Ezekiel 19

1 Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,2 and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.3 And she brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt.5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.6 And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.7 And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring.8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.9 And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.10 Thy mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.11 And it had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.12 But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit: its strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them.13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.14 And fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it hath devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

Ezekiel 19

Chapter 19

A Funeral Song for Israel’s Kings

1 “Sing this funeral song for the princes of Israel:
2 “What is your mother?
A lioness among lions!
She lay down among the young lions
and reared her cubs.3 She raised one of her cubs
to become a strong young lion.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he became a man-eater.4 Then the nations heard about him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.5 “When the lioness saw
that her hopes for him were gone,
she took another of her cubs
and taught him to be a strong young lion.6 He prowled among the other lions
and stood out among them in his strength.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he, too, became a man-eater.7 He demolished fortressest
and destroyed their towns and cities.
Their farms were desolated,
and their crops were destroyed.
The land and its people trembled in fear
when they heard him roar.8 Then the armies of the nations attacked him,
surrounding him from every direction.
They threw a net over him
and captured him in their pit.9 With hooks, they dragged him into a cage
and brought him before the king of Babylon.
They held him in captivity,
so his voice could never again be heard
on the mountains of Israel.10 “Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water’s edge.
It had lush, green foliage
because of the abundant water.11 Its branches became strong—
strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
It grew very tall,
towering above all others.
It stood out because of its height
and its many lush branches.12 But the vine was uprooted in fury
and thrown down to the ground.
The desert wind dried up its fruit
and tore off its strong branches,
so that it withered
and was destroyed by fire.13 Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,
where the ground is hard and dry.

14 A fire has burst out from its branches
and devoured its fruit.
Its remaining limbs are not
strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
“This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral.”