Ezekiel 19

1 And thou, lift up a lamentation unto princes of Israel,

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

2 and thou hast said: What [is] thy mother? — a lioness, Among lions she hath crouched down, In the midst of young lions she hath multiplied her whelps.

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 And she bringeth up one of her whelps, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.

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 And hear of it do nations, In their pit it hath been caught, And they bring it in with chains unto 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 And she seeth, that stayed — perished hath her hope, And she taketh one of her whelps, A young lion she hath made it.

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 And it goeth up and down in the midst of lions, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.

And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.

7 And it knoweth his forsaken habitations, And their cities it hath laid waste, And desolate is the land and its fulness, Because of the voice 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 And set against it do nations Round about from the provinces. And they spread out for it their net, In their pit it hath been caught.

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 And they put it in prison — in chains, And they bring it unto the king of Babylon, They bring it in unto bulwarks, So that its voice is not heard any more On 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 Thy mother [is] as a vine in thy blood by waters planted, Fruitful and full of boughs it hath been, Because of many 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 And it hath strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And high is its stature above thick branches, And it appeareth in its height In the multitude of its thin shoots.

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 And it is plucked up in fury, To the earth it hath been cast, And the east wind hath dried up its fruit, Broken and withered hath been the rod of its strength, Fire hath consumed it.

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 And now — it is planted in a wilderness, In a land dry and thirsty.

And now she has been transplanted into the desert, into a land impassable and dry.

14 And go forth doth fire from a rod of its boughs, Its fruit it hath devoured, And it hath no rod of strength — a sceptre to rule, Lamentation it [is] — and it is for a lamentation!'

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.”