Ezekiel 19
New American Standard Bible
Song of Mourning for the Leaders of Israel
19 “As for you, take up a (A)song of mourning for the (B)leaders of Israel 2 and say,
‘[a]What was your mother?
A lioness among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
She raised her cubs.
3 When she brought up one of her cubs,
(C)He became a young lion,
And he learned to tear his prey;
He devoured people.
4 Then nations heard about him;
He was caught in their trap,
And they (D)brought him with hooks
To the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw, as she waited,
That her hope was lost,
She took [b]another of her cubs
And made (E)him a young lion.
6 And he (F)walked about among the lions,
He became a young lion;
He learned to tear his prey;
He devoured people.
7 He [c]destroyed their [d]palaces
And laid waste their cities;
And the land and its fullness were appalled
Because of the sound of his roaring.
8 Then (G)nations set against him
On every side from their provinces,
And they spread their net over him;
He was caught in their trap.
9 (H)They put him in a [e]wooden collar with hooks
And (I)brought him to the king of Babylon;
They brought him in hunting nets
So that his voice would no longer be heard
On the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was (J)like a vine in your [f]vineyard,
Planted by the waters;
It was fruitful and thick with branches
Because of abundant waters.
11 And it had [g](K)strong stems fit for scepters of rulers,
And its (L)height was raised above the clouds
So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
12 But it was (M)uprooted in fury;
It was (N)thrown down to the ground;
And the (O)east wind dried up its fruit.
[h]Its (P)strong stem [i]was torn out
So that [j]it withered;
The fire consumed it.
13 And now it is planted in the (Q)wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.
14 And (R)fire has gone out from its stem;
It has consumed its shoots and fruit,
So that there is no [k]strong stem in it,
A scepter to rule.’”
This is a song of mourning, and has become a song of mourning.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:2 Or Why did your mother, a lioness, lie down among lions; among young lions rear her cubs?
- Ezekiel 19:5 Lit one
- Ezekiel 19:7 As in Targum; MT knew
- Ezekiel 19:7 Or widows
- Ezekiel 19:9 Or iron
- Ezekiel 19:10 As in some mss; MT blood
- Ezekiel 19:11 Lit stems of strength
- Ezekiel 19:12 Lit The stem of her strength
- Ezekiel 19:12 As in LXX; MT were
- Ezekiel 19:12 As in LXX; MT they
- Ezekiel 19:14 Lit stem of strength
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
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