Ezekiel 19:3-13

3 And she brought up one of her whelps; it became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
4 And the nations heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with nose-rings into the land of Egypt.
5 And when she saw that she had waited [and] her hope was lost, she took another of her whelps, [and] made him a young lion.
6 And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
7 And he knew their [desolate] palaces, and he laid waste their cities, so that the land was desolate, and all it contained, by the noise of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.
9 And they put him in a cage with nose-rings, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Thy mother was as a vine, in thy rest, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 And it had strong rods for sceptres of them that bear rule, and its stature was exalted between the thick boughs; and it was conspicuous by its height with the multitude of its branches.
12 But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit; its strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground:

Ezekiel 19:3-13 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.

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Some read, 'he broke down.'
  • [b]. Or 'widows.'
  • [c]. Lit. 'its fulness.'
  • [d]. Others translate 'like unto thee,' but reading uncertain.
  • [e]. Or 'thick-leaved.' It may be, 'amidst the clouds; and so ch. 31.3,10,14.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.