Ezekiel 19

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

²and say:—How lay thy mother at ease, a lioness among lions! Among young lions she nourished her whelps;

³And she brought up one of her whelps; He became a young lion, And he learned to seize the prey; he devoured men.

⁴And when the nations heard of him, he was taken in their pit, And they brought him with nose-rings to the land of Egypt.

⁵And when she saw that she waited in vain, and that her hope was lost, She took another of her whelps, and she made him a young lion.

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

⁷He knew their widows, and laid waste their cities, And the land was desolate, and all that was therein, before the voice of his roaring.

⁸Then the nations set themselves against him on every side from the provinces, And spread their net over him; He was taken in their pit.

⁹And they put him with nose rings into a cage, And carried him to the king of Babylon. And they carried him to a stronghold, That his voice might be heard no more Upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Thy mother was like a vine planted like thyself by the waters; She was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters;

¹¹She had strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And her stature was high among the thick branches, So that she was conspicuous in her height, And 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 desert, In a dry and thirsty land.

¹⁴And a fire is gone forth out of a rod of her branches, Which hath devoured her fruit, So that she hath no strong rod for a ruler’s sceptre. This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

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.