Ezekiel 19

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

“Now you, take up a lamentation against 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 say, 'Who was your mother? A lioness, she lived with a lion's son; in the midst of young lions, she nurtured her cubs.

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.

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.

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.

Then the nations heard about him. He was caught in their trap, and they brought him with hooks 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 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.

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.

This young lion roamed about in the midst of lions. He was a young lion and learned to tear his victims; he devoured 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 seized their widows and ruined their cities. The land and its fullness were abandoned because of the sound 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.

But the nations came against him from the surrounding provinces; they spread their nets over him. He was caught in their trap.

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.

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.

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 was like a vine planted in your blood beside the water. it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundance of water.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

So now it is planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst.

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!'

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.”