Ezekiel 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.