Ezekiel 19:5

5 When the lioness saw she was luckless, that her hope for that cub was gone, She took her other cub and made him a strong young lion.

Ezekiel 19:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 19:5

Now when she saw
That is, his mother, as the Syriac version expresses it; not his natural mother; as the mother of Sisera looked out and waited for him; but the congregation of Israel, as Jarchi interprets it, the body of the Jewish people: that she had waited;
for the return of Jehoahaz out of Egypt, which was expected for some time: or, "that she was become sick"; or "weak" ^F23, and feeble, and brought to a low estate by his captivity, and by the tax the king of Egypt put upon her: [and] her hope was lost;
of his return to her any more, and so of being eased of the tribute imposed, and of being restored by him to liberty and glory; for the Lord had declared that he should return no more to his native country, but die in the place where he was carried captive, ( Jeremiah 22:10-12 ) ; then she took another of her whelps;
or sons, as the Targum: [and] made him a young lion:
a king, as the same Targum paraphrases it; that is, Jehoiakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, who before was called Eliakim, but his name was changed by Pharaohnecho; and though he is said to make him king, yet it was by the consent of the people of the Jews.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (hlxwn yk) "quod infirmatus esset", Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 19:5 In-Context

3 She reared one of her cubs to maturity, a robust young lion. He learned to hunt. He ate men.

4 Nations sounded the alarm. He was caught in a trap. They took him with hooks and dragged him to Egypt.

5 When the lioness saw she was luckless, that her hope for that cub was gone, She took her other cub and made him a strong young lion.

6 He prowled with the lions, a robust young lion. He learned to hunt. He ate men.

7 He rampaged through their defenses, left their cities in ruins. The country and everyone in it was terrorized by the roars of the lion.