Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 355
19:6-14
E ze k iel
she took another of her cubs
and taught him to be a strong young lion.
He prowled among the other lions
and stood out among them in his strength.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
and he, too, became a man-eater.
He demolished fortresses
and destroyed their towns and cities.
Their farms were desolated,
and their crops were destroyed.
The land and its people trembled in fear
when they heard him roar.
Then the armies of the nations attacked him,
surrounding him from every direction.
They threw a net over him
and captured him in their pit.
With hooks, they dragged him into a cage
and brought him before the king of Babylon.
They held him in captivity,
so his voice could never again be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
“Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water’s edge.
It had lush, green foliage
because of the abundant water.
Its branches became strong—
strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
It grew very tall,
towering above all others.
It stood out because of its height
and its many lush branches.
But the vine was uprooted in fury
and thrown down to the ground.
The desert wind dried up its fruit
and tore off its strong branches,
so that it withered
and was destroyed by fire.
Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,
where the ground is hard and dry.
A fire has burst out from its branches
and devoured its fruit.
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