Ezekiel 19

1 [Yahweh said to me, “Ezekiel], sing a sad funeral [a which will be a parable] [two of the] kings of Israel.

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

2 Say [to the Israeli people], ‘[It is as though] [MET] your mother was a brave female lion who raised her cubs among [other] lions.

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

3 She taught one of them to [for other animals to kill], and he [even] learned [kill and] eat people.

She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.

4 [When people from other] nations heard about him, they trapped him in a pit. Then they used hooks to drag him to 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 His mother waited for him [to return], but [soon] she stopped hoping/expecting [that he would return]. So she raised another cub who [also] became very fierce.

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 He hunted along with [other] [for animals to kill], and he even learned [kill and] eat people.

He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.

7 He destroyed forts, and he ruined cities. When he roared [loudly], everyone was terrified.

He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.

8 So [people of other] nations planned to kill him, and men came from many places to spread out a net for him, and they caught him in a trap.

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 They tied him with chains and took him to Babylonia. And [there] he was locked in a prison, with the result that [no one on] the hills of Israel ever heard him roar again.’ [Also, say to the Israeli people, ]

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 ‘[It is as though] [SIM] your mother was a grapevine that was planted along a stream. There was plenty of water, so it had lots of branches and produced [a lot of] grapes.

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 That grapevine grew and became taller than all the nearby trees; [everyone could] see that it was very strong and healthy. And those branches were good for making scepters that symbolize the power/ [of a king].

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 [Yahweh] became very angry, so he pulled up the vine by its roots and threw it on the ground, where the [very hot] winds from the desert dried up all its fruit. The strong branches wilted and were burned in a fire.

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 that vine has been planted in a hot, dry desert.

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

14 A fire started to burn its stem, and then started to burn the branches and burned all the grapes. [Now] not [even] one strong branch remains; they will never become scepters for a king.’ That funeral song must be sung very sadly.”

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.”