Description and usage
The cage was a kind of basket, woven loosely of cane or sticks. It had a top or door that could be closed. When a bird or other prey was caught alive, it was confined in the cage. Sometimes the basket itself served as a kind of trap.
Translation
The Hebrew word sugar in EZK 19:9 probably refers to a kind of wooden collar put on prisoners (see Yoke). However, perhaps because the prophet pictures Judah’s king as a captured lion here, most translations render it “cage.” A few translations (GECL, ITCL) have “collar” or “yoke.” NJB has “shackled.”
Sometimes a captive bird could be used as a lure to capture a larger animal. The bird was tied inside the basket. When the prey entered the basket to take the bait, the basket was closed upon it by some device. It is presumably this interpretation of SIR 11:30 that has caused GNT to render the first half of this verse as “A proud person is a decoy to lure you into danger.” Other translations omit the element of the lure; for example, the New American Bible (NAB) has “Though he seem like a bird confined in a cage” (similarly ITCL).