Ezekiel 19

1 “Raise a lament for Israel’s ruler.”

2 “Say: What was your mother? A lion cub. She lived among lions, and among the lions she multiplied her cubs.”

3 “One of her cubs sprang up and became a lion. He learned to seize prey and devoured people.”

4 “The nations heard reports about him. He was caught in their pit, and they brought him in a muzzle to Egypt.”

5 “She saw that he was driven away and that her hope in him had perished, so she took another cub and made him a lion.”

6 “He moved among the lions and became a lion. He learned to seize prey and devoured people.”

7 “He prowled boldly, laid waste their cities, and devastated the land and everything in it with the sound of his roar.”

8 “Then the surrounding nations came against him from their countries. They spread their nets over him, and he was caught in their pit.”

9 “They put him in a muzzle and a cage and brought him to Babylon’s king. He placed him in prison so his voice would no longer be heard on Israel’s mountains.”

10 “Your mother was like a vine, like a pomegranate blossom planted beside water. Her fruit and shoots flourished because of abundant water.”

11 “She had a strong rod for a tribe of rulers. Her great size rose above the other trees, and the multitude of her branches displayed her height.”

12 “But she was broken down in wrath and cast to the ground. The scorching wind dried her choice branches. Vengeance fell on her, and her strong rod withered. Fire consumed it.”

13 “Now she has been planted in the wilderness, in dry land.”

14 “Fire came from a rod among her choice branches and consumed her. No strong rod remained in her. The tribe has become a parable of lament and will remain a lament.”