Ezekiel 19

1 “As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel

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

2 and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness among the lions! She lay down among the young lions; she reared her cubs.

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 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his 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 When the nations heard of him, he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they led him away 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 When she saw that she had waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs 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 He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his 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 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound 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 out against him from the provinces on every side. They spread their net over him; he was trapped 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 With hooks they caged him and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him into captivity so that his roar was heard no longer on 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 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant 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 It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.

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 uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they 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 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 Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

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.”