He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘I will take a sprig ¹  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ²  I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

But see how great he must be, if ¹  Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe ²  of his plunder.

There will be some left behind, like when an olive tree is beaten – two or three ripe olives remain toward the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches,” says the Lord God of Israel.