A
Lament For Israel's Princes
'Take
up a Lament concerning the Princes of Israel and say:
2
'What a Lioness was your mother among the Lions!
She
lay down among the young Lions
And
reared her cubs.
3
She brought up one of her cubs,
And
he became a Strong Lion.
He
learned to tear Prey and he Devoured men.
4
The Nations heard about him,
And
he was Trapped in their Pit.
They
led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5
'When she saw her hope unfulfilled her expectation gone,
She
took another of her cubs and made him a Strong Lion.
6
He Prowled among the Lions,
For
he was now a Strong Lion.
He
learned to tear the Prey and he Devoured men.
7
He broke down their Strongholds and Devastated their towns.
The
land and all who were in it
Were
Terrified by his Roaring.
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.
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.
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.
11
Its branches were strong,
Fit
for a Rulers Scepter.
It
Towered High above the thick foliage,
Conspicuous
for its height and for its many branches.
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.
13
Now it is planted in the desert,
In
a dry and thirsty land.
14
Fire spread from one of its main branches
And
consumed its fruit.
No
Strong branch is left on it
Fit
for a Rulers Scepter.'
This
is a Lament and is to be used as a Lament.'
(Ezekiel
19)
Thus
was the Downfall of Israel in the days of Ezekiel
At
the hand of the Living God.
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