Ezekiel 19:1-9

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.

Ezekiel 19:1-9 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.

Cross References

• 1. 19:1 ch. 26:17; 27:2, 32; 28:12; 32:2; Amos 5:1; [Jer. 7:29]
• 2. 19:2 [Gen. 49:9]
• 3. 19:3 [ch. 22:25; 32:2; 2 Kgs. 23:30, 31]
• 4. 19:3 ch. 22:25, 27
• 5. 19:4 Lam. 4:20
• 6. 19:4 [2 Kgs. 23:33, 34; Jer. 22:11, 12]
• 7. 19:5 2 Kgs. 23:34, 36
• 8. 19:8 [2 Chr. 36:6]
• 9. 19:8 See ch. 12:13
• 10. 19:8 [See ver. 4 above]
• 11. 19:9 [See ver. 8 above]
• 12. 19:9 [Jer. 22:26, 27]
• 13. 19:9 See ch. 6:2

Footnotes

• [a] 19:7 Hebrew 'knew'
• [b] 19:9 Or 'in a wooden collar'