¶ But mourn thou for the princes of Israel,
and say: Wherefore lay thy mother that lioness among the lions, and nourished her young ones among the lion's whelps?
One of her whelps she brought up, and it became a lion: it learned to spoil, and to devour folk.
The heathen heard of him, and took him in their nets, and brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
Now when the dame saw, that all her hope and comforth was away, she took another of her whelps, and made a lion of him:
which went among the lions, and became a fierce lion: learned to spoil, and to devour folk:
he destroyed their palaces, and made their cities waste. In so much that the whole land and every thing therein, were utterly desolate, thorow the very voice of his roaring.
Then came the heathen together on every side out of all countries against him, laid their nets for him, and took him in their pit.
So they bound him with chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: which put him in prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
¶ As for thy mother, she is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the water side: her fruits and branches are grown out of many waters,
her stalks were so strong, that men might have made staves thereof for officers: she grew so high in her stalks. So when men saw that she exceeded the height and multitude of her branches,
she was rooted out in displeasure, and cast down to the ground. The East wind dried up her fruit, her strong stalks were broken off, withered and brent in the fire.
But now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
And there is a fire gone out of her stalks, which hath brent up her branches and her fruit: so that she hath no more strong stalks, to be staves for officers. This is a piteous and miserable thing.
Praise the Everlasting Lord for His Faithful Word.