Chapter 19

A Funeral Song for Israel’s Kings

“Sing this funeral song for the princes of Israel:

2 “What is your mother?

A lioness among lions!

She lay down among the young lions

and reared her cubs.

3 She raised one of her cubs

to become a strong young lion.

He learned to hunt and devour prey,

and he became a man-eater.

4 Then the nations heard about him,

and he was trapped in their pit.

They led him away with hooks

to the land of Egypt.

5 “When the lioness saw

that her hopes for him were gone,

she took another of her cubs

and taught him to be a strong young lion.

6 He prowled among the other lions

and stood out among them in his strength.

He learned to hunt and devour prey,

and he, too, became a man-eater.

7 He demolished fortresses*

and destroyed their towns and cities.

Their farms were desolated,

and their crops were destroyed.

The land and its people trembled in fear

when they heard him roar.

8 Then the armies of the nations attacked him,

surrounding him from every direction.

They threw a net over him

and captured him in their pit.

9 With hooks, they dragged him into a cage

and brought him before the king of Babylon.

They held him in captivity,

so his voice could never again be heard

on the mountains of Israel.

10 “Your mother was like a vine

planted by the water’s edge.

It had lush, green foliage

because of the abundant water.

11 Its branches became strong—

strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.

It grew very tall,

towering above all others.

It stood out because of its height

and its many lush branches.

12 But the vine was uprooted in fury

and thrown down to the ground.

The desert wind dried up its fruit

and tore off its strong branches,

so that it withered

and was destroyed by fire.

13 Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,

where the ground is hard and dry.

14 A fire has burst out from its branches

and devoured its fruit.

Its remaining limbs are not

strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.

“This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral.”