Ezekiel 19

1 Thou. therefore take up a dirge, for the prince of Israel;

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

2 and thou shalt say— How was thy mother a lioness, Between lions, she lay down, - In the midst of young lions, She nourished her whelps;

and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.

3 And she reared up one of her whelps— A young lion, he became, And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured.

And she brought up one of her whelps; he became a young lion: and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men.

4 Then nations heard of him. In their pit, was he caught, — So they brought him with hooks. Into the land of Egypt.

The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit: and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt.

5 And she saw she had waited Lost was her hope, Then took she another of her whelps. A young lion, she made him.

Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

6 Yea he went to and fro amidst lions A young lion, he became, - And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured;

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

7 And he injured his widows, And their cities, laid waste, - And deserted was the land and its fulness, At the noise of his roaring.

And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring.

8 Then set upon him the nations round about. From the provinces, - And spread over him their net In their pit, was he caught;

Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces: and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.

9 And they put him in a cage with hooks, And brought him to Babylon’s king, — They brought him into strong-holds, That his noise might be heard no more Among the mountains of Israel.

And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strong holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

10 Thy mother [was] like a vine of thy vineyard, By waters, was planted, — Fruitful and full of branches, she became By reason of waters abundant;

Thy mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

11 And they served her as staves of power For the sceptres of rulers, And high became the stature thereof With its interwoven foliage, - And it was seen by its height, By its multitude of branches.

And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

12 Then was she uprooted in indignation To the ground, was she cast, And an east wind, dried up her fruit, —Broken off and withered were her staves of power, A fire, devoured them.

But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them.

13 Now, therefore, is she planted in a desert, -In a land parched and dry;

And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

14 And there hath gone forth a fire out of her staves of rods. Her fruit, hath it devoured, And there is in her no staff of power. As a sceptre to bear rule. A dirge, it is, and hath been made a dirge.

And fire is gone out of the rods of her branches, it hath devoured her fruit, so that there is in her no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.