Eze 19 | LEB | STEP | “And you, raise a lament about the leaders of Israel,

Ezekiel 19

Lament for the Leaders of Israel

1 “And you, raise a lament about ^{▼▼Or “over”} the leaders of Israel, 2 and you must say,

‘What a lioness was your mother
among the lions.
She lay down in the midst of young lions,
and she reared her lion cubs.
3 And she raised up one from her cubs;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate ^{▼▼Or “devoured”} humans. ^{▼▼Hebrew “human”}
4 And nations heard about him;
in their pit he was caught,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 And she saw ^{▼▼Or “realized”} that she was waiting in vain;
her hope was destroyed,
and she took one from her cubs,
and she made him a fierce lion.
6 And he walked about in the midst of lions;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate ^{▼▼Or “devoured”} humans. ^{▼▼Hebrew “human”}
7 And he knew their widows, ^{▼▼Or “ravished/raped”; or “he ravaged their strongholds”}
and he devastated their cities,
and the land was appalled, and ⌞everyone in it⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “its fullness”}
at the sound of his roar.
8 And nations set out against him
⌞from the surrounding provinces⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “all around from the provinces”}
and they spread their net over him,
and he was caught in their pit.
9 And they put him in a collar with hooks,
and they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into ^{▼▼Hebrew “in”} a prison,
so that his voice would not be heard ⌞any longer⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “longer”}
on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like the vine in your vineyard; ^{▼▼Or “in the vineyard”}
planted ⌞fruitfully⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “fruitful”} beside water,
and it was full of branches
from many waters. ^{▼▼Or “from waters abundant/many”}
11 And ⌞she produced branches of strength⌟ ^{▼▼Literally “they became to her branches/rods of strength”}
to ^{▼▼Or “for”} scepters of rulers;
its height became tall
between ^{▼▼Or “among”} thick foliage,
and it was seen ^{▼▼Or “visible”} because of its tallness
among the abundance of its branches.
12 But it was uprooted in rage;
it was thrown to the earth,
and the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off,
and its strong branch dried up;
fire consumed it.
13 And now it is planted in the desert,
in a ⌞dry and thirsty land⌟. ^{▼▼Literally “a land of dryness and thirst”}
14 And so fire has gone out from the stem of its branches;
its fruit it has consumed,
and there was not in it ⌞a strong branch⌟, ^{▼▼Literally “a branch of strength”}
a scepter for ruling.’ ”

This is a lament, and ⌞it will be used as a lament⌟. ^{▼▼Literally “she is for a lament”}