Ezekiel 19:1-7

1 The Lord told me to sing this song of sorrow for two princes of Israel:

2 What a lioness your mother was! She raised her cubs among the fierce male lions.

3 She raised a cub and taught him to hunt; he learned to eat people.

4 The nations heard about him and trapped him in a pit. With hooks they dragged him off to Egypt.

5 She waited until she saw all hope was gone. Then she raised another of her cubs, and he grew into a fierce lion.

6 When he was full-grown, he prowled with the other lions. He too learned to hunt and eat people.

7 He wrecked forts, he ruined towns. The people of the land were terrified every time he roared.

Ezekiel 19:1-7 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

• [a]. [One ancient translation] wrecked forts; [Hebrew unclear.]