Ezekiel 19
New English Translation
Lament for the Princes of Israel
19 “And you, sing[a] a lament for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions;[b] she reared her cubs.
3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.[c]
4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.[d]
5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs[e] and made him a young lion.
6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.
7 He broke down[f] their strongholds[g] and devastated their cities.
The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.
8 The nations—the surrounding regions—attacked him.
They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
9 They put him in a collar with hooks;[h]
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison[i]
so that his voice would not be heard
any longer on the mountains of Israel.
10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,[j] planted by water.
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
11 Its boughs were strong, fit[k] for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.
It stood out because of its height and its many branches.[l]
12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind[m] dried up its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered—
a fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.[n]
14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit.[o]
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
“This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:1 tn Heb “lift up.”
- Ezekiel 19:2 sn Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. The background for Judah being compared to lions seems to be Gen 49:9.
- Ezekiel 19:3 tn Heb “a man.”
- Ezekiel 19:4 sn The description applies to King Jehoahaz (2 Kgs 23:31-34; Jer 22:10-12).
- Ezekiel 19:5 sn The identity of this second lion is unclear; the referent is probably Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. If the lioness is Hamutal, then Zedekiah is the lion described here.
- Ezekiel 19:7 tc The Hebrew text reads “knew” but is apparently the result of a ד/ר (dalet/resh) confusion. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. However, Allen retains the reading “widows” as the object of the verb, which he understands in the sense of “do harm to,” and translates the line: “He did harm to women by making them widows” (p. 282). The line also appears to be lacking a beat for the meter of the poem.
- Ezekiel 19:7 tc The Hebrew text reads “widows” instead of “strongholds,” apparently due to a confusion of ר (resh) and ל (lamed). L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284) favors the traditional text, understanding “widows” in the sense of “women made widows.” D. I. Block, (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:602) also defends the Hebrew text, arguing that the image is that of a dominant male lion who takes over the pride and by copulating with the females lays claim to his predecessor’s “widows.”
- Ezekiel 19:9 tn Or “They put him in a neck stock with hooks.” The noun סּוּגַר (sugar), translated “collar,” occurs only here in the Bible. L. C. Allen and D. I. Block point out a Babylonian cognate that refers to a device for transporting prisoners of war that held them by their necks (D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:597, n. 35; L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:284). Based on the Hebrew root, the traditional rendering had been “cage” (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Ezekiel 19:9 tc The term in the MT occurs only here and in Eccl 9:12, where it refers to a net for catching fish. The LXX translates this as “prison,” which assumes a confusion of dalet and resh took place in the MT.
- Ezekiel 19:10 tc The Hebrew text reads “in your blood,” but most emend to “in your vineyard,” assuming a ב/כ (beth/kaph) confusion. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:284. Another attractive emendation assumes a faulty word division and yields the reading “like a vine full of tendrils, which/because…”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:607, n. 68.
- Ezekiel 19:11 tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.
- Ezekiel 19:11 tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”
- Ezekiel 19:12 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.
- Ezekiel 19:13 sn This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.
- Ezekiel 19:14 tn The verse uses language similar to that in Judg 9:20.
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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