A Song of Sorrow
1 The Lord told me to sing this song of sorrow for two princes of Israel:
2 What a lioness your mother was!
She raised her cubs among the fierce male lions.
3 She raised a cub and taught him to hunt;
he learned to eat people.
4 The nations heard about him
and trapped him in a pit.
With hooks they dragged him off to Egypt.
5 She waited until she saw all hope was gone.
Then she raised another of her cubs,
and he grew into a fierce lion.
6 When he was full-grown,
he prowled with the other lions.
He too learned to hunt and eat people.
7 He wrecked forts, he ruined towns.
The people of the land were terrified
every time he roared.
8 The nations gathered to fight him;
people came from everywhere.
They spread their hunting nets
and caught him in their trap.
9 They put him in a cage
and took him to the king of Babylonia.
They kept him under guard,
so that his roar would never be heard again
on the hills of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a grapevine
planted near a stream.
Because there was plenty of water,
the vine was covered with leaves and fruit.
11 Its branches were strong
and grew to be royal scepters.
The vine grew tall enough to reach the clouds;
everyone saw how leafy and tall it was.
12 But angry hands pulled it up by the roots
and threw it to the ground.
The east wind dried up its fruit.
Its branches were broken off;
they dried up and were burned.
13 Now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and waterless land.
14 The stem of the vine caught fire;
fire burned up its branches and fruit.
The branches will never again be strong,
will never be royal scepters.
This is a song of sorrow; it has been sung again and again.
A Funeral Song for Israel's Leaders
The Lord said:
1 Ezekiel, sing a funeral song for two of Israel's leaders:
2 Your mother was a brave lioness
who raised her cubs
among lions.
3 She taught one of them to hunt,
and he learned to eat people.
4 When the nations heard of him,
they trapped him in a pit,
then they used hooks
to drag him to Egypt.
5 His mother waited
for him to return.
But soon she lost all hope
and raised another cub,
who also became fierce.
6 He hunted with other lions
and learned to eat people.
7 He destroyed fortresses
and ruined towns;
his mighty roar
terrified everyone.
8 Nations plotted to kill him,
and people came from all over
to spread out a net
and catch him in a trap.
9 They put him in a cage
and took him to Babylonia.
The lion was locked away,
so that his mighty roar
would never again be heard
on Israel's hills.
10 Your mother was a vine like you,
growing near a stream.
There was plenty of water,
so she was filled with branches
and with lots of fruit.
11 Her strong branches
became symbols of authority,
and she was taller
than all other trees—
everyone could see how strong
and healthy she was.
12 But in anger, I pulled her up
by the roots
and threw her to the ground,
where the scorching desert wind
dried out her fruit.
Her strong branches wilted
and burned up.
13 Then she was planted
in a hot, dry desert,
14 where her stem caught fire,
and flames burned
her branches and fruit.
Not one strong branch is left;
she is stripped bare.
This funeral song must be sung with sorrow.
