Ezekiel 19

ve'attah sa qinah el-nesi'e yisra'el

And you are to intone a dirge over the princes of Israel,

ve'amarta mah immekha leviyya ben arayot ravatsah betokh kefirim ribbetah gureha

and say: What a lioness was your mother Among the lions! Crouching among the great beasts, She reared her cubs.

vatta'al ekhad miggureha kefir hayah vayyilmad litrof-teref adam akhal

She raised up one of her cubs, He became a great beast; He learned to hunt prey— He devoured people.

vayyishme'u elayw goyim beshakhtam nitpas vayevi'uhu vakhakhim el-erets mitsrayim

Nations heeded [the call] against him; He was caught in their snare. They dragged him off with hooks To the land of Egypt.

vattere ki nokhalah avedah tiqvatah vattiqqakh ekhad miggureha kefir samatehu

When she saw herself frustrated, Her hope defeated, She took another of her cubs And set him up as a great beast.

vayyithallekh betokh-arayot kefir hayah vayyilmad litrof-teref adam akhal

He stalked among the lions, He was a great beast; He learned to hunt prey— He devoured people.

vayyeda almenotayw ve'arehem hekheriv vattesham erets umelo'ah miqqol sha'agato

He raped their widows, Laid waste their cities; The land and all in it were appalled At the sound of his roaring.

vayyittenu alayw goyim saviv mimmedinot vayyifresu alayw rishtam beshakhtam nitpas

Nations from the countries round about Arrayed themselves against him. They spread their net over him, He was caught in their snare.

vayyittenuhu vassugar bakhakhim vayevi'uhu el-melekh bavel yevi'uhu bammetsodot lema'an lo-yishama qolo od el-hare yisra'el

With hooks he was put in a cage, They carried him off to the king of Babylon And confined him in a fortress, So that never again should his roar be heard On the hills of Israel.

immekha khaggefen bedamekha al-mayim shetulah poriyyah va'anefah hayetah mimmayim rabbim

Your mother was like a vine in your blood, Planted beside streams, With luxuriant boughs and branches Thanks to abundant waters.

vayyihyu-lah mattot oz el-shivte moshelim vattigbah qomato al-ben avotim vayyera vegovho berov daliyyotayw

And she had a mighty rod Fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered highest among the leafy trees, It was conspicuous by its height, By the abundance of its boughs.

vattuttash bekhemah la'arets hushlakhah veruakh haqqadim hovish piryah hitparequ veyaveshu matteh uzzah esh akhalatehu

But plucked up in a fury, She was hurled to the ground. The east wind withered her branches, They broke apart and dried up; And her mighty rod was consumed by fire.

ve'attah shetulah vammidbar be'erets tsiyyah vetsama

Now she is planted in the desert, In ground that is arid and parched.

vattetse esh mimmatteh vaddeha piryah akhalah velo-hayah vah matteh-oz shevet limshol qinah hi vattehi leqinah

Fire has issued from her twig-laden branch And has consumed her boughs, She is left without a mighty rod, A scepter to rule with. This is a dirge, and it has become a [familiar] dirge.