- That it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit,
- That it might be a stately 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,
- Yea, wither in all its sprouting leaves?
- Neither shall great power or much people be at hand
- When it is plucked up by the roots thereof.
- 10Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper?
- Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it?
- In the beds where it grew it shall wither.'
11Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: 12'Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon; 13and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and the mighty of the land he took away; 14that his might be a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping 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? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape? 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 broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company succour him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many souls; 18seeing he hath 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, I will even bring it 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 treachery that he hath committed against Me. 21And all his mighty men in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it. 22Thus saith the Lord God: Moreover I will take, even I, 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 upon a 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 stately 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.'
18And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: 2'What mean ye, that ye use this proverb in the land of Israel, saying:
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