Ezekiel 19:1-9
English Standard Version
A Lament for the Princes of Israel
19 And you, (A)take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
What was your mother? (B)A lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
3 And she brought up one of her cubs;
(C)he became a young lion,
(D)and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
4 The nations heard about him;
(E)he was caught in their pit,
(F)and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
(G)she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
7 and seized[a] their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
8 (H)Then the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
(I)they spread their net over him;
(J)he was taken in their pit.
9 With hooks (K)they put him in a cage[b]
and (L)brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on (M)the mountains of Israel.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:7 Hebrew knew
- Ezekiel 19:9 Or in a wooden collar
Ezekiel 19:1-9
Easy-to-Read Version
A Sad Song About Israel
19 The Lord said to me, “You must sing this sad song about the leaders of Israel:
2 “‘Your mother is like a female lion,
lying there with the male lions.
She went to lie down with
the young male lions and had many babies.
3 One of her cubs gets up.
He has grown to be a strong young lion.
He has learned to catch his food.
He killed and ate a man.
4 “‘The people heard him roar,
and they caught him in their trap.
They put hooks in his mouth
and carried the young lion to Egypt.
5 “‘The mother lion had hoped that cub would become the leader,
but now she has lost all hope.
So she took another of her cubs
and trained him to be a lion.
6 He hunted with the adult lions
and became a strong young lion.
He learned to catch his food.
He killed and ate a man.
7 He attacked the palaces and destroyed the cities.
Everyone in that country was too afraid to speak when hearing his growl.
8 Then the people who lived around him set a trap for him,
and they caught him in their trap.
9 They put hooks on him and locked him up.
They had him in their trap,
so they took him to the king of Babylon.
And now, you cannot hear his roar
on the mountains of Israel.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International