Ezekiel 19
1 Thou. therefore take up a dirge, for the prince of Israel;
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
2 and thou shalt say— How was thy mother a lioness, Between lions, she lay down, - In the midst of young lions, She nourished her whelps;
and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness among the lions! She lay down among the young lions; she reared her cubs.
3 And she reared up one of her whelps— A young lion, he became, And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured.
She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.
4 Then nations heard of him. In their pit, was he caught, — So they brought him with hooks. Into the land of Egypt.
When the nations heard of him, he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they led him away to the land of Egypt.
5 And she saw she had waited Lost was her hope, Then took she another of her whelps. A young lion, she made him.
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.
6 Yea he went to and fro amidst lions A young lion, he became, - And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured;
He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.
7 And he injured his widows, And their cities, laid waste, - And deserted was the land and its fulness, At the noise of his roaring.
He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.
8 Then set upon him the nations round about. From the provinces, - And spread over him their net In their pit, was he caught;
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.
9 And they put him in a cage with hooks, And brought him to Babylon’s king, — They brought him into strong-holds, That his noise might be heard no more Among the mountains of Israel.
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.
10 Thy mother [was] like a vine of thy vineyard, By waters, was planted, — Fruitful and full of branches, she became By reason of waters abundant;
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.
11 And they served her as staves of power For the sceptres of rulers, And high became the stature thereof With its interwoven foliage, - And it was seen by its height, By its multitude of branches.
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.
12 Then was she uprooted in indignation To the ground, was she cast, And an east wind, dried up her fruit, —Broken off and withered were her staves of power, A fire, devoured them.
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.
13 Now, therefore, is she planted in a desert, -In a land parched and dry;
Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
14 And there hath gone forth a fire out of her staves of rods. Her fruit, hath it devoured, And there is in her no staff of power. As a sceptre to bear rule. A dirge, it is, and hath been made a dirge.
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.”
