1. The word of Adonai came to me saying,
2. “Son of man, propose a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel.”
3. Say, thus says Adonai Elohim: “A great eagle with large wings and broad wings, full of feathers which had varied colors, came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of the cedar.
4. He plucked off its topmost twigs, carried them to the land of trade and set it in a city of merchants.
5. Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig.