Ezekiel 19

1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

“Now you, take up a lamentation against the leaders of Israel

2 And say: Why did thy mother the lioness lie down among the lions, and bring up her whelps in the midst of young lions?

and say, 'Who was your mother? A lioness, she lived with a lion's son; in the midst of young lions, she nurtured her cubs.

3 And she brought out one of her whelps, and he became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.

She is the one who raised up one of her cubs to become a young lion, a lion who learned to tear apart his victims, and then he devoured men.

4 And the nations heard of him, and took him, but not without receiving wounds: and they brought him in chains into the land of Egypt.

Then the nations heard about him. He was caught in their trap, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

5 But she seeing herself weakened, and that her hope was lost, took one of her young lions, and set him up for a lion.

Then she saw that although she had waited for his return, her expectation was now gone, so she took another of her cubs and raised him to become a young lion.

6 And he went up and down among the lions, and became a lion: and he learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.

This young lion roamed about in the midst of lions. He was a young lion and learned to tear his victims; he devoured men.

7 He learned to make widows, and to lay waste their cities: and the land became desolate, and the fulness thereof by the noise of his roaring.

He seized their widows and ruined their cities. The land and its fullness were abandoned because of the sound of his roaring.

8 And the nations Game together against him on every side out of the provinces, and they spread their net over him, in their wounds he was taken.

But the nations came against him from the surrounding provinces; they spread their nets over him. He was caught in their trap.

9 And they put him into a cage, they brought him in chains to the king of Babylon: and they cast him into prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

With hooks they put him in a cage and then they brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him to the strongholds so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood planted by the water: her fruit and her branches have grown out of many waters.

Your mother was like a vine planted in your blood beside the water. it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundance of water.

11 And she hath strong rods to make sceptres for them that bear rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches: and she saw her height in the multitude of her branches.

It had strong branches that were used for rulers' scepters, and its size was exalted above the branches, and its height was seen by the greatness of its foliage.

12 But she was plucked up in wrath, and cast on the ground, and the burning wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods are withered, and dried up: the fire hath devoured her.

But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the earth, and an eastern wind dried out its fruit. Its strong branches were broken off and withered and fire consumed them.

13 And now she is transplanted into the desert, in a land not passable, and dry.

So now it is planted in the wilderness, in a land of drought and thirst.

14 And a fire is gone out from a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit: so that she now hath no strong rod, to be a sceptre of rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

For fire went out from her large branches and consumed its fruit. There is no strong branch on it, no scepter to rule.' This is a lamentation and will be sung as a lamentation.”