Ezekiel 19
Amplified Bible
Dirge for the Princes of Israel
19 “As for you, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the princes of Israel 2 and say,
‘What was your mother [Jerusalem and Judah]?
A lioness among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
She reared her cubs.
3
‘When she [the royal mother-city] brought up [Jehoahaz] one of her cubs,
He became a [young] lion,
And he learned to catch and tear the prey;
He devoured men.(A)
4
‘The nations heard about him;
He was captured in their pit,
And they brought him with hooks
To the land of Egypt.(B)
5
‘When she saw, as she waited,
That her hope was lost,
She took [a]another of her cubs
And made him a young lion.(C)
6
‘And he moved among the lions;
He became a young lion,
He learned to tear the prey;
He devoured men.
7
‘He destroyed their palaces
And he flattened their cities;
And the land and all who were in it were appalled
By the sound of his roaring.
8
‘Then the nations set against him (the king)
On every side from the provinces,
And they spread their net over him;
He was captured in their pit.(D)
9
‘They put him in a cage with hooks and chains
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 [Jerusalem] was like a vine in your [b]vineyard,
Planted by the waters;
It was fruitful and full of branches
Because of abundant water.(E)
11
‘And it had strong branches for the scepters of rulers,
And its height was raised above the thick branches and into the clouds
So that it was seen [easily] in its height with the mass of its branches.
12
‘But the vine was uprooted in [godly] wrath [by His representative]
And it was thrown down to the ground;
The east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branch was broken off
So that it withered;
The fire [of God’s judgment] consumed it.
13
‘And now it is transplanted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land [of Babylon].
14
‘And the fire [of Zedekiah’s rebellion] has gone out from its branch;
It has consumed the vine’s shoots and fruit,
So that it has in it no [longer a] strong branch
As a scepter to rule.’”
This is a dirge (funeral poem to be sung), and has become a dirge.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:5 Either a timely reference to Jehoiachin who reigned only three months, or a prediction regarding Zedekiah. Both rulers were exiled to Babylon.
- Ezekiel 19:10 So with some ancient mss; MT blood.
Ezekiel 19
The Message
A Story of Two Lions
19 1-4 Sing the blues over the princes of Israel. Say:
What a lioness was your mother
among lions!
She crouched in a pride of young lions.
Her cubs grew large.
She reared one of her cubs to maturity,
a robust young lion.
He learned to hunt.
He ate men.
Nations sounded the alarm.
He was caught in a trap.
They took him with hooks
and dragged him to Egypt.
5-9 When the lioness saw she was luckless,
that her hope for that cub was gone,
She took her other cub
and made him a strong young lion.
He prowled with the lions,
a robust young lion.
He learned to hunt.
He ate men.
He rampaged through their defenses,
left their cities in ruins.
The country and everyone in it
was terrorized by the roars of the lion.
The nations got together to hunt him.
Everyone joined the hunt.
They set out their traps
and caught him.
They put a wooden collar on him
and took him to the king of Babylon.
No more would that voice be heard
disturbing the peace in the mountains of Israel!
10-14 Here’s another way to put it:
Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard,
transplanted alongside streams of water,
Luxurious in branches and grapes
because of the ample water.
It grew sturdy branches
fit to be carved into a royal scepter.
It grew high, reaching into the clouds.
Its branches filled the horizon,
and everyone could see it.
Then it was ripped up in a rage
and thrown to the ground.
The hot east wind shriveled it up
and stripped its fruit.
The sturdy branches dried out,
fit for nothing but kindling.
Now it’s a stick stuck out in the desert,
a bare stick in a desert of death,
Good for nothing but making fires,
campfires in the desert.
Not a hint now of those sturdy branches
fit for use as a royal scepter!
(This is a sad song, a text for singing the blues.)
Ezekiel 19
Common English Bible
A mother’s sons
19 You, raise a lament for Israel’s princes. 2 Say:
What a lioness among lionesses was your mother!
She bedded down among the strong young lions and reared her cubs.
3 She singled out one of her cubs and he became a strong young lion;
he learned to tear flesh and devour humans.
4 When the nations heard about him, they caught him in their trap
and carried him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope faded.
So she took another of her cubs and set him up as a strong young lion.
6 He went on the prowl with the other lions and became a strong young lion.
He learned to tear flesh and devour humans;
7 he ravaged[a] their widows and laid waste to their cities.
When the earth and everything in it became horrified by the sound of his raging,
8 the nations from the surrounding regions allied against him.
They cast their nets over him and caught him in their trap.
9 They put a collar on him and brought him with hooks.
They brought him with nets to the king of Babylon
so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
The proud mother
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[b] planted beside the waters;
she bore lush fruit and foliage because of the plentiful water,
11 and she produced mighty branches, fit for rulers’ scepters.
She grew tall, and her crown went up between the clouds.
Because of her height and thick growth, she became conspicuous.
12 So she was struck down in anger,
thrown down to the ground.
The east wind dried her out and destroyed her fruit;
it sapped the branch of its strength,
and fire consumed it.
13 So now she is planted in the desert,
in a parched and thirsty land,
14 and fire has gone out from her branch and consumed her foliage and fruit,
leaving her no strong branch
or ruler’s scepter.
This is a lamentation, and it will serve as a lamentation.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:7 Or knew
- Ezekiel 19:10 Or in your blood
Ezekiel 19
New Living Translation
A Funeral Song for Israel’s Kings
19 “Sing this funeral song for the princes of Israel:
2 “What is your mother?
A lioness among lions!
She lay down among the young lions
and reared her cubs.
3 She raised one of her cubs
to become a strong young lion.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he became a man-eater.
4 Then the nations heard about him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 “When the lioness saw
that her hopes for him were gone,
she took another of her cubs
and taught him to be a strong young lion.
6 He prowled among the other lions
and stood out among them in his strength.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he, too, became a man-eater.
7 He demolished fortresses[a]
and destroyed their towns and cities.
Their farms were desolated,
and their crops were destroyed.
The land and its people trembled in fear
when they heard him roar.
8 Then the armies of the nations attacked him,
surrounding him from every direction.
They threw a net over him
and captured him in their pit.
9 With hooks, they dragged him into a cage
and brought him before the king of Babylon.
They held him in captivity,
so his voice could never again be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
10 “Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water’s edge.
It had lush, green foliage
because of the abundant water.
11 Its branches became strong—
strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
It grew very tall,
towering above all others.
It stood out because of its height
and its many lush branches.
12 But the vine was uprooted in fury
and thrown down to the ground.
The desert wind dried up its fruit
and tore off its strong branches,
so that it withered
and was destroyed by fire.
13 Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,
where the ground is hard and dry.
14 A fire has burst out from its branches
and devoured its fruit.
Its remaining limbs are not
strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
“This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral.”
Footnotes
- 19:7 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads He knew widows.
Ezekiel 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel Degraded
19 As for you, raise up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,(A) 2 and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
rearing her cubs.(B)
3 She raised up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured humans.(C)
4 The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.(D)
5 When she saw that she was thwarted,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.(E)
6 He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured people.(F)
7 And he ravaged their strongholds[a]
and laid waste their towns;
the land was appalled, and all in it,
at the sound of his roaring.(G)
8 The nations set upon him
from the provinces all around;
they spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.(H)
9 With hooks they put him in a neck collar
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
so that his voice should be heard no more
on the mountains of Israel.(I)
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[b]
transplanted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
from abundant water.(J)
11 Its strongest stem became
a ruler’s scepter;[c]
it towered aloft
among the clouds;
it stood out in its height
with its mass of branches.(K)
12 But it was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried it up;
its fruit was stripped off;
its strong stem was withered;
the fire consumed it.(L)
13 Now it is transplanted into the wilderness,
into a dry and thirsty land.(M)
14 And fire has gone out from its stem,
has consumed its branches and fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is a lamentation, and it is used as a lamentation.(N)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.