¹¹ Where now is the lions’ den,^(A)
    the place where they fed their young,
where the lion and lioness went,
    and the cubs, with nothing to fear?

²⁹ Their roar is like that of the lion,^(A)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize^(B) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.^(C)

¹⁵ Lions^(A) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste^(B) his land;
    his towns are burned^(C) and deserted.^(D)

“‘What a lioness^(A) was your mother
    among the lions!
She lay down among them
    and reared her cubs.^(B)
3 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.
⁴ The nations heard about him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks^(C)
    to the land of Egypt.^(D)

⁵ “‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
    her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs^(E)
    and made him a strong lion.^(F)
6 He prowled among the lions,
    for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.^(G)
7 He broke down^[a] their strongholds
    and devastated^(H) their towns.
The land and all who were in it
    were terrified by his roaring.
⁸ Then the nations^(I) came against him,
    those from regions round about.
They spread their net^(J) for him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.^(K)

⁴⁴ Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets^(A)
    to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
    Who is the chosen^(B) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?^(C)
    And what shepherd can stand against me?”

¹⁷ “Israel is a scattered flock^(A)
    that lions^(B) have chased away.
The first to devour^(C) them
    was the king^(D) of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones^(E)
    was Nebuchadnezzar^(F) king^(G) of Babylon.”

⁷ A lion^(A) has come out of his lair;^(B)
    a destroyer^(C) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste^(D) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(E)
    without inhabitant.