Ezekiel 19

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

1 And you, ¹take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

2 and say: What was your mother? ²A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs.

3 And she brought up one of her cubs; ³he became a young lion, ⁴and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.

4 The nations heard about him; ⁵he was caught in their pit, ⁶and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

5 When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, ⁷she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.

6 He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men,

7 and seized^[a] their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.

8 ⁸Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; ⁹they spread their net over him; ¹⁰he was taken in their pit.

9 With hooks ¹¹they put him in a cage^[b] and ¹²brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on ¹³the mountains of Israel.

10 Your mother was ¹⁴like a vine in a vineyard^[c] planted by the water, ¹⁵fruitful and full of branches ¹⁶by reason of abundant water.

11 Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs;^[d] it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.

12 But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; ¹⁷the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.

13 ¹⁸Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

14 ¹⁹And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, ²⁰so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling.This is ²¹a 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.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 26:17; Ezekiel 27:2, 32; Ezekiel 28:12; Ezekiel 32:2; Amos 5:1; [Jeremiah 7:29]
• 2. [Genesis 49:9]
• 3. [Ezekiel 22:25; Ezekiel 32:2; 2 Kings 23:30, 31]
• 4. Ezekiel 22:25, 27
• 5. Lamentations 4:20
• 6. [2 Kings 23:33, 34; Jeremiah 22:11, 12]
• 7. 2 Kings 23:34, 36
• 8. [2 Chronicles 36:6]
• 9. See Ezekiel 12:13
• 10. [See ver. 4 above]
• 11. [See ver. 8 above]
• 12. [Jeremiah 22:26, 27]
• 13. See Ezekiel 6:2
• 14. See Ezekiel 15:6
• 15. [Psalms 80:9]
• 16. [Deuteronomy 8:7]
• 17. Ezekiel 17:10; [Hosea 13:15]
• 18. [Ezekiel 1:1; Hosea 2:3; See 2 Kings 24:12-16]
• 19. [2 Kings 24:20]; See Ezekiel 17:15-19
• 20. [ver. 11, 12]
• 21. See ver. 1

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew knew
• [b]. Or in a wooden collar
• [c]. Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts in your blood
• [d]. Or the clouds

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.