Ezekiel 19

Modern

Literal

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

¹“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel

¹“ And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

²and say:

‘What was your mother?

A lioness among the lions!

She lay down among the young lions;

she reared her cubs.

²and say: ‘What was your mother? A lioness among the lions! She stretched out in the midst of young lions; she reared her cubs.

³She brought up one of her cubs,

and he became a young lion.

After learning to tear his prey,

he devoured men.

³And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to tear prey; he devoured men.

⁴When the nations heard of him,

he was trapped in their pit.

With hooks they led him away

to the land of Egypt.

⁴And the nations heard of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with the hooks to the land of Egypt.

⁵When she saw that she had waited in vain,

that her hope was lost,

she took another of her cubs

and made him a young lion.

⁵And she saw that she had waited; her hope had perished, and she took one of her cubs; she has made it a young lion.

⁶He prowled among the lions,

and became a young lion.

After learning to tear his prey,

he devoured men.

⁶And he went about in the midst of the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.

⁷He broke down their strongholds^a

and devastated their cities.

The land and everything in it

shuddered at the sound of his roaring.

⁷And he broke down their strongholds, and their cities he laid waste, and the land was devastated and all its fullness by the voice of his roaring.

⁸Then the nations set out against him

from the provinces on every side.

They spread their net over him;

he was trapped in their pit.

⁸And set out against him the nations all around from the provinces, and they spread over him their net; he was caught in their pit.

⁹With hooks they caged him

and brought him to the king of Babylon.

They brought him into captivity

so that his roar was heard no longer

on the mountains of Israel.

⁹And they put him in the cage with the hooks, and they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him in the nets so that his voice was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,^a

planted by the water;

it was fruitful and full of branches

because of the abundant waters.

¹⁰Your mother was was like a vine in your vineyard; by the waters she was planted; she was fruitful and full of branches from the many waters.

¹¹It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter.

It towered high above the thick branches,

conspicuous for its height

and for its dense foliage.

¹¹And there were unto her branches of strength for scepters of rulers, and she towered in height over among the thick branches, and it was seen in its height, in the abundance of its branches.

¹²But it was uprooted in fury,

cast down to the ground,

and the east wind dried up its fruit.

Its strong branches were stripped off

and they withered;

the fire consumed them.

¹²And she was uprooted in fury; she was cast down to the ground, and the wind from the east dried up her fruit; the branches of her strength were broken and withered; fire consumed them.

¹³Now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land.

¹³And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a land of dryness and thirst.

¹⁴Fire has gone out from its main branch

and devoured its fruit;

on it no strong branch remains

fit for a ruler’s scepter.’

This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

¹⁴And fire has gone out from a staff of her branches; it devoured her fruit, so that there should not be in her a staff of strength, a scepter for ruling.’ This is a lamentation, and it is for lamentation.”