Ezekiel 19

¹Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

²And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

³And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

⁴The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

⁵Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

⁶And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.

⁷And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.

⁸Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

⁹And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

¹¹And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.

¹²But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

¹³And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

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

Ezekiel 19

¹Take up now a song of grief for the ruler of Israel, and say,

²What was your mother? Like a she-lion among lions, stretched out among the young lions she gave food to her little ones.

³And one of her little ones came to growth under her care, and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.

⁴And the nations had news of him; he was taken in the hole they had made: and, pulling him with hooks, they took him into the land of Egypt.

⁵Now when she saw that her hope was made foolish and gone, she took another of her little ones and made him into a young lion.

⁶And he went up and down among the lions and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.

⁷And he sent destruction on their widows and made waste their towns; and the land and everything in it became waste because of the loud sound of his voice.

⁸Then the nations came against him from the kingdoms round about: their net was stretched over him and he was taken in the hole they had made.

⁹They made him a prisoner with hooks, and took him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the strong place so that his voice might be sounding no longer on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters.

¹¹And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.

¹²But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.

¹³And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country.

¹⁴And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.