1 "And you, raise a lament about the leaders of Israel,
2 and you must say, 'What a lioness [was] your mother among [the] lions. She lay down in the midst of young lions, [and] she reared her lion cubs.
3 And she raised up one from her cubs; he became a fierce lion, and he learned to tear prey; he ate humans.
4 And nations heard about him; in their pit he was caught, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 And she saw that she was waiting [in vain]; her hope was destroyed, and she took one from her cubs, [and] she made him a fierce lion.
6 And he walked about in the midst of lions; he became a fierce lion, and he learned to tear prey; he ate humans.
7 And he knew their widows, and he devastated their cities, and [the] land was appalled, and {everyone in it} at the sound of his roar.
8 And nations set out against him {from the surrounding provinces}, and they spread their net over him, and he was caught in their pit.
9 And they put him in a collar with hooks, and they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into a prison, so that his voice [would] not be heard {any longer} on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother [was] like the vine in your vineyard; planted {fruitfully} beside water, and it was full of branches from many waters.
11 And {she produced branches of strength} to scepters of rulers; its height became tall between thick foliage, and it was seen because of its tallness among the abundance of its branches.
12 But it was uprooted in rage; it was thrown to the earth, and the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off, and its strong branch dried up; fire consumed it.
13 And now [it is] planted in the desert, in a {dry and thirsty land}.
14 And [so] fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and [there] was not in it {a strong branch}, a scepter for ruling.'" This [is] a lament, and {it will be used as a lament}.