Lament for the Leaders of Israel

19 “And you, raise a lament abouta 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 ateb humans.c

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 sawd 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 atee humans.f

7 And he knew their widows,g

and he devastated their cities,

and the land was appalled, and ⌊everyone in it⌋h

at the sound of his roar.

8 And nations set out against him

⌊from the surrounding provinces⌋,i

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 intoj a prison,

so that his voice would not be heard ⌊any longer⌋k

on the mountains of Israel.