Ezekiel 19

Song of Mourning for the Leaders of Israel

1“As for you, take up a 1song of mourning for the 2leaders of Israel 2and say, ‘3What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She raised her cubs.3When she brought up one of her cubs, 4He became a young lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.4Then nations heard about him; He was caught in their trap, And they 5brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.5When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took 6another of her cubs And made 7him a young lion.6And he 8walked about among the lions, He became a young lion; He learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.7He 9destroyed their 10palaces And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.8Then 11nations set against him On every side from their provinces, And they spread their net over him; He was caught in their trap.912They put him in a 13wooden collar with hooks And 14brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would no longer be heard On the mountains of Israel.10Your mother was 15like a vine in your 16vineyard, Planted by the waters; It was fruitful and thick with branches Because of abundant waters.11And it had 1718strong stems fit for scepters of rulers, And its 19height was raised above the clouds So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.12But it was 20uprooted in fury; It was 21thrown down to the ground; And the 22east wind dried up its fruit. 23Its 24strong stem 25was torn out So that 26it withered; The fire consumed it.13And now it is planted in the 27wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.14And 28fire has gone out from its stem; It has consumed its shoots and fruit, So that there is no 29strong stem in it, A scepter to rule.’” This is a song of mourning, and has become a song of mourning.