Ezekiel 19:1–9

Lament for the Leaders of Israel

19“And you, raise a lament about^a the leaders of Israel, ²and 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.

³And she raised up one from her cubs;

he became a fierce lion,

and he learned to tear prey;

he ate^b humans.^c

⁴And nations heard about him;

in their pit he was caught,

and they brought him with hooks

to the land of Egypt.

⁵And she saw^d that she was waiting in vain;

her hope was destroyed,

and she took one from her cubs,

and she made him a fierce lion.

⁶And he walked about in the midst of lions;

he became a fierce lion,

and he learned to tear prey;

he ate^e humans.^f

⁷And 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.

⁸And nations set out against him

from the surrounding provinces,ⁱ

and they spread their net over him,

and he was caught in their pit.

⁹And they put him in a collar with hooks,

and they brought him to the king of Babylon;

they brought him into^j a prison,

so that his voice would not be heard any longer^k

on the mountains of Israel.