1 "Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel |
2 and say: "'What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among the young lions and reared her cubs. |
3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men. |
4 The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt. |
5 "'When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion. |
6 He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men. |
7 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring. |
8 Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit. |
9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel. |
10 "'Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water. |
11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler's scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches. |
12 But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them. |
13 Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land. |
14 Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler's scepter.' This is a lament and is to be used as a lament." |