Ezekiel 19 Study Notes: A Lament for Israel's Princes
Ezekiel sings a funeral song over Israel's rulers, pictured as young lions raised by a lioness. One is captured and dragged to Egypt and another caged and taken to Babylon, and their mother, now a vine, is torn up, burned, and replanted in a desert with no royal branch left.
General
What kind of song is Ezekiel told to raise over Israel's princes in chapter 19?
Answer: A funeral song mourning their downfall
God tells Ezekiel to sing a lament, which is a funeral song sung over someone who has died or something that has been lost (19:1). The chapter closes by saying again that the song is a funeral lament meant to be used that way (19:14). Grief fits Ezekiel's calling, since the scroll he was given at the start was written full of mourning and woe (2:10). Like Amos, who mourned Israel's fall as if it had already happened (Amos 5:1-2), Ezekiel sings over the ruin of Israel's rulers. He later sings a similar song over the ruler of Egypt, who is also pictured as a lion (32:2). The poem does not praise Israel's princes; it grieves that they have been brought down.
- Ezekiel 19:1 (BSB)““As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel”God tells Ezekiel to raise a lament over Israel's princes.
- Ezekiel 19:14 (BSB)“Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.””The poem ends by naming itself a lament, to be used as one.
- Ezekiel 2:10 (BSB)“which He unrolled before me. And written on the front and back of it were words of lamentation, mourning, and woe.”The scroll given to Ezekiel at his call was filled with mourning and woe, so grief over Israel is part of his commission from the start.
- Amos 5:1-2 (BSB)“Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you: “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.””Amos likewise sings a funeral song over Israel, mourning a fall that is certain before it happens.
- Ezekiel 32:2 (BSB)““Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’”Ezekiel later raises the same kind of song over Egypt's ruler, who is also pictured as a lion.
Theological
What genre does God assign to the poem about Israel's princes in 19:1 and 19:14?
Answer: A funeral song mourning their downfall
The poem is a lament, a funeral dirge, framed at both ends by the command to sing it (19:1) and the closing statement that it is and will remain a lament (19:14). The dirge form suits the prophet whose commissioning scroll was inscribed with mourning and woe (2:10), and it follows the prophetic practice of mourning a judgment as already accomplished, as Amos does over Virgin Israel (Amos 5:1-2). Ezekiel will use the same form for Egypt's king, again under the figure of a lion (32:2). The song is grief over the fall of Judah's royal house, not celebration of it.
- Ezekiel 19:1 (BSB)““As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel”God tells Ezekiel to raise a lament over Israel's princes.
- Ezekiel 19:14 (BSB)“Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.””The poem ends by naming itself a lament, to be used as one.
- Ezekiel 2:10 (BSB)“which He unrolled before me. And written on the front and back of it were words of lamentation, mourning, and woe.”The scroll given to Ezekiel at his call was filled with mourning and woe, so grief over Israel is part of his commission from the start.
- Amos 5:1-2 (BSB)“Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you: “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.””Amos likewise sings a funeral song over Israel, mourning a fall that is certain before it happens.
- Ezekiel 32:2 (BSB)““Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’”Ezekiel later raises the same kind of song over Egypt's ruler, who is also pictured as a lion.
General
What did each young lion learn to do once it was grown (19:3, 6)?
Answer: Tear prey and devour human beings
Both young lions learned to tear their prey, and both devoured people (19:3, 6). The second also broke down strongholds and laid cities waste, until the whole land shook when he roared (19:7). So even while the song mourns the princes' fall, it shows them as predators who used their power to harm rather than protect. Ezekiel later uses the same picture of Jerusalem's princes devouring the people (22:25) and calls her officials wolves who shed blood for gain (22:27). Zephaniah gives the same verdict, calling Jerusalem's princes roaring lions (Zephaniah 3:3).
- Ezekiel 19:3 (BSB)“She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.”The first young lion learns to tear prey and devours men.
- Ezekiel 19:6-7 (BSB)“He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men. He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.”The second does the same, wrecking strongholds and cities until the land trembles at his roar.
- Ezekiel 22:25 (BSB)“The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.”Ezekiel later pictures Jerusalem's princes as a lion that preys on its own people, plunders their wealth, and leaves many women widowed.
- Ezekiel 22:27 (BSB)“Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.”Jerusalem's officials are likened to wolves who kill for unjust profit, the same charge against her rulers.
- Zephaniah 3:3 (BSB)“Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.”Zephaniah likens the rebellious city's rulers to lions and its judges to wolves, the same verdict on her leaders.
Theological
What behavior does the lament attribute to each young lion once grown (19:3, 6)?
Answer: Tear prey and devour human beings
Each cub, once grown, learns to tear prey and devours men (19:3, 6), and the second extends his violence to strongholds and cities until the land trembles at his roar (19:7). The dirge therefore carries an indictment: the princes it mourns were predatory rulers. The same charge appears in Ezekiel's later indictment of Jerusalem, where the princes devour the people like a lion and the officials shed blood like wolves (22:25, 27), and in Zephaniah's description of Jerusalem's princes as roaring lions (Zephaniah 3:3).
- Ezekiel 19:3 (BSB)“She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.”The first young lion learns to tear prey and devours men.
- Ezekiel 19:6-7 (BSB)“He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men. He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.”The second does the same, wrecking strongholds and cities until the land trembles at his roar.
- Ezekiel 22:25 (BSB)“The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.”Ezekiel later pictures Jerusalem's princes as a lion that preys on its own people, plunders their wealth, and leaves many women widowed.
- Ezekiel 22:27 (BSB)“Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.”Jerusalem's officials are likened to wolves who kill for unjust profit, the same charge against her rulers.
- Zephaniah 3:3 (BSB)“Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.”Zephaniah likens the rebellious city's rulers to lions and its judges to wolves, the same verdict on her leaders.
General
In the lament, where were the two young lions taken after they were caught (19:4, 9)?
Answer: The first to Egypt, the second to Babylon
The mother lioness raises a cub that becomes a young lion, but the nations catch it in a pit and drag it with hooks off to Egypt (19:3-4). When she sees her hope is gone, she raises another, and this one is caught in a net, put in a cage, and handed over to Babylon's king, so that its roar is no longer heard in Israel (19:5-9). The lion picture fits the tribe of Judah, which Jacob had called a young lion (Genesis 49:9). The poem itself does not name these lions; many interpreters connect them with two kings of Judah, since the book of Kings records one king carried off to Egypt and another taken to Babylon (2 Kings 23:34; 24:15).
- Ezekiel 19:3-4 (BSB)“She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men. When the nations heard of him, he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they led him away to the land of Egypt.”The first cub grows into a predator, is caught in a pit, and is dragged with hooks to Egypt.
- Ezekiel 19:8-9 (BSB)“Then the nations set out against him from the provinces on every side. They spread their net over him; he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they caged him and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him into captivity so that his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.”The second is netted, caged, and brought to Babylon's king, and his roar is silenced.
- Genesis 49:9 (BSB)“Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?”Jacob had pictured Judah as a young lion, the image the lament takes up for Judah's royal house.
- 2 Kings 23:34 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.”Kings records a king of Judah carried off to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco, where he died.
- 2 Kings 24:15 (BSB)“Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”Kings records another king of Judah taken into exile in Babylon along with his mother.
Theological
According to 19:4 and 19:9, what became of the two young lions raised by the lioness?
Answer: The first to Egypt, the second to Babylon
The lioness, mother of Israel's princes in the poem, raises one cub that is trapped by the nations and led with hooks to Egypt (19:3-4); when her hope fails she raises a second, who is netted, caged, and delivered to Babylon's king, his roar never again heard on Israel's mountains (19:5-9). The image draws on Jacob's blessing of Judah as a young lion (Genesis 49:9). The poem leaves the lions unnamed; many interpreters connect them with two kings of Judah, since Kings records one deported to Egypt and another to Babylon (2 Kings 23:34; 24:15).
- Ezekiel 19:3-4 (BSB)“She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men. When the nations heard of him, he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they led him away to the land of Egypt.”The first cub grows into a predator, is caught in a pit, and is dragged with hooks to Egypt.
- Ezekiel 19:8-9 (BSB)“Then the nations set out against him from the provinces on every side. They spread their net over him; he was trapped in their pit. With hooks they caged him and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him into captivity so that his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.”The second is netted, caged, and brought to Babylon's king, and his roar is silenced.
- Genesis 49:9 (BSB)“Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?”Jacob had pictured Judah as a young lion, the image the lament takes up for Judah's royal house.
- 2 Kings 23:34 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.”Kings records a king of Judah carried off to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco, where he died.
- 2 Kings 24:15 (BSB)“Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”Kings records another king of Judah taken into exile in Babylon along with his mother.
General
True or False: At the end of the lament, the vine still has a branch strong enough to become a king's scepter (19:14).
Answer: False
This is false. The lament pictures the mother as a vine planted beside plenty of water, fruitful and tall, with strong branches fit to be scepters, the rods kings held as signs of their rule (19:10-11). But the vine is torn up in anger, thrown to the ground, dried by the east wind, and burned, and now it is replanted in a dry desert (19:12-13). Fire comes out from its own main branch and consumes its fruit, so no branch is left that could serve as a scepter (19:14). Ezekiel has already pictured Jerusalem as vine wood handed over to be burned (15:6) and a vine withered by the east wind (17:10), and a psalm mourns God's vine chopped down and set on fire (Psalm 80:16). The song ends with Judah's royal line brought low.
- Ezekiel 19:10-11 (BSB)“Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters. It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.”The mother is pictured as a well-watered vine whose sturdy limbs could serve as royal rods.
- Ezekiel 19:12-13 (BSB)“But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them. Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.”The vine is torn up in fury, dried by the east wind, burned, and replanted in a desert.
- Ezekiel 19:14 (BSB)“Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.””Fire from its own main branch consumes its fruit, and no scepter branch is left.
- Ezekiel 15:6 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.”God had already pictured Jerusalem's inhabitants as useless vine wood handed over for burning.
- Ezekiel 17:10 (BSB)“Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’””In chapter 17 the east wind withers the transplanted vine, the same judgment image.
- Psalm 80:16 (BSB)“Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.”The psalmist mourns that God's vine, Israel, lies chopped down and set ablaze.
Theological
True or False: The lament closes with the vine still bearing a branch fit to serve as a royal scepter (19:14).
Answer: False
This is false. The second image turns from lions to a vine: once planted by abundant water, fruitful, lofty, and furnished with branches fit for scepters (19:10-11), it is uprooted in fury, withered by the east wind, burned, and replanted in a parched wilderness (19:12-13). The fire that consumes it issues from its own main branch, and the poem ends with no scepter branch remaining (19:14), the royal line of Judah brought down by judgment. The image gathers Ezekiel's earlier vine oracles, the vine wood consigned to burning (15:6) and the vine withered by the east wind (17:10), and echoes the lament over God's vine hacked down and set ablaze (Psalm 80:16).
- Ezekiel 19:10-11 (BSB)“Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters. It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.”The mother is pictured as a well-watered vine whose sturdy limbs could serve as royal rods.
- Ezekiel 19:12-13 (BSB)“But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them. Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.”The vine is torn up in fury, dried by the east wind, burned, and replanted in a desert.
- Ezekiel 19:14 (BSB)“Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.””Fire from its own main branch consumes its fruit, and no scepter branch is left.
- Ezekiel 15:6 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.”God had already pictured Jerusalem's inhabitants as useless vine wood handed over for burning.
- Ezekiel 17:10 (BSB)“Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’””In chapter 17 the east wind withers the transplanted vine, the same judgment image.
- Psalm 80:16 (BSB)“Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.”The psalmist mourns that God's vine, Israel, lies chopped down and set ablaze.