Ezekiel 19

A lament for Israel’s princes

1“Take up a lament for the princes of Israel, 2and say:
What was your mother? A lioness!
She lay among lions
and raised her cubs among young lions. 3She brought up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey
and devoured people. 4The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit.
They brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt. 5She saw that her waiting was hopeless,
that her hope had perished.
She took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion. 6He prowled among lions
and became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey
and devoured people. 7He knew his widows
and laid waste their cities.
The land and all it held were appalled
at the sound of his roar. 8Nations from the surrounding provinces
set themselves against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit. 9They put him in a cage with hooks
and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They brought him into strongholds,
so his voice would no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.

The uprooted vine

10Your mother was like a vine in your blood,
planted beside water,
fruitful and full of branches
because of abundant water. 11She had strong branches
fit for rulers’ scepters.
It grew tall above the thick foliage,
conspicuous in its height
and its many branches. 12But she was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
The east wind dried her fruit.
Her strong branches were torn off and withered;
fire consumed them. 13Now she is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land. 14Fire went out from one of her branches
and consumed her fruit.
No strong branch remained in her,
no scepter for ruling.”
This is a lament, and it is used as a lament.