“ ‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!

She lay among young lions; she reared her cubs.

3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.

He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.

4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.

They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.

She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.

6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.

He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.

7 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities.

The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.

8 The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him.

They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

9 They put him in a collar with hooks;

they brought him to the king of Babylon;

they brought him to prison

so that his voice would not be heard

any longer on the mountains of Israel.

10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by water.

It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.

11 Its boughs were strong, fit for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.

It stood out because of its height and its many branches.

12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.

The east wind dried up its fruit;

its strong branches broke off and withered –

a fire consumed them.

13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land.

14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit.

No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’