Ezekiel 19

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 'Now, raise a lament for the princes of Israel.	1 As for you, son of man, raise a lamentation over the prince of Israel:
2 Say: What was your mother? A lioness among lions; lying among the cubs she nursed her whelps.	2 What a lioness was your mother, a lion of lions! Among young lions she couched to rear her whelps.
3 She reared one of her whelps: he grew into a young lion; he learnt to tear his prey; he became a man-eater.	3 One whelp she raised up, a young lion he became; He learned to seize prey, men he devoured.
4 The nations came to hear of him; he was caught in their pit; they dragged him away with hooks toEgypt.	4 Then nations raised cries against him, in their pit he was caught; They took him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 Her expectation thwarted, and seeing her hope dashed, she took another of her whelps and made ayoung lion of him.	5 Then she saw that in vain she had waited, her hope was destroyed. She took another of her whelps, him she made a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions, he grew into a young lion, he learnt to tear his prey; he became a man-eater.	6 He prowled among the lions, a young lion he became; He learned to seize prey, men he devoured;
7 He tore down their palaces, he destroyed their cities; the land and al its inhabitants were appal ed bythe sound of his roars.	7 He ravaged their strongholds, their cities he wasted. The land and all in it were appalled at the noise of his roar.
8 The nations marched out against him from the surrounding provinces; they spread their net over him;he was caught in their pit.	8 Nations laid out against him snares all about him; They spread their net to take him, in their pit he was caught.
9 They shackled him with hooks, they took him to the king of Babylon and threw him into a fortress, sothat his voice could never again be heard on the mountains of Israel.	9 They put him in a cage and took him away to the king of Babylon, So that his voice would not be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine planted beside the water, fruitful and leafy, because the water flowed soful .	10 Your mother was like a vine planted by the water; Fruitful and branchy was she because of the abundant water.
11 She had stout stems which became kingly sceptres; she grew higher and higher, up into the clouds;she was admired for her height and the number of her branches.	11 One strong branch she put out as a royal scepter. Stately was her height amid the dense foliage; Notably tall was she with her many clusters.
12 But she was furiously uprooted and thrown on the ground; the east wind dried up her fruit, she wasbroken to pieces; her stout stem dried up, the fire devoured it.	12 But she was torn up in fury and flung to the ground; The east wind withered her up, her fruit was torn off; Then her strong branch withered up, fire devoured it.
13 Now she has been transplanted to the desert, to a dry and thirsty land.	13 So now she is planted in the desert, in a land dry and parched,
14 Fire burst out of her stem devouring her branches and fruit. No more stout stem for her, no morekingly sceptre.' This is a lament; it was used as such.	14 For fire came out of the branch and devoured her shoots; She is now without a strong branch, a ruler's scepter. This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.