Yahweh tells Ezekiel to speak to the people of Israel. He tells a story where the nation of Israel is a lioness and some of the past kings in the kingdom of Judah are her cubs. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# take up a lamentation
This idiom means to sing a lamentation. AT: "sing a lamentation" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]])
# Who was your mother?
Yahweh asks this ask a leading question in order to introduce the answer. AT: "This is who your mother is." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])