1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. 3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. 4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. 5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. 6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. 7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. 8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. 9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 ¶ Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. 11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. 13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. 14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
مرثاة على رؤساء إِسرائيل
1 وأنتَ فأنشِدْ رِثاءً على رؤساءِ إِسرائيلَ. 2 قُلْ:
يا لأُمِّكُم لبوةٌ بَينَ الأسودِ!
أرضعَت جِراءَها في وسَطِ الأشبالِ.
3 ربَّت واحدا مِنهُم فصارَ شِبلا.
تعلَّمَ افتراسَ الفريسةِ، وأكلَ النَّاسَ.
4 سمِعت بهِ الأمَمُ فوقعَ في شرَكِهِم.
قادوهُ بشناكِلَ إلى أرضِ مِصْرَ.
5 رأت أنَّها خابت وضاعَ رجاؤُها،
فأخذت آخَرَ مِنْ جِرائِها وجعلَتْهُ شِبلا.
6 فسارَ بَينَ الأسودِ وصارَ شِبلا.
تعلَّمَ افتراسَ الفريسةِ، وأكلَ النَّاسَ.
7 اجتاحَ قُصورَهُم وخرَّبَ مدائِنَهُم،
فأقفرتِ الأرضُ كُلُّها مِنْ صوتِ زئيرِهِ.
8 فخرَجت علَيهِ الأمَمُ جيرانُهُ
رمَوهُ بشباكِهِم فسقَطَ في حُفرتِهِم.
9 حَبسوهُ في قفصٍ بشناكِلَ
وأحضروهُ إلى مَلِكِ بابلَ.
طرحوهُ في أحدِ الحُصونِ
لِئلاّ يُسمَعَ صوتُهُ مِنْ بَعدُ
على جِبالِ إِسرائيلَ.
10 أمُّكَ مِثلُ كرمةٍ غُرِسَت عِندَ المياهِ،
فصارَت كثيرةَ الثِّمارِ والوَرقِ مِنْ غزارةِ المياهِ،
11 وصارَ جِذعُها القويُّ صولجانا لمَلِكٍ
سما بَينَ الفروعِ المُلتفَّةِ،
فظهَرت في سُمُوِّهِ كثافةُ أوراقِهِ،
12 لكنَّها قُلِعت بغَيظٍ وطُرِحت على الأرضِ،
فأيـبسَتْها الرِّيحُ الشَّرقيَّةُ وقصفَت ثمرَها.
تكَسَّرَ جِذعُها الصَّلْبُ وأكلتْهُ النَّارُ.
13 والآنَ غُرِسَت في القَفرِ،
في أرضٍ قاحلةٍ عطشانةٍ،
14 فخرَجَ مِنْ جِذعِها نارٌ أكلَت ثمرَتَها
فما بَقيَ فيها جِذعٌ صلْبٌ
يَصلُحُ صولجانا لمَلِكٍ.
هذا رِثاءٌ، ورِثاءٌ يُنشَدُ.