Ezekiel 19

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

1 And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

2 and say:
What was your mother? A lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
3  And she brought up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
4  The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5  When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
6  He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
7  and seizedt their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
8  Then the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
they spread their net over him;
he was taken in their pit.
9  With hooks they put him in a caget
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on the mountains of Israel.

10  Your mother was like a vine in a vineyardt
planted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
by reason of abundant water.
11  Its strong stems became
rulers' scepters;
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;t
it was seen in its height
with the mass of its branches.
12  But the vine was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
fire consumed it.
13  Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.

14  And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
has consumed its fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

Ezekiel 19

Lament for the Princes of Israel

1 “And you, singt a lament for the princes of Israel,

2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions;s she reared her cubs.

3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.t

4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.s

5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubss and made him a young lion.

6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.

7 He broke downs their strongholdss and devastated their cities.
The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.

8 The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him.
They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

9 They put him in a collar with hooks;t
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prisons
so that his voice would not be heard
any longer on the mountains of Israel.

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

11 Its boughs were strong, fitt for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches.t

12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east winds dried up its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered –
a fire consumed them.

13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.s

14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit.t
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”