A Lament for the Princes of Israel
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And you, 1take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
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and say: What was your mother? 2A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs.
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And she brought up one of her cubs; 3he became a young lion, 4and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.
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The nations heard about him; 5he was caught in their pit, 6and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
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When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, 7she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
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He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men,
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and seizeda their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.
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8Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; 9they spread their net over him; 10he was taken in their pit.
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With hooks 11they put him in a cageb and 12brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on 13the mountains of Israel.
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Your mother was 14like a vine in a vineyardc planted by the water, 15fruitful and full of branches 16by reason of abundant water.
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Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs;d it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
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But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; 17the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.
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18Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)