A Lament for the Princes of Israel

1Bvt mourne thou for the prynces off Israel,

2& saye: Wherfore laye thy mother that lyonesse, amoge the lyons? & norished hir yonge ones amoge the lyons whelpes?

3to spoyle, and to deuoure folke.

4The Heithen herde of him, & toke him in their nettes, & brought him in chaynes vnto the londe of Egipte.

5Now when the damme sawe, that all hir hope & comforth was awaye, she toke another of hir whelpes, and made a lyon of him:

6which wente amonge the lyons, & became a fearce lyon: lerned to spoyle and to deuoure folcke:

7he destroyed their palaces, and made their cities waist: In so moch that the whole londe and euery thinge therin, were vtterly desolate, thorow the very voyce of his roaringe.

8Then came the Heithen together on euery syde out of all countrees agaynst him, layed their nettes for him, and toke him in their pytte.

9So they bounde him with chaynes, and brought him to the kinge of Babilon: which put him in preson, that his voyce shulde nomore be herde vpon the mountaynes of Israel.

10As for thy mother, she is like a vyne in thy bloude, planted by the watersyde: hir frutes and braunches are growen out of many waters:

11hir stalkes were so stronge, that men might haue made staues therof for officers: she grew so hie in hir stalkes. So when men sawe that she exceaded ye heith and multitude of hir braunches,

12she was roted out in displeasure, and cast downe to the grounde. The East wynde dryed vp hir frute, hir stronge stalkes were broken of, wythered and brent in the fyre.

13But now she is planted in the wildernesse, in a drye and thurstie grounde.

14And there is a fyre gone out of hir stalkes, which hath bret vp hir braunches and hir frute: so that she hath no mo stronge stalkes, to be staues for officers. This is a piteous and miserable thinge.