whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals ¹  used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest –

He called out loudly ¹  as follows: ²  ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches! Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit! Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches!

Its boughs were strong, fit ¹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds. It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ² 

The one who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous ¹  will flourish like a green leaf. ² 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how handsome you are, my lover! ¹  Oh, ²  how delightful ³  you are! The lush foliage ⁴  is our canopied bed; ⁵ 

Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful; on it there was food enough for all. Under it the wild animals ¹  used to seek shade, and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest. All creatures ²  used to feed themselves from it.

“‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, ¹  planted by water. It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.

Consider Assyria, ¹  a cedar in Lebanon, ²  with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade, and extremely tall; its top reached into the clouds.

On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees ¹  – palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook – and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

The land ¹  dries up ²  and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up ³  and decays. Sharon ⁴  is like the desert; ⁵  Bashan and Carmel ⁶  are parched. ⁷ 

It sprouted and became a vine, spreading low to the ground; ¹  its branches turning toward him, ²  its roots were under itself. ³  So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.

“‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height,

“‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Will it prosper? Will he not rip out its roots and cause its fruit to rot ¹  and wither? All its foliage ²  will wither. No strong arm or large army will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ³ 

For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. ¹  For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; ²  they will be among mere mortals, ³  with those who descend to the pit.