19:1 “Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel
19:2 and say: “‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among them and reared her cubs.
19:3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
19:4 The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
19:5 “‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.
19:6 He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
19:7 He broke down* their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring. / *Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew He knew
19:8 Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit.
19:9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.
19:10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard* planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water. / *Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts your blood
19:11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.
19:12 But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.
19:13 Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.
19:14 Fire spread from one of its main* branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ “This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.” / *Or from under its