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A Lament for Israel’s Princes

19 Moreover take up a lamentation for the officials of Israel, and say:

What was your mother?
    A lioness among lions!
She lay down among young lions;
    she nourished her whelps.
When she brought up one of her whelps,
    he became a lion
and learned to catch his prey;
    he devoured men.
The nations also heard of him;
    he was taken in their pit,
and they brought him with chains
    to the land of Egypt.

Now when she saw as she had waited
    that her hope was lost,
then she took another of her whelps
    and made him a young lion.
He went up and down among the lions;
    he became a young lion,
and learned to catch the prey,
    and devoured men.
He destroyed their fortified palaces,
    and he laid waste their cities;
and the land and its fullness
    were appalled by the noise of his roaring.
Then the nations set against him
    on every side from their provinces,
and spread their net over him;
    he was taken in their pit.
They put him in a cage with hooks
    and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him in hunting nets,
    so that his voice would be heard no more
    on the mountains of Israel.

10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
    planted by the waters;
it was fruitful and full of branches
    by reason of many waters.
11 It had strong rods
    for the scepters of those who rule.
And its stature
    was exalted above the clouds,
so it appeared in its height
    with the multitude of its branches.
12 But it was plucked up in fury,
    it was cast down to the ground,
and the east wind dried up its fruit.
    Its strong rod was broken and it withered;
the fire consumed it.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty ground.
14 Fire has gone out from its branch;
    it has devoured its shoots and fruit,
so that there is no strong rod in it,
    a scepter to rule.

This is a lamentation, and has become 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