Ezekiel 19
EasyEnglish Bible
19 ‘Sing this sad funeral song for the leaders of Israel.
2 Say this:
“Your mother was like a great lion among the other lions.
She lay among strong young lions.
She helped her children to grow safely.
3 She taught one of her children to catch animals for food.
As he grew, he started to eat people.
4 The people of other nations heard about him.
They dug a hole and they caught him in their trap.
They put hooks in him and they took him to Egypt.
5 His mother waited for him to return home.
He did not come and she stopped hoping for him.
She helped another of her sons to become a strong young lion.
6 He grew to be strong among the other lions.
He learned to catch wild animals and to eat them.
He also learned to eat people.
7 He attacked their strong buildings and he destroyed their cities.
When he roared, the noise frightened everyone in the land.
8 Men from other nations near there came to attack him.
They threw a net over him.
They caught him in their trap.
9 They tied hooks around his neck.
They took him to the king of Babylon.
There they put him in prison to stop him roaring.
The people on the hills of Israel could not hear his voice any longer.
10 Your mother was like a vine that was growing near a stream.
It grew well because there was plenty of water there.
It made many branches and it had a lot of fruit.
11 Its branches became big and strong.
They were strong enough to make a ruler's stick of authority.
The vine grew taller than all the other trees around it.
Everyone could see that it was very tall and strong.
12 But the Lord became angry with that vine.
He pulled up its roots and he threw it down to the ground.
The east wind made it dry and destroyed its fruit.
Its strong branches broke and they became useless.
Fire destroyed them.
13 Now that vine is growing in a desert.
It is in a hot, dry place where there is no water.
14 Fire started to burn its strongest branch.
From there the fire destroyed its other branches and its fruit.
No strong branch remained in the vine.
Now there was nothing to make a ruler's stick of authority.”
This is a funeral song. It tells a very sad story.’
Ezekiel 19
New International Version
A Lament Over Israel’s Princes
19 “Take up a lament(A) concerning the princes(B) of Israel 2 and say:
“‘What a lioness(C) was your mother
among the lions!
She lay down among them
and reared her cubs.(D)
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.
4 The nations heard about him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks(E)
to the land of Egypt.(F)
5 “‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs(G)
and made him a strong lion.(H)
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.(I)
7 He broke down[a] their strongholds
and devastated(J) their towns.
The land and all who were in it
were terrified by his roaring.
8 Then the nations(K) came against him,
those from regions round about.
They spread their net(L) for him,
and he was trapped in their pit.(M)
9 With hooks(N) they pulled him into a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon.(O)
They put him in prison,
so his roar(P) was heard no longer
on the mountains of Israel.(Q)
10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard[b](R)
planted by the water;(S)
it was fruitful and full of branches
because of abundant water.(T)
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.(U)
12 But it was uprooted(V) in fury
and thrown to the ground.
The east wind(W) made it shrivel,
it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
and fire consumed them.(X)
13 Now it is planted in the desert,(Y)
in a dry and thirsty land.(Z)
14 Fire spread from one of its main[c] branches
and consumed(AA) its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
fit for a ruler’s scepter.’(AB)
“This is a lament(AC) and is to be used as a lament.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 19:7 Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew He knew
- Ezekiel 19:10 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts your blood
- Ezekiel 19:14 Or from under its
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