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19 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

And say: Why did thy mother the lioness lie down among the lions, and bring up her whelps in the midst of young lions?

And she brought out one of her whelps, and he became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.

And the nations heard of him, and took him, but not without receiving wounds: and they brought him in chains into the land of Egypt.

But she seeing herself weakened, and that her hope was lost, took one of her young lions, and set him up for a lion.

And he went up and down among the lions, and became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.

He learned to make widows, and to lay waste their cities: and the land became desolate, and the fulness thereof by the noise of his roaring.

And the nations came together against him on every side out of the provinces, and they spread their net over him, in their wounds he was taken.

And they put him into a cage, they brought him in chains to the king of Babylon: and they cast him into prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood planted by the water: her fruit and her branches have grown out of many waters.

11 And she hath strong rods to make sceptres for them that bear rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches: and she saw her height in the multitude of her branches.

12 But she was plucked up in wrath, and cast on the ground, and the burning wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods are withered, and dried up: the fire hath devoured her.

13 And now she is transplanted into the desert, in a land not passable, and dry.

14 And a fire is gone out from a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit: so that she now hath no strong rod, to be a sceptre of rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

A Lament Over Israel’s Princes

19 “Take up a lament(A) concerning the princes(B) of Israel and say:

“‘What a lioness(C) was your mother
    among the lions!
She lay down among them
    and reared her cubs.(D)
She brought up one of her cubs,
    and he became a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
The nations heard about him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks(E)
    to the land of Egypt.(F)

“‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
    her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs(G)
    and made him a strong lion.(H)
He prowled among the lions,
    for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.(I)
He broke down[a] their strongholds
    and devastated(J) their towns.
The land and all who were in it
    were terrified by his roaring.
Then the nations(K) came against him,
    those from regions round about.
They spread their net(L) for him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.(M)
With hooks(N) they pulled him into a cage
    and brought him to the king of Babylon.(O)
They put him in prison,
    so his roar(P) was heard no longer
    on the mountains of Israel.(Q)

10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard[b](R)
    planted by the water;(S)
it was fruitful and full of branches
    because of abundant water.(T)
11 Its branches were strong,
    fit for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered high
    above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
    and for its many branches.(U)
12 But it was uprooted(V) in fury
    and thrown to the ground.
The east wind(W) made it shrivel,
    it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
    and fire consumed them.(X)
13 Now it is planted in the desert,(Y)
    in a dry and thirsty land.(Z)
14 Fire spread from one of its main[c] branches
    and consumed(AA) its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
    fit for a ruler’s scepter.’(AB)

“This is a lament(AC) and is to be used as a lament.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 19:7 Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew He knew
  2. Ezekiel 19:10 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts your blood
  3. Ezekiel 19:14 Or from under its