A Lament for Israel’s Princes

19 “As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel,(A) and say:

What was your mother? A lioness!
She lay down among the lions;
she reared her cubs among the young lions.
She brought up one of her cubs,
and he became a young lion.(B)
After he learned to tear prey,
he devoured people.
When the nations heard about him,
he was caught in their pit.
Then they led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.(C)

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A Prophecy against Israel’s Nobles

19 “Now as for you, publish[a] this mourning psalm about Israel’s leaders. Tell them:

‘What a lioness your mother was among lions!
    She reared her cubs in the midst of fierce young males.
She raised one cub in particular,
    teaching that fierce lion to become a hunter-prowler—
        to eat human beings.
The nations heard about him.
    He had become caught in their trap.[b]
They brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 19:1 Lit. sound forth
  2. Ezekiel 19:4 Lit. pit