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A Lament for the Princes of Israel

19 And you, (A)take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say:

What was your mother? (B)A lioness!
    Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
    she reared her cubs.
And she brought up one of her cubs;
    (C)he became a young lion,
(D)and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men.
The nations heard about him;
    (E)he was caught in their pit,
(F)and they brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
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.
He prowled among the lions;
    he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men,
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.
(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.
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.
10 Your mother was (N)like a vine in a vineyard[c]
    planted by the water,
(O)fruitful and full of branches
    (P)by reason of abundant water.
11 Its strong stems became
    rulers' sceptres;
it towered aloft
    among the thick boughs;[d]
it was seen in its height
    with the mass of its branches.
12 But the vine was plucked up in fury,
    cast down to the ground;
(Q)the east wind dried up its fruit;
    they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
    fire consumed it.
13 (R)Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
14 (S)And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
    has consumed its fruit,
(T)so that there remains in it no strong stem,
    no sceptre for ruling.

This is (U)a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 19:7 Hebrew knew
  2. Ezekiel 19:9 Or in a wooden collar
  3. Ezekiel 19:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts in your blood
  4. Ezekiel 19:11 Or the clouds

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

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

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

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

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

Now 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.

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

And 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.

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

And 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.

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

11 And 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.

12 But 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.

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

14 And 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.