Ezekiel 19

1 Thou. therefore take up a dirge, for the prince of Israel;

Moreover, take thou up a lamentation 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: —How lay thy mother at ease, a lioness among lions! Among young lions she nourished her whelps;

3 And she reared up one of her whelps— A young lion, he became, And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured.

And she brought up one of her whelps; He became a young lion, And he learned to seize the 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.

And when the nations heard of him, he was taken in their pit, And they brought him with nose-rings 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.

And when she saw that she waited in vain, and that her hope was lost, She took another of her whelps, and she 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;

And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, And he learned to seize the 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 knew their widows, and laid waste their cities, And the land was desolate, and all that was therein, before the voice 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 themselves against him on every side from the provinces, And 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 Babylon’s king, — They brought him into strong-holds, That his noise might be heard no more Among the mountains of Israel.

And they put him with nose rings into a cage, And carried him to the king of Babylon. And they carried him to a stronghold, That his voice might be heard no more Upon 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;

Thy mother was like a vine planted like thyself by the waters; She was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many 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.

She had strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And her stature was high among the thick branches, So that she was conspicuous in her height, And the multitude of her branches.

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 she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried up her fruit. Her strong rods were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.

13 Now, therefore, is she planted in a desert, -In a land parched and dry;

And now she is planted in the desert, 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.

And a fire is gone forth out of a rod of her branches, Which hath devoured her fruit, So that she hath no strong rod for a ruler's sceptre. This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.