1 Thou. therefore take up a dirge, for the prince of Israel;

2 and thou shalt say How was thy mother a lioness, Between lions, she lay down,- I n the midst of young lions, She nourished her whelps;

3 And she reared up one of her whelps A young lion, he became, And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured.

4 Then nations heard of him. In their pit, was he caught, So they brought him with hooks. Into the land of Egypt.

5 And she saw she had waited Lost was her hope, Then took she another of her whelps. A young lion, she made him.

6 Yea he went to and fro amidst lions A young lion, he became,- And he learned to rend prey. Men, he devoured;

7 And he injured b his widows, And their cities, laid waste,- And deserted was the land and its fulness, At the noise of his roaring.

8 Then set upon him the nations round about. From the provinces,- And spread over him their net In their pit, was he caught;

9 And they put him in a cage with hooks, And brought him to Babylons king, They brought him into strong-holds, That his noise might be heard no more Among the mountains of Israel.

10 Thy mother like a vine of thy vineyard, By waters, was planted, Fruitful and full of branches, she became By reason of waters abundant;

11 And they served her as staves of power For the sceptres of rulers, And high became the stature thereof With its interwoven foliage,- And it was seen by its height, By its multitude of branches.

12 Then was she uprooted in indignation To the ground, was she east, And an east wind, dried up her fruit,Broken off and withered were her staves of power, A fire, devoured them.

13 Now, therefore, is she planted in a desert, -In a land parched and dry;

14 And there hath gone forth a fire out of her staves of rods. Her fruit, hath it devoured, And there is in her no staff of power. As a sceptre to bear rule. A dirge, it is, and hath been made a dirge.