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

2 a nd say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.

3 S he brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men.

4 T he nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.

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

6 H e roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men.

7 H e knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring.

8 T hen the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit.

9 T hey put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

10 ‘ Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters.

11 S he had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.

12 B ut she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.

13 A nd now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.

14 F ire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch— a scepter for ruling.’” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.