New Living Translation
Ezekiel • Chapter 19
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“Sing this funeral song for the princes of Israel:
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“What is your mother?<br>A lioness among lions!<br>She lay down among the young lions<br>and reared her cubs.<br>
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She raised one of her cubs<br>to become a strong young lion.<br>He learned to hunt and devour prey,<br>and he became a man-eater.<br>
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Then the nations heard about him,<br>and he was trapped in their pit.<br>They led him away with hooks<br>to the land of Egypt.<br>
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“When the lioness saw<br>that her hopes for him were gone,<br>she took another of her cubs<br>and taught him to be a strong young lion.<br>
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He prowled among the other lions<br>and stood out among them in his strength.<br>He learned to hunt and devour prey,<br>and he, too, became a man-eater.<br>
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He demolished fortresses<br>and destroyed their towns and cities.<br>Their farms were desolated,<br>and their crops were destroyed.<br>The land and its people trembled in fear<br>when they heard him roar.<br>
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Then the armies of the nations attacked him,<br>surrounding him from every direction.<br>They threw a net over him<br>and captured him in their pit.<br>
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With hooks, they dragged him into a cage<br>and brought him before the king of Babylon.<br>They held him in captivity,<br>so his voice could never again be heard<br>on the mountains of Israel.<br>
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“Your mother was like a vine<br>planted by the water’s edge.<br>It had lush, green foliage<br>because of the abundant water.<br>
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Its branches became strong —<br>strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.<br>It grew very tall,<br>towering above all others.<br>It stood out because of its height<br>and its many lush branches.<br>
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But the vine was uprooted in fury<br>and thrown down to the ground.<br>The desert wind dried up its fruit<br>and tore off its strong branches,<br>so that it withered<br>and was destroyed by fire.<br>
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Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,<br>where the ground is hard and dry.<br>
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A fire has burst out from its branches<br>and devoured its fruit.<br>Its remaining limbs are not<br>strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.<br> “This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral.”