Ezekiel 19:3

3 She brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

Ezekiel 19:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 19:3

And she brought up one of her whelps
Or sons, as the Targum: or, "made him to ascend" ^F20, as the word signifies; to mount the throne; this was Jehoahaz, whom the people of the land took and anointed him, and made him king in the stead of Josiah his father, ( 2 Kings 23:30 ) ; it become a young lion;
that is, a king, as the same Targum explains it, and a tyrannical and arbitrary one: and it learned to catch the prey;
being instructed by evil counsellors, he soon learned to oppress his subjects, to get their substance from them, and do many evil things, as he is said to do, ( 2 Kings 23:32 ) ; it devoured men;
or a man, Adam, the people of Israel, so called, ( Ezekiel 34:31 ) ; as the Jews frequently observe; it ate up and destroyed their liberties, privileges, and property.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (letw) "et ascendere fecit", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.

Ezekiel 19:3 In-Context

1 Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Yisra'el,

2 and say, What was your mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.

3 She brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Mitzrayim.

5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.