Ezekiel 19

Ezekiel 19

NASB — New American Standard Bible (NASB)
NIVUK — New International Version - UK Bible (NIVUK)
Verse 1
“As for you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel
‘Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel
Verse 2
and say,

[a]What was your mother?
A lioness among lions!
She lay down among young lions,
She reared her cubs.

and say:

‘“What a lioness was your mother
    among the lions!
She lay down among them
    and reared her cubs.

Verse 3
‘When she brought up one of her cubs,
He became a lion,
And he learned to tear his prey;
He devoured men.
She brought up one of her cubs,
    and he became a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
Verse 4
‘Then nations heard about him;
He was captured in their pit,
And they brought him with hooks
To the land of Egypt.
The nations heard about him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.

Verse 5
‘When she saw, as she waited,
That her hope was lost,
She took [b]another of her cubs
And made him a young lion.
‘“When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
    her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs
    and made him a strong lion.
Verse 6
‘And he walked about among the lions;
He became a young lion,
He learned to tear his prey;
He devoured men.
He prowled among the lions,
    for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
    and he became a man-eater.
Verse 7
‘He [c]destroyed their [d]fortified towers
And laid waste their cities;
And the land and its fullness were appalled
Because of the sound of his roaring.
He broke down[a] their strongholds
    and devastated their towns.
The land and all who were in it
    were terrified by his roaring.
Verse 8
‘Then nations set against him
On every side from their provinces,
And they spread their net over him;
He was captured in their pit.
Then the nations came against him,
    those from regions round about.
They spread their net for him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
Verse 9
‘They put him in a cage with hooks
And brought him to the king of Babylon;
They brought him in hunting nets
So that his voice would be heard no more
On the mountains of Israel.
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.

Verse 10
‘Your mother was like a vine in your [e]vineyard,
Planted by the waters;
It was fruitful and full of branches
Because of abundant waters.
‘“Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard[b]
    planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
    because of abundant water.
Verse 11
‘And it had [f]strong branches fit for scepters of rulers,
And its height was raised above the clouds
So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
Its branches were strong,
    fit for a ruler’s sceptre.
It towered high
    above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
    and for its many branches.
Verse 12
‘But it was plucked up in fury;
It was cast down to the ground;
And the east wind dried up its fruit.
Its [g]strong branch [h]was torn off
So that [i]it withered;
The fire consumed it.
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.
Verse 13
‘And now it is planted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.
Now it is planted in the desert,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
Verse 14
‘And fire has gone out from its branch;
It has consumed its shoots and fruit,
So that there is not in it a [j]strong branch,
A scepter to rule.’”

This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

Fire spread from one of its main[c] branches
    and consumed its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
    fit for a ruler’s sceptre.”

‘This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.’