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
Revised Standard Version
Israel Degraded
19 And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among lions!
She couched in the midst of young lions,
rearing her whelps.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
4 The nations sounded an alarm against him;
he was taken in their pit;
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she was baffled,[a]
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her whelps
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 he ravaged their strongholds,[b]
and laid waste their cities;
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him
snares[c] on every side;
they spread their net over him;
he was taken in their pit.
9 With hooks they put him in a cage,
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[d]
transplanted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
by reason of abundant water.
11 Its strongest stem became
a ruler’s scepter;
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;
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;
the east wind dried it up;
its fruit was stripped off,
its strong stem was withered;
the fire consumed it.
13 Now it is transplanted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
14 And fire has gone out from its stem,
has consumed its branches and fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for a ruler.
This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:5 Heb had waited
- Ezekiel 19:7 Tg Compare Theodotion: Heb knew his widows
- Ezekiel 19:8 Cn: Heb from the provinces
- Ezekiel 19:10 Cn: Heb in your blood
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.