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A Prophecy against Israel’s Nobles

19 “Now as for you, publish[a] this mourning psalm about Israel’s leaders. Tell them:

‘What a lioness your mother was among lions!
    She reared her cubs in the midst of fierce young males.
She raised one cub in particular,
    teaching that fierce lion to become a hunter-prowler—
        to eat human beings.
The nations heard about him.
    He had become caught in their trap.[b]
They brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
When she learned that her plans had been frustrated
    and that her hopes were dashed,
she took another of her cubs
    and turned him into a fierce lion.
He prowled around among the lions,
    became a strong, young lion,
and learned to become a hunter-prowler—
    to eat human beings.
He raped[c] the women,
    devastating their towns.
The land was made desolate,
    and all the while the land was filled
        with the sound of his roaring.
The surrounding nations attacked.
    They tossed their net over him,
        and he was caught in their trap.[d]
They imprisoned him in a cage with hooks
    and brought him to the king of Babel.
Then they placed him in their dungeon
    where his voice would no longer be heard
        on the mountains of Israel.

10 ‘Your mother was like a vine
    entwining a pomegranate,[e]
planted by water, full of fruit,
    and full of branches
        because it had been watered generously.
11 Strong were its boughs,
    suitable for use in the scepter of a ruler.
It reached to the clouds,
    noticeable because of its height
        and its abundant branches.
12 Yet in anger it was uprooted
    and cast down to the earth.
An east wind desiccated its fruit;
    its strong branches broke off and withered,
        and a fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land!
14 Fire had burned through its branches,
    consuming its shoots and fruits.
No strong branches remain in it,
    and there is no scepter to rule!’

“This is a lamentation, and it is to be used in mourning.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 19:1 Lit. sound forth
  2. Ezekiel 19:4 Lit. pit
  3. Ezekiel 19:7 Lit. knew
  4. Ezekiel 19:8 Lit. pit
  5. Ezekiel 19:10 So LXX; MT reads in your blood, misreading the Heb. a pomegranate

Lament for the Leaders of Israel

19 “And you, raise a lament about[a] the leaders of Israel, and you must say,

‘What a lioness was your mother
    among the lions.
She lay down in the midst of young lions,
    and she reared her lion cubs.
And she raised up one from her cubs;
    he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
    he ate[b] humans.[c]
And nations heard about him;
    in their pit he was caught,
and they brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
And she saw[d] that she was waiting in vain;
    her hope was destroyed,
and she took one from her cubs,
    and she made him a fierce lion.
And he walked about in the midst of lions;
    he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
    he ate[e] humans.[f]
And he knew their widows,[g]
    and he devastated their cities,
and the land was appalled, and everyone in it[h]
    at the sound of his roar.
And nations set out against him
    from the surrounding provinces,[i]
and they spread their net over him,
    and he was caught in their pit.
And they put him in a collar with hooks,
    and they brought him to the king of Babylon;
    they brought him into[j] a prison,
so that his voice would not be heard any longer[k]
    on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like the vine in your vineyard;[l]
    planted fruitfully[m] beside water,
and it was full of branches
    from many waters.[n]
11 And she produced branches of strength[o]
    to[p] scepters of rulers;
its height became tall
    between[q] thick foliage,
and it was seen[r] because of its tallness
    among the abundance of its branches.
12 But it was uprooted in rage;
    it was thrown to the earth,
and the east wind dried up its fruit;
    they were stripped off,
and its strong branch dried up;
    fire consumed it.
13 And now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land.[s]
14 And so fire has gone out from the stem of its branches;
    its fruit it has consumed,
and there was not in it a strong branch,[t]
    a scepter for ruling.’”

This is a lament, and it will be used as a lament.[u]

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 19:1 Or “over”
  2. Ezekiel 19:3 Or “devoured”
  3. Ezekiel 19:3 Hebrew “human”
  4. Ezekiel 19:5 Or “realized”
  5. Ezekiel 19:6 Or “devoured”
  6. Ezekiel 19:6 Hebrew “human”
  7. Ezekiel 19:7 Or “ravished/raped”; or “he ravaged their strongholds”
  8. Ezekiel 19:7 Literally “its fullness”
  9. Ezekiel 19:8 Literally “all around from the provinces”
  10. Ezekiel 19:9 Hebrew “in”
  11. Ezekiel 19:9 Literally “longer”
  12. Ezekiel 19:10 Or “in the vineyard”
  13. Ezekiel 19:10 Literally “fruitful”
  14. Ezekiel 19:10 Or “from waters abundant/many”
  15. Ezekiel 19:11 Literally “they became to her branches/rods of strength”
  16. Ezekiel 19:11 Or “for”
  17. Ezekiel 19:11 Or “among”
  18. Ezekiel 19:11 Or “visible”
  19. Ezekiel 19:13 Literally “a land of dryness and thirst”
  20. Ezekiel 19:14 Literally “a branch of strength”
  21. Ezekiel 19:14 Literally “she is for a lament”