of the royal family c and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.
15 But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’
16 ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who enthroned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’
19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, I will bring down upon his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke. 20 I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me. 21 All his choice troops d will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.’
22 This is what the Lord GOD says:
‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar,
and I will set it out.
I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel
so that it will bear branches;
it will yield fruit
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,
taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 Then all the trees of the field will know
that I am the LORD.
I bring the tall tree down
and make the low tree tall.
I dry up the green tree
and make the withered tree flourish.
I, the LORD, have spoken,
and I have done it.’ ”
Footnotes:
3 a Pinions are the outer parts of a bird’s wings, including the flight feathers.
5 b Hebrew in a field of seed
13 c Hebrew the royal seed
21 d Many Hebrew manuscripts; MT All his fleeing troops
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
(Matthew 13:24-30)
1And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel, 3and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar, 4The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it. 5And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it. 6And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches.
7And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting, 8On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine. 9Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth -- its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? In all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots. 10And lo, the planted thing -- doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'
The Parable Explained
11And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: 12Say, I pray thee, to the rebellious house, Have ye not known what these are? Say, Lo, come hath the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he taketh its king, and its princes, And bringeth them to himself to Babylon. 13And he taketh of the seed of the kingdom, And maketh with him a covenant, And bringeth him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he hath taken, 14That the kingdom may be humble, That it may not lift itself up, To keep his covenant -- that it may stand. 15And he rebelleth against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Doth he prosper? doth he escape who is doing these things? And hath he broken covenant and escaped? 16I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not -- in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him -- in the midst of Babylon -- die? 17And not with a great force, and with a numerous assembly, Doth Pharaoh maintain him in battle, By pouring out a mount, and in building a fortification, To cut off many souls. 18And he despised the oath -- to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not. 19Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live -- Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head? 20And I have spread out for him My snare, And he hath been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he hath trespassed against Me. 21And all his fugitives, with all his bands, By sword do fall, and those remaining, To every wind they are spread out, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken.
22Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have taken of the foliage of the high cedar, And I have set it, From the top of its tender shoots a tender one I crop, And I -- I have planted it on a mountain high and lofty. 23In a mountain -- the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell. 24And known have all trees of the field That I, Jehovah, have made low the high tree, I have set on high the low tree, I have dried up the moist tree, And I have caused the dry tree to flourish, I, Jehovah, have spoken, and have done it!'
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