1 “ As for you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel

»Tú, dedica este lamento a los príncipes de Israel.

2 a nd say, ‘ What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She reared her cubs.

Diles: »¡Leona entre las leonas era tu madre! ¡Entre los leones crió a sus cachorros!

3 ‘ When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured men.

A uno de ellos lo levantó del suelo, y lo convirtió en un verdadero leoncillo. Y éste aprendió a desmenuzar a su presa y a devorarse a los hombres.

4 ‘ Then nations heard about him; He was captured in their pit, And they brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.

Cuando las naciones se enteraron, lo hicieron caer en sus trampas y encadenado lo llevaron a Egipto.

5 ‘ When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion.

Cuando su madre perdió la esperanza de que su cachorro volviera, tomó a otro de sus cachorros e hizo de él un león feroz.

6 ‘ And he walked about among the lions; He became a young lion, He learned to tear his prey; He devoured men.

Y el que antes era cachorro llegó a ser león entre los leones, y aprendió a desmenuzar a su presa y a devorarse a los hombres.

7 ‘ He destroyed their fortified towers And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.

Saqueó fortalezas, asoló ciudades, y con el estruendo de sus rugidos asustaba al país y a sus habitantes.

8 ‘ Then nations set against him On every side from their provinces, And they spread their net over him; He was captured in their pit.

»Pero lo atacaron los pueblos vecinos. Echaron su red sobre él, y lo hicieron caer en un foso.

9 ‘ They put him in a cage with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would be heard no more On the mountains of Israel.

Lo encadenaron y, en una jaula, lo presentaron ante el rey de Babilonia. ¡Lo confinaron en una mazmorra para que nunca más sus rugidos se oyeran sobre los montes de Israel!

10 ‘ Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, Planted by the waters; It was fruitful and full of branches Because of abundant waters.

»¡Vid entre las vides era tu madre! Plantada junto a abundantes aguas, daba abundantes frutos y vástagos;

11 ‘ And it had strong branches fit for scepters of rulers, And its height was raised above the clouds So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.

sus fuertes varas servían para cetros, y su altura sobresalía entre las ramas. Era tal su altura, y tantos sus sarmientos, que fácilmente se le reconocía.

12 ‘ But it was plucked up in fury; It was cast down to the ground; And the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branch was torn off So that it withered; The fire consumed it.

¡Pero fue arrancada con violencia, y derribada por los suelos! ¡El viento solano marchitó sus frutos y dejó secas sus fuertes ramas! ¡Rotas quedaron, y el fuego las consumió!

13 ‘ And now it is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.

Ahora está plantada en el desierto, en una tierra seca y desolada.

14 ‘ And fire has gone out from its branch; It has consumed its shoots and fruit, So that there is not in it a strong branch, A scepter to rule.’” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

De una de sus varas salió fuego, y ese fuego consumió sus frutos. ¡Ya no queda en ella ninguna vara fuerte que sirva como cetro para un rey!» Éste es un lamento, y lamento debe ser.