Ezekiel 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel Degraded
19 As for you, raise up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,(A) 2 and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
rearing her cubs.(B)
3 She raised up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured humans.(C)
4 The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.(D)
5 When she saw that she was thwarted,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.(E)
6 He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured people.(F)
7 And he ravaged their strongholds[a]
and laid waste their towns;
the land was appalled, and all in it,
at the sound of his roaring.(G)
8 The nations set upon him
from the provinces all around;
they spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.(H)
9 With hooks they put him in a neck collar
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
so that his voice should be heard no more
on the mountains of Israel.(I)
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[b]
transplanted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
from abundant water.(J)
11 Its strongest stem became
a ruler’s scepter;[c]
it towered aloft
among the clouds;
it stood out in its height
with its mass of branches.(K)
12 But it 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.(L)
13 Now it is transplanted into the wilderness,
into a dry and thirsty land.(M)
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 ruling.
This is a lamentation, and it is used as a lamentation.(N)
Ezekiel 19
International Standard Version
A Prophecy against Israel’s Nobles
19 “Now as for you, publish[a] this mourning psalm about Israel’s leaders. 2 Tell them:
‘What a lioness your mother was among lions!
She reared her cubs in the midst of fierce young males.
3 She raised one cub in particular,
teaching that fierce lion to become a hunter-prowler—
to eat human beings.
4 The nations heard about him.
He had become caught in their trap.[b]
They brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 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.
6 He prowled around among the lions,
became a strong, young lion,
and learned to become a hunter-prowler—
to eat human beings.
7 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.
8 The surrounding nations attacked.
They tossed their net over him,
and he was caught in their trap.[d]
9 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
- Ezekiel 19:1 Lit. sound forth
- Ezekiel 19:4 Lit. pit
- Ezekiel 19:7 Lit. knew
- Ezekiel 19:8 Lit. pit
- Ezekiel 19:10 So LXX; MT reads in your blood, misreading the Heb. a pomegranate
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