Ezekiel 19

1 "Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

2 and say: 'What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.

3 She brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men.

4 The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.

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

6 He roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men.

7 He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring.

8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit.

9 They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

10 'Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters.

11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.

12 But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.

13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.

14 Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch--a scepter for ruling.' " This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

Ezekiel 19 Commentary

Chapter 19

A parable lamenting the ruin of Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. (1-9) Another describing the desolation of the people. (10-14)

Verses 1-9 Ezekiel is to compare the kingdom of Judah to a lioness. He must compare the kings of Judah to a lion's whelps; they were cruel and oppressive to their own subjects. The righteousness of God is to be acknowledged, when those who have terrified and enslaved others, are themselves terrified and enslaved. When professors of religion form connexions with ungodly persons, their children usually grow up following after the maxims and fashions of a wicked world. Advancement to authority discovers the ambition and selfishness of men's hearts; and those who spend their lives in mischief, generally end them by violence.

Verses 10-14 Jerusalem was a vine, flourishing and fruitful. This vine is now destroyed, though not plucked up by the roots. She has by wickedness made herself like tinder to the sparks of God's wrath, so that her own branches serve as fuel to burn her. Blessed be God, one Branch of the vine here alluded to, is not only become a strong rod for the sceptre of those that rule, but is Himself the true and living Vine. This shall be for a rejoicing to all the chosen people of God throughout all generations.

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint reads He stood in insolence; Targum reads He destroyed its palaces; Vulgate reads He learned to make widows.
• [b]. Literally blood. Following Masoretic Text, Syriac, and Vulgate; Septuagint reads like a flower on a pomegranate tree; Targum reads in your likeness.

Chapter Summary

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.