Ezekiel 19

1 Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the rulers of Israel,

“And as for you, take up a lament over the leaders 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.

and you shall say: Why did your mother, the lioness, recline among the male lions, and raise her little ones in the midst of young lions?

3 And she brought up one of her whelps. He became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey. He devoured men.

And she led away one of her little ones, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to consume men.

4 The nations also heard of him. He was taken in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

And the Gentiles heard about him, and they seized him, but not without receiving wounds. And they led him away in chains to 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.

Then, when she had seen that she was weakened, and that her hope had perished, she took one of her little ones, and appointed him as a 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.

And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.

7 And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities. And the land was desolate, and the fullness of it, because of the noise of his roaring.

He learned to make widows, and to lead their citizens into the desert. And the land, with its plenitude, was made desolate by the voice 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.

And the Gentiles came together against him, on every side, from the provinces, and they spread their net over him; by their wounds, he was captured.

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.

And they put him into a cage; they led him in chains to the king of Babylon. And they cast him into a prison, so that his voice would no longer 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 because of many waters.

Your mother is like a vine, in your blood, planted by the water; her fruit and her branches have increased because of many waters.

11 And it had strong twigs for the scepters of those who bore rule. And their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her 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 twigs were broken off and withered. The fire consumed them.

But she was uprooted in wrath, and cast upon the ground. And the burning wind dried up her fruit. Her robust branches withered and were dried up. A fire consumed her.

13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

And now she has been transplanted into the desert, into a land impassable and dry.

14 And fire has gone out of the twigs of its branches. It has devoured its fruit, so that there is no strong twig in it to be a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

And a fire has gone forth from a rod of her branches, which has consumed her fruit. And there is no strong branch in her to become a scepter for the rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be a lamentation.”