1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then 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, and devoured men.
7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, 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 ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
1 Moreover take thou up H5375 a lamentation H7015 for the princes H5387 of Israel, H3478
2 And say, H559 What is thy mother? H517 A lioness: H3833 she lay down H7257 among lions, H738 she nourished H7235 her whelps H1482 among H8432 young lions. H3715
3 And she brought up H5927 one H259 of her whelps: H1482 it became a young lion, H3715 and it learned H3925 to catch H2963 the prey; H2964 it devoured H398 men. H120
4 The nations H1471 also heard H8085 of him; he was taken H8610 in their pit, H7845 and they brought H935 him with chains H2397 unto the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
5 Now when she saw H7200 that she had waited, H3176 and her hope H8615 was lost, H6 then she took H3947 another H259 of her whelps, H1482 and made H7760 him a young lion. H3715
6 And he went up and down H1980 among H8432 the lions, H738 he became a young lion, H3715 and learned H3925 to catch H2963 the prey, H2964 and devoured H398 men. H120
7 And he knew H3045 their desolate palaces, H490 and he laid waste H2717 their cities; H5892 and the land H776 was desolate, H3456 and the fulness H4393 thereof, by the noise H6963 of his roaring. H7581
8 Then the nations H1471 set H5414 against him on every side H5439 from the provinces, H4082 and spread H6566 their net H7568 over him: he was taken H8610 in their pit. H7845
9 And they put H5414 him in ward H5474 in chains, H2397 and brought H935 him to the king H4428 of Babylon: H894 they brought H935 him into holds, H4685 that his voice H6963 should no more be heard H8085 upon the mountains H2022 of Israel. H3478
10 Thy mother H517 is like a vine H1612 in thy blood, H1818 H1818 planted H8362 by the waters: H4325 she was fruitful H6509 and full of branches H6058 by reason of many H7227 waters. H4325
11 And she had strong H5797 rods H4294 for the sceptres H7626 of them that bare rule, H4910 and her stature H6967 was exalted H1361 among the thick branches, H5688 and she appeared H7200 in her height H1363 with the multitude H7230 of her branches. H1808
12 But she was plucked up H5428 in fury, H2534 she was cast down H7993 to the ground, H776 and the east H6921 wind H7307 dried up H3001 her fruit: H6529 her strong H5797 rods H4294 were broken H6561 and withered; H3001 the fire H784 consumed H398 them.
13 And now she is planted H8362 in the wilderness, H4057 in a dry H6723 and thirsty H6772 ground. H776
14 And fire H784 is gone out H3318 of a rod H4294 of her branches, H905 which hath devoured H398 her fruit, H6529 so that she hath no strong H5797 rod H4294 to be a sceptre H7626 to rule. H4910 This is a lamentation, H7015 and shall be for a lamentation. H7015
1 Moreover, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then 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 he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
7 And he knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.
9 And they put him in a cage with hooks, 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 like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 And it had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their 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 off and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
14 And fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it hath devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
1 And thou, lift up a lamentation unto princes of Israel,
2 and thou hast said: What `is' thy mother? -- a lioness, Among lions she hath crouched down, In the midst of young lions she hath multiplied her whelps.
3 And she bringeth up one of her whelps, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.
4 And hear of it do nations, In their pit it hath been caught, And they bring it in with chains unto the land of Egypt.
5 And she seeth, that stayed -- perished hath her hope, And she taketh one of her whelps, A young lion she hath made it.
6 And it goeth up and down in the midst of lions, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.
7 And it knoweth his forsaken habitations, And their cities it hath laid waste, And desolate is the land and its fulness, Because of the voice of his roaring.
8 And set against it do nations Round about from the provinces. And they spread out for it their net, In their pit it hath been caught.
9 And they put it in prison -- in chains, And they bring it unto the king of Babylon, They bring it in unto bulwarks, So that its voice is not heard any more On mountains of Israel.
10 Thy mother `is' as a vine in thy blood by waters planted, Fruitful and full of boughs it hath been, Because of many waters.
11 And it hath strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And high is its stature above thick branches, And it appeareth in its height In the multitude of its thin shoots.
12 And it is plucked up in fury, To the earth it hath been cast, And the east wind hath dried up its fruit, Broken and withered hath been the rod of its strength, Fire hath consumed it.
13 And now -- it is planted in a wilderness, In a land dry and thirsty.
14 And go forth doth fire from a rod of its boughs, Its fruit it hath devoured, And it hath no rod of strength -- a sceptre to rule, Lamentation it `is' -- and it is for a lamentation!'
1 And thou, take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps in the midst of the young lions.
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:
14 and a fire is gone out of a rod of its branches, [which] hath devoured its fruit; so that it hath no strong rod to be a sceptre for ruling. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
1 Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 and say, What was your mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her cubs.
3 She brought up one of her cubs: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her cubs, and made him a young lion.
6 He went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.
7 He knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness of it, because of the noise of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.
9 They put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine, in your blood, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 It had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their 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 off and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it has devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
1 Take up now a song of grief for the ruler of Israel, and say,
2 What was your mother? Like a she-lion among lions, stretched out among the young lions she gave food to her little ones.
3 And one of her little ones came to growth under her care, and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
4 And the nations had news of him; he was taken in the hole they had made: and, pulling him with hooks, they took him into the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that her hope was made foolish and gone, she took another of her little ones and made him into a young lion.
6 And he went up and down among the lions and became a young lion, learning to go after beasts for his food; and he took men for his meat.
7 And he sent destruction on their widows and made waste their towns; and the land and everything in it became waste because of the loud sound of his voice.
8 Then the nations came against him from the kingdoms round about: their net was stretched over him and he was taken in the hole they had made.
9 They made him a prisoner with hooks, and took him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the strong place so that his voice might be sounding no longer on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was in comparison like a vine, planted by the waters: she was fertile and full of branches because of the great waters.
11 And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.
12 But she was uprooted in burning wrath, and made low on the earth; the east wind came, drying her up, and her branches were broken off; her strong rod became dry, the fire made a meal of it.
13 And now she is planted in the waste land, in a dry and unwatered country.
14 And fire has gone out from her rod, causing the destruction of her branches, so that there is no strong rod in her to be the ruler's rod of authority. This is a song of grief, and it was for a song of grief.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 19
Commentary on Ezekiel 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Eze 19:1-14. Elegy over the Fall of David's House.
There is a tacit antithesis between this lamentation and that of the Jews for their own miseries, into the causes of which, however, they did not inquire.
1. princes of Israel—that is, Judah, whose "princes" alone were recognized by prophecy; those of the ten tribes were, in respect to the theocracy, usurpers.
2. thy mother—the mother of Jehoiachin, the representative of David's line in exile with Ezekiel. The "mother" is Judea: "a lioness," as being fierce in catching prey (Eze 19:3), referring to her heathenish practices. Jerusalem was called Ariel (the lion of God) in a good sense (Isa 29:1); and Judah "a lion's whelp … a lion … an old lion" (Ge 49:9), to which, as also to Nu 23:24; 24:9, this passage alludes.
nourished … among young lions—She herself had "lain" among lions, that is, had intercourse with the corruptions of the surrounding heathen and had brought up the royal young ones similarly: utterly degenerate from the stock of Abraham.
Lay down—or "couched," is appropriate to the lion, the Arab name of which means "the coucher."
3. young lion—Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, carried captive from Riblah to Egypt by Pharaoh-necho (2Ki 23:33).
4. The nations—Egypt, in the case of Jehoahaz, who probably provoked Pharaoh by trying to avenge the death of his father by assailing the bordering cities of Egypt (2Ki 23:29, 30).
in their pit—image from the pitfalls used for catching wild beasts (Jer 22:11, 12).
chains—or hooks, which were fastened in the noses of wild beasts (see on Eze 19:9).
5. saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost—that is, that her long-waited-for hope was disappointed, Jehoahaz not being restored to her from Egypt.
she took another of her whelps—Jehoiakim, brother of Jehoahaz, who was placed on the throne by Pharaoh (2Ki 23:34), according to the wish of Judah.
6. went up and down among the lions—imitated the recklessness and tyranny of the surrounding kings (Jer 22:13-17).
catch … prey—to do evil, gratifying his lusts by oppression (2Ki 23:37).
7. knew … desolate palaces—that is, claimed as his own their palaces, which he then proceeded to "desolate." The Hebrew, literally "widows"; hence widowed palaces (Isa 13:22). Vatablus (whom Fairbairn follows) explains it, "He knew (carnally) the widows of those whom he devoured" (Eze 19:6). But thus the metaphor and the literal reality would be blended: the lion being represented as knowing widows. The reality, however, often elsewhere thus breaks through the veil.
fulness thereof—all that it contained; its inhabitants.
8. the nations—the Chaldeans, Syrians, Moab, and Ammon (2Ki 24:2).
9. in chains—(2Ch 36:6; Jer 22:18). Margin, "hooks"; perhaps referring to the hook often passed through the nose of beasts; so, too, through that of captives, as seen in the Assyrian sculptures (see on Eze 19:4).
voice—that is, his roaring.
no more be heard upon the mountains—carrying on the metaphor of the lion, whose roaring on the mountains frightens all the other beasts. The insolence of the prince, not at all abated though his kingdom was impaired, was now to cease.
10. A new metaphor taken from the vine, the chief of the fruit-bearing trees, as the lion is of the beasts of prey (see Eze 17:6).
in thy blood—"planted when thou wast in thy blood," that is, in thy very infancy; as in Eze 16:6, when thou hadst just come from the womb, and hadst not yet the blood washed from thee. The Jews from the first were planted in Canaan to take root there [Calvin]. Grotius translates as the Margin, "in thy quietness," that is, in the period when Judah had not yet fallen into her present troubles. English Version is better. Glassius explains it well, retaining the metaphor, which Calvin's explanation breaks, "in the blood of thy grapes," that is, in her full strength, as the red wine is the strength of the grape. Ge 49:11 is evidently alluded to.
many waters—the well-watered land of Canaan (De 8:7-9).
11. strong rods—princes of the royal house of David. The vine shot forth her branches like so many scepters, not creeping lowly on the ground like many vines, but trained aloft on a tree or wall. The mention of their former royal dignity, contrasting sadly with her present sunken state, would remind the Jews of their sins whereby they had incurred such judgments.
stature—(Da 4:11).
among the thick branches—that is, the central stock or trunk of the tree shot up highest "among its own branches" or offshoots, surrounding it. Emblematic of the numbers and resources of the people. Hengstenberg translates, "among the clouds." But Eze 31:3, 10, 14, supports English Version.
12. plucked up—not gradually withered. The sudden upturning of the state was designed to awaken the Jews out of their torpor to see the hand of God in the national judgment.
east wind—(See on Eze 17:10).
13. planted—that is, transplanted. Though already "dried up" in regard to the nation generally, the vine is said to be "transplanted" as regards God's mercy to the remnant in Babylon.
dry … ground—Chaldea was well-watered and fertile; but it is the condition of the captive people, not that of the land, which is referred to.
14. fire … out of a rod of her branches—The Jews' disaster was to be ascribed, not so much to the Chaldeans as to themselves; the "fire out of the rod" is God's wrath kindled by the perjury of Zedekiah (Eze 17:18). "The anger of the Lord" against Judah is specified as the cause why Zedekiah was permitted to rebel against Babylon (2Ki 24:20; compare Jud 9:15), thus bringing Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem.
no strong rod … sceptre to rule—No more kings of David's stock are now to rule the nation. Not at least until "the Lord shall send the rod of His strength ("Messiah," Ps 110:2; Isa 11:1) out of Zion," to reign first as a spiritual, then hereafter as a literal king.
is … and shall be for a lamentation—Part of the lamentation (that as to Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim) was matter of history as already accomplished; part (as to Zedekiah) was yet to be fulfilled; or, this prophecy both is a subject for lamentation, and shall be so to distant posterity.