Ezekiel 19:1-6

Lament for the Princes of Israel

1 "As for you, take up a ¹lamentation for the ²princes of Israel

2 and say, 'What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She reared her cubs.

3 'When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured men.

4 'Then nations heard about him; He was captured in their pit, And they ³brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.

5 'When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion.

6 'And he ⁴walked about among the lions; He became a young lion, He learned to tear his prey; He devoured men.

Read Chapter Compare

Ezekiel 19:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 19

The subject matter of this chapter is a lamentation for the princes and people of the Jews, on account of what had already befallen them, and what was yet to come, Eze 19:1. The mother of the princes is compared to a lioness, and they to lions; who, one after another, were taken and carried captive, Eze 19:2-9; again, their mother is compared to a vine, and they to branches and rods for sceptres, destroyed by an east wind, and consumed by fire, Eze 19:10-14.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 4

1. Ezekiel 2:10; Ezekiel 19:14
2. 2 Kin 23:29, 30, 34; 2 Kings 24:6, 12; 2 Kings 25:5-7
3. 2 Kings 23:34; 2 Chronicles 36:4, 6
4. 2 Kings 24:9; 2 Chronicles 36:9

Footnotes 2

[a]. Or "Why did your mother, a lioness, lie down among lions; among young lions rear her cubs?"
[b]. Lit "one"