The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
King James Version KJV
1 The word of ADONAI came to me:
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And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 "Human being, propound this riddle, tell the house of Isra'el this allegory,
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Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
3 say that Adonai ELOHIM says this: 'A big eagle having great wings and long pinions full of varicolored feathers came to the L'vanon and took over the top of the cedar.
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And 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:
4 He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, carried them to a land of traders and set them down in a city of merchants.
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He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He also took some of the seed in the land and planted it in fertile soil, placing it where there was abundant water, as one would a willow.
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He 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.
6 It grew to become a fruitful vine sprawling over the ground; its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him - thus it became a vine, sprouting branches and putting forth shoots.
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And 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.
7 "'There was another big eagle with great wings and many feathers; and the vine bent its roots toward him and put forth its branches toward him, so that he might water it more than in the bed where it was planted.
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There 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.
8 It had been planted in good soil, near plenty of water, so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a noble vine.'
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It 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.
9 "Say that Adonai ELOHIM asks: 'Will it succeed? Won't he pull it up by the roots and cut off its fruit; so that it dries up; and all its sprouting leaves wither? There will be no great power and few people there when it is plucked up by the roots.
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Say 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.
10 Will it thrive just because it was planted? Won't it wither altogether when the east wind strikes it? Yes, it will wither right there in the beds where it was growing.'"
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Yea, 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 The word of ADONAI came to me:
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Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12 "Say to the rebellious house: 'Don't you know what these things mean?' Tell them: 'Here, the king of Bavel came to Yerushalayim, took its king and princes and brought them to himself in Bavel.
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Say 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;
13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He removed the powerful leaders of the land,
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And 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:
14 so that this kingdom of his would stay humble and not develop aspirations of its own; rather, it would keep his covenant and live accordingly.
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That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
15 But this man rebelled and sent representatives to Egypt, in order to obtain horses and a sizeable army. Can he succeed? Can someone who does such things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape punishment?
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But 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?
16 "'As I live,' says Adonai ELOHIM, 'in the place where the king who gave him his throne lives, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, there with him in Bavel I swear that he will die.
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As 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.
17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and numerous troops will give him no help in the war, when they raise siege-works and build fortified towers to destroy many people;
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Neither 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:
18 because he despised the oath by breaking the covenant to which he had sworn allegiance; having done all these things, he will not escape unpunished.'
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Seeing 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.
19 Therefore Adonai ELOHIM says: 'As I live, I swear that it is my oath he has despised and my covenant he has broken, and I will bring this on his own head.
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Therefore 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.
20 I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Bavel and bring him to judgment there for breaking faith with me.
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And 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.
21 The elite troops among his forces will die by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, ADONAI, said it.'
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And 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 "Adonai ELOHIM says, 'From the top of this tall cedar, from its highest branch, I will take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and prominent mountain.
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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:
23 I will plant it on the highest mountain in Isra'el, where it will put out branches, bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it will live all kinds of birds; winged creatures of every description will live there in the shadow of its branches.
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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 fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I, ADONAI, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low tree, wither the green tree and make the withered tree bear fruit. I, ADONAI, have spoken; and I will do it.'"
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And 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.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The King James Version is in the public domain.