Ezekiel 19
1 “Now you, take up a lamentation against the leaders of Israel
And thou, —do thou lift up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 and say, 'Who was your mother? A lioness, she lived with a lion's son; in the midst of young lions, she nurtured her cubs.
And say, What a noble lioness was thy mother! among lions did she lie down, in the midst of young lions did she raise her whelps!
3 She is the one who raised up one of her cubs to become a young lion, a lion who learned to tear apart his victims, and then he devoured men.
And she brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to tear in pieces the prey; [even] men he devoured.
4 Then the nations heard about him. He was caught in their trap, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
And when nations heard of him, he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with nose-rings unto the land of Egypt.
5 Then she saw that although she had waited for his return, her expectation was now gone, so she took another of her cubs and raised him to become a young lion.
Now when she saw that she had long waited, [that] her hope was lost, she took another one of her whelps, and made him a young lion.
6 This young lion roamed about in the midst of lions. He was a young lion and learned to tear his victims; he devoured men.
And he went up and down in the midst of lions, he became a young lion; and he learned to tear in pieces the prey; even men he devoured.
7 He seized their widows and ruined their cities. The land and its fullness were abandoned because of the sound of his roaring.
And he broke down their palaces, and their cities laid he in ruins: and then was terrified the land, with all that filled it, because of the noise of his roaring.
8 But the nations came against him from the surrounding provinces; they spread their nets over him. He was caught in their trap.
Then set themselves the nations against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread over him their net: in their pit was he caught.
9 With hooks they put him in a cage and then they brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him to the strongholds so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
And they put him in a cage with nose-rings [in his nose], and they brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into strong-holds, in order that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine planted in your blood beside the water. it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundance of water.
Thy mother was like a vine, if I compare thee to aught, planted by the waters: fruitful and full of boughs was she by reason of many waters.
11 It had strong branches that were used for rulers' scepters, and its size was exalted above the branches, and its height was seen by the greatness of its foliage.
And she had strong branches [fit] for the sceptres of rulers, and her stature grew up high between the thick-branched [trees], and she was seen through her height by means of the multitude of her tendrils.
12 But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the earth, and an eastern wind dried out its fruit. Its strong branches were broken off and withered and fire consumed them.
But she was plucked up in fury, to the ground was she cast down, and the east wind dried up her fruit: and torn off and dried up were her strong branches, a fire consumed them.
13 So now it is planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst.
And now is she planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
14 For fire went out from her large branches and consumed its fruit. There is no strong branch on it, no scepter to rule.' This is a lamentation and will be sung as a lamentation.”
And fire is gone out of a branch of her boughs, and hath devoured her fruit, so that there is no more on her a strong branch for a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and it is become a lamentation.
