| The Darby Translation (DBY) | New International Version (NIV) |
| 1 And thou, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, | 1 "Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel |
| 2 and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps in the midst of the young lions. | 2 and say: " 'What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among the young lions and reared her cubs. |
| 3 And she brought up one of her whelps; it became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. | 3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men. |
| 4 And the nations heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with nose-rings into the land of Egypt. | 4 The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt. |
| 5 And when she saw that she had waited [and] her hope was lost, she took another of her whelps, [and] made him a young lion. | 5 " 'When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion. |
| 6 And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. | 6 He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men. |
| 7 And he knew their [desolate] palaces, and he laid waste their cities, so that the land was desolate, and all it contained, by the noise of his roaring. | 7 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by 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. | 8 Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit. |
| 9 And they put him in a cage with nose-rings, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. | 9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel. |
| 10 Thy mother was as a vine, in thy rest, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. | 10 " 'Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water. |
| 11 And it had strong rods for sceptres of them that bear rule, and its stature was exalted between the thick boughs; and it was conspicuous by its height with the multitude of its branches. | 11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler's scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches. |
| 12 But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. | 12 But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them. |
| 13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground: | 13 Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land. |
| 14 and a fire is gone out of a rod of its branches, [which] hath devoured its fruit; so that it hath no strong rod to be a sceptre for ruling. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. | 14 Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler's scepter.' This is a lament and is to be used as a lament." |
| The Darby Translation is in the public domain. (The Darby Translation Bible Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |