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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

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.