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, What [is] thy mother: A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among 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 up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured 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 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains to 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 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.

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, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, [and] devoured 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 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness of it, 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 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

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 in custody in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, 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 waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason 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 had strong rods for the scepters of them that bore rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her hight with 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 fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

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] planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

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

14 And fire hath gone out of a rod of her branches, [which] hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod [to be] a scepter to rule. This [is] a lamentation, and 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.”