Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 19:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 19:11. She had strong rods — Zedekiah, and his many sons.

Her stature was exalted — Zedekiah grew proud of his numerous offspring and prosperity; and although he copied the example of Jehoiakim, yet he thought he might safely rebel against the king of Babylon.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Mourning for Judah’s kings (19:1-14)

Although the prophet realized that God’s judgment on the sinful people of Judah was fitting, he felt sorry for those Judean kings who fell victim to the foreign invaders (19:1). Judah was like a mother lion whose young lions became kings to rule over nations. However, when Egypt in 609 BC gained control of the region, Judah’s king Jehoahaz was captured, bound and taken to Egypt, where he later died (2-4; see 2 Kings 23:31-34).

The next ‘lion’ had all the fierce and aggressive characteristics of Judah’s next king, Jehoiakim (5-8; see 2 Kings 23:36-37; 2 Kings 24:1; Jeremiah 22:13-19). Unlike the kings before and after him, Jehoiakim died not in a foreign country but in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:19). His son and successor, Jehoiachin, was captured and taken prisoner to Babylon. Although Jehoiachin reigned only three months, he showed he had the same evil characteristics as his father (9; see 2 Kings 24:8-15).

Judah is pictured also as a strong healthy vine, and her kings as fruitful branches of that vine. But the ‘vine’ withered and was taken, along with its last rightful king, Jehoiachin, into the dry and thirsty land of Babylon (10-13). Back in Jerusalem the king appointed by Babylon proved to be a ‘fire’ who destroyed the little that remained of the vine. Through Zedekiah both the nation and the Davidic line of kings came to an end (14; see 2 Kings 24:20-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“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. 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. but it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit: the strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them. And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. And fire has gone out of the rods of the 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.”

Here is the second dirge; the imagery is changed. In the first, the likeness of Israel was that of a den of ferocious lion cubs; here the comparison is with a vine that is ripped up from its favorable place, transferred to a dry and thirsty land, and burned up through the fire that comes out of her own branches (the princes), one of whom, namely, Zedekiah, following the advice of the others, rebelled against his suzerain lord and precipitated the ruin of the whole nation.

“The mother in both lamentations is the same, that is, the nation of Israel.”J. B. Thompson, p. 154,

“Strong rods (branches) for sceptres of them that bare rule” “This is a reference to the successive kings of Judah.”F. F. Bruce in the New Layman’s Bible Commentary. p. 879.

“Plucked up in fury… cast down to the ground… east wind dried up its fruit” All of these are references to the destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon.

“Mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters” Commentators have complained that the phrase, “in thy blood is meaningless,”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 504. or that, “This expression can hardly be right.”J. B. Thompson, p. 155. However, Cook seemed to have no trouble with it. He stated that, “the mother, living in the life of her children” was planted favorably by the waters.Albert Barnes’ Commentary, p.346.

The thought is correct, whether or not, this is an accurate rendition. “Ezekiel 19:12-14 describe the final destruction and captivity of Judah. Zedekiah’s rebellion was the cause of the total rain of the nation.”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 504.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Sceptres - Genesis 49:10.

The thick branches - Or, the clouds; so Ezekiel 31:3, Ezekiel 31:10, Ezekiel 31:14.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

He adds, she had branches, that is, vine twigs, for the scepters of those who bear rule. Those who translate with or above the scepters of rulers do not seem to me to comprehend the Prophet’s meaning. I have no doubt he intends that scepters were gathered from these vine branches, or rather that they were so formed as to be like royal scepters. Although this translation seems rather rough, yet the sense is not doubtful; because the Prophet means that kings were taken from the people just as branches from the vine, as God chose king’s from David to Zedekiah. In this sense he says that the vine branches became scepters of the rulers. He afterwards adds, her stature was conspicuous, that she was remarkable for her loftiness even in the multitude of the vine branches. This is extended to the whole body of the people. Since mention is made of the king, there is no doubt that God commends his grace towards the whole people, whose safety and happiness were placed in the king, as we saw elsewhere. But he asserts more clearly that the people had increased, so that they excelled in population, power, and wealth. On the whole, the Prophet teaches that the Jews were adorned from the beginning with all kinds of advantages, since God’s best gifts shone forth there, and their dignity was conspicuous, and their opulence great, since he unites the multitude of the boughs or vine branches with their height.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 19

Moreover, take thou up a lamentation ( Ezekiel 19:1 )

So this is a lamentation. Notice at the beginning he says a lamentation and then at the end he said, "This is a lamentation and shall be a lamentation." Now if I were a Bible critic, I would tell you why this wasn't a lamentation. If I were in the school of higher criticism, one of those biblical scholars.

Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say, What is thy mother? She's a lioness: she laid down among the lions, and she nourished her whelps among the lions ( Ezekiel 19:1-2 ).

These are the princes now. Your mother is a lioness. She laid down among the lions.

And she brought up one of her whelps: and it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; and it devoured men. And the nations also heard of him; and he was taken in their pit [caught in their trap], and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt ( Ezekiel 19:3-4 ).

That would be the prince, or the king Jehoahaz.

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 ( Ezekiel 19:5 ).

This would be Jehoiachin.

And he went up and down among the lions, and he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in a ward in chains, and they brought him to the king of Babylon: and they brought him unto [the prisons] the holds, and his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel ( Ezekiel 19:6-9 ).

Jehoiachin was carried away captive to Babylon.

And 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. 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. 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. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. 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 a lamentation ( Ezekiel 19:10-14 ).

It, of course, speaks of the end of the kings of Israel because of their being conquered. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Ezekiel changed the figure of the Davidic dynasty to that of a fruitful vine in a vineyard. This vine was fruitful and it flourished because it enjoyed abundant resources. The Davidic dynasty was like a fruitful vine among the other nations because God blessed it (Ezekiel 15:1-6; Ezekiel 17:1-10; Deuteronomy 8:7-8; Psalms 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:1-7; Isaiah 24:7; Isaiah 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21; Jeremiah 6:9; cf. Matthew 21:33-41; John 15:1-8). Its branches were so strong that they proved usable as scepters for rulers. The vine became exceedingly large in the season of its greatest glory, the days of David and Solomon.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The vine and its branch 19:10-14

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bear rule,.... That is, many sprung from her, and rose up in that nation who were fit to hold sceptres to be kings, rulers and governors, and were such. So the Targum.

"and there were in her strong rulers, kings that were, highly to subdue kingdoms;''

such as David, Solomon, and at hers after them: or this may refer to the times of Josiah, and at his death, who left behind him several sons, who became kings, besides other princes of the blood; as his brother Mattaniah, who also was king: and some even carry this to Zedekiah himself, who had many children, who seemed to be strong rods, fit for sceptres, or sceptre bearers; that is, to be kings. The allusion seems to be to the sceptres of the ancients, which were no other than walking sticks, cut off of the stems or branches of trees, and decorated with gold, or studded with golden nails. Thus Achilles is introduced by Homer c as swearing by a sceptre; which, being cut off of a trunk of a tree left on the mountains, and stripped of its bark and leaves, should never more produce leaves and branches, or sprout again: and such an one, he observes, the Grecian judges, εν παλαμης

φορεουσι, carry in their hands. Sometimes they were made of the "oleaster" d, or wild olive, the same as a shepherd's staff; for what shepherds were to their flocks, that were kings to men;

and her stature was exalted among the thick branches; as the body and trunk of a tree rises up higher than the branches, which are thickest about the middle of it, and so more eminent and conspicuous; thus it was with the nation of the Jews, and the royal family in it, that appeared more glorious and excellent among the nobles and princes of it; or, as the Targum expresses it,

"it was lifted up in its strength above its own kingdom;''

or rather the sense is, that in the days of David and Solomon, and some others, it greatly exceeded all the kingdoms of the nations round about it:

and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches; was seen and taken notice of for the multitude of her people, and the grandeur of her state.

c Iliad. 1. l. 234, &c. d Paschal. de Coronis, l. 6. c. 19. p. 406, 407.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      Jerusalem, the mother-city, is here represented by another similitude; she is a vine, and the princes are her branches. This comparison we had before, Ezekiel 15:1; Ezekiel 15:1. Jerusalem is as a vine; the Jewish nation is so: Like a vine in they blood (Ezekiel 19:10; Ezekiel 19:10), the blood-royal, like a vine set in blood and watered with blood, which contributes very much to the flourishing and fruitfulness of vines, as if the blood which had been shed had been designed for the fattening and improving of the soil, in such plenty was it shed; and for a time it seemed to have that effect, for she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of the waters, the many waters near which she was planted. Places of great wickedness may prosper for a while; and a vine set in blood may be full of branches. Jerusalem was full of able magistrates, men of sense, men of learning and experience, that were strong rods, branches of this vine of uncommon bulk and strength, or poles for the support of this vine, for such magistrates are. The boughs of this vine had grown to such maturity that they were fit to make white staves of for the sceptres of those that bore rule,Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 19:11. And those are strong rods that are fit for sceptres, men of strong judgments and strong resolutions that are fit for magistrates. When the royal family of Judah was numerous, and the courts of justice were filled with men of sense and probity, then Jerusalem's stature was exalted among thick branches; when the government is in good able hands a nation is thereby made considerable Then she was not taken for a weak and lowly vine, but she appeared in her height, a distinguished city, with the multitude of her branches. Tanquam lenta solent inter viburna cupressi--Midst humble withies thus the cypress soars. "In thy quietness" (so some read that, Ezekiel 19:10; Ezekiel 19:10, which we translate in thy blood) "thou wast such a vine as this." When Zedekiah was quiet and easy under the king of Babylon's yoke his kingdom flourished thus. See how slow God is to anger, how he defers his judgments, and waits to be gracious. 2. This vine is now quite destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar, being highly provoked by Zedekiah's treachery, plucked it up in fury (Ezekiel 19:12; Ezekiel 19:12), ruined the city and kingdom, and cut off all the branches of the royal family that fell in his way. The vine was cut off close to the ground, though not plucked up by the roots. The east wind dried up the fruit that was blasted. The young people fell by the sword, or were carried into captivity. The aspect of it had nothing that was pleasing, the prospect nothing that was promising. Her strong rods were broken and withered; her great men were cut off, judges and magistrates deposed. The vine itself is planted in the wilderness,Ezekiel 19:13; Ezekiel 19:13. Babylon was as a wilderness to those of the people that were carried captives thither; the land of Judah was as a wilderness to Jerusalem, now that the whole country was ravaged and laid waste by the Chaldean army--a fruitful land turned into barrenness. "It is burnt with fire (Psalms 80:16) and that fire has gone out of a rod of her branches (Ezekiel 19:14; Ezekiel 19:14); the king himself, by rebelling against the king of Babylon, has given occasion to all this mischief. She may thank herself for the fire that consumes her; she has by her wickedness made herself like tinder to the sparks of God's wrath, so that her own branches serve as fuel for her own consumption; in them the fire is kindled which devoured the fruit, the sins of the elder being the judgments which destroy the younger; her fruit is burned with her own branches, so that she has no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule, none to be found now that are fit for the government or dare take this ruin under their hand, as the complaint is (Isaiah 3:6; Isaiah 3:7), none of the house of David left that have a right to rule, no wise men, or men of sense, that are able to rule." It goes ill with any state, and is likely to go worse, when it is thus deprived of the blessings of government and has no strong rods for sceptres. Woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is a child, for it is as well to have no rod as not a strong rod. Those strong rods, we have reason to fear, had been instruments of oppression, assistant to the king in catching the prey and devouring men, and now they are destroyed with him. Tyranny is the inlet to anarchy; and, when the rod of government is turned into the serpent of oppression, it is just with God to say, "There shall be no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule; but let men be as are the fishes of the sea, where the greater devour the less." Note, This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation. The prophet was bidden (Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 19:1) to take up a lamentation; and, having done so, he leaves it to be made use of by others. "It is a lamentation to us of this age, and, the desolations continuing long, it shall be for a lamentation to those that shall come after us; the child unborn will rue the destruction made of Judah and Jerusalem by the present judgments. They were a great while in coming; the bow was long in the drawing; but now that they have come they will continue, and the sad effects of them will be entailed upon posterity." Note, Those who fill up the measure of their fathers' sins are laying up in store for their children's sorrows and furnishing them with matter for lamentation; and nothing is more so than the overthrow of government.