The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Take up now a song of grief for the ruler of Israel, and say,
1
The Lord told me to sing this song of sorrow for two princes of Israel:
2 What was your mother? Like a she-lion among lions, stretched out among the young lions she gave food to her little ones.
2
What a lioness your mother was! She raised her cubs among the fierce male lions.
3 And one of her little ones came to growth under her care, and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
3
She raised a cub and taught him to hunt; he learned to eat people.
4 And the nations had news of him; he was taken in the hole they had made: and, pulling him with hooks, they took him into the land of Egypt.
4
The nations heard about him and trapped him in a pit. With hooks they dragged him off to Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that her hope was made foolish and gone, she took another of her little ones and made him into a young lion.
5
She waited until she saw all hope was gone. Then she raised another of her cubs, and he grew into a fierce lion.
6 And he went up and down among the lions and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
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When he was full-grown, he prowled with the other lions. He too learned to hunt and eat people.
7 And he sent destruction on their widows and made waste their towns; and the land and everything in it became waste because of the loud sound of his voice.
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He wrecked forts, he ruined towns. The people of the land were terrified every time he roared.
8 Then the nations came against him from the kingdoms round about: their net was stretched over him and he was taken in the hole they had made.
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The nations gathered to fight him; people came from everywhere. They spread their hunting nets and caught him in their trap.
9 They made him a prisoner with hooks, and took him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the strong place so that his voice might be sounding no longer on the mountains of Israel.
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They put him in a cage and took him to the king of Babylonia. They kept him under guard, so that his roar would never be heard again on the hills of Israel.
10 Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters.
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Your mother was like a grapevine planted near a stream. Because there was plenty of water, the vine was covered with leaves and fruit.
11 And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.
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Its branches were strong and grew to be royal scepters. The vine grew tall enough to reach the clouds; everyone saw how leafy and tall it was.
12 But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.
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But angry hands pulled it up by the roots and threw it to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit. Its branches were broken off; they dried up and were burned.
13 And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country.
13
Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and waterless land.
14 And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.
14
The stem of the vine caught fire; fire burned up its branches and fruit. The branches will never again be strong, will never be royal scepters. This is a song of sorrow; it has been sung again and again.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.