Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 19:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 19:6. And he went up and down among the lions — He became a perfect heathen, and made Judea as idolatrous as any of the surrounding nations. He reigned eleven years, a monster of iniquity, 2 Kings 23:30, &c.

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

“Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of young lions she nourished her whelps. And she brought up one of her whelps: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks into the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.”

“The princes of Israel” “Israel here is the whole Jewish nation over which the king of Judah was the only rightful sovereign.” The kings of Northern Israel were usurpers; and besides that, the Northern Israel was already in captivity and were no longer a factor in the prophetic considerations.

This paragraph outlines the disasters that befell the final kings of Judah, “in terms of the misfortunes of a brood of lion whelps.”F. F. Bruce in the New Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 876 Jeremiah discusses the descendants of Josiah in Jeremiah 22:10-30.

The dramatic truth revealed by Ezekiel here is that, “Israel has put herself upon the level of the heathen nations around her, and has adopted the tyrannical and rapacious nature of the powers of the world. Israel has thus struck out upon a course opposed to her divine calling, and will now have to taste the bitter fruits of her heathen ways.”Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 259.

“One of her whelps” The first whelp mentioned here is a reference to Jehoahaz II (Shallum). “He was carried into captivity in Egypt after a brief three-months reign, during the year 609 B.C., by Pharaoh-Necco.John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 286. Jehoiachim succeeded Jehoahaz II, but Ezekiel ignored him in this analogy, skipping over his rather long and bloody reign to the second whelp, which is Jehoiachin, (Jeconiah, or Coniah).

It is the mention of the first whelp’s being carried to Egypt that gives us the clue to his identity. Also, in this identification with Jehoahaz II gives us the clue for recognizing Jehoiachin as the second whelp. Neither one of the real “princes of Israel” reigned any more than three months. Both Jehoiachim and Zedekiah were vassals of foreign lords, Jehoiachim of Egypt, and Zedekiah of Babylon. Thus the pitiful termination of the “house of David” is seen in the 90-day reigns of his terminal princes. We are aware that many very learned scholars suppose that Jehoiachim and/or Zedekiah to be one of the two whelps; but Zedekiah is eliminated from consideration because he received a special elegy of his own in Ezekiel 19:10-14, and does not particularly belong in the first one.

There is one very strong objection to our identification of these two whelps, and that was stated by Bruce. “Some scholars see Jehoiachin as the second whelp, but the language of Ezekiel 19:6-8 does not fit him at all.”F. F. Bruce in the New Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 878. This is true enough, but it does not fit Jehoahaz II either; and even Bruce admits him to be the first whelp.

Although neither Jehoahaz II nor Jehoiachin reigned long enough for their true character to manifest itself, their character is set forth here under the figure of ravaging lions that “devoured men.” This is God’s estimate of what those kings actually were; and God’s judgment of them is confirmed by the enmity of Egypt against the first one, and of Babylon against the second one, leading to their capture and deportation. The mention of their being taken in a pit, and “by hooks” conforms to the imagery of trapping wild beasts, and is not a description of their capture.

Plumptre agreed that Jehoiachim was not the second whelp;E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 345. and Cooke also recognized that in Ezekiel 19:9, “The allusion is to Jehoiachin, not to Zedekiah.”International Critical Commentary, p. 207.

“Keil likewise identified the two whelps of this passage as Jehoahaz and Jehoachin, who were chosen here merely as examples, because they both fell into the hands of world powers. Moreover their fate showed very clearly what the end would inevitably be when the Jewish kings became ambitious to be “lions” like the kings of the nations around them.”Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 260.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Chains - See the marginal rendering to Ezekiel 19:9 and Isaiah 27:9, note.

Ezekiel 19:5

Another - Jehoiachin who soon showed himself no less unworthy than Jehoahaz. The “waiting” of the people was during the absence of their rightful lord Jehoahaz, a captive in Egypt while Jehoiakim, whom they deemed an usurper, was on the throne. It was not until Jehoiachin succeeded, that they seemed to themselves to have a monarch of their own 2 Kings 24:6.

Ezekiel 19:7

Their desolate palaces - Rather, his palaces, built upon the ground, from where he had ejected the former owners.

Ezekiel 19:8

The nations - are here the Chaldaeans: see the marginal references.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Ezekiel confirms what I have already briefly touched on, that this second lion was no less savage and cruel than the former, of which he had spoken. As to the phrase, he walked among lions, it means that his government was tyrannical, since there was then such foul barbarity in those regions, that, kings were scarcely human in their conduct. Since, therefore, kings were then everywhere like lions, the Prophet says that Jehoiakim was not different from them, but in every sense their ally. He walked, therefore, he says, in the midst of lions, since he imitated their ferocity, which at length he expresses more clearly, that he became a lion, and was taught to seize his prey, so as to devour not only animals, but men, thus marking his extreme cruelty. He afterwards adds —

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

The lion and her cubs 19:1-9

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

With the death of this cub the lioness took another of her offspring and made him dominant. He gained his position among the other rulers of the area and also became violent and destructive, like the first cub. He so devastated his own land that the people in it despaired. His neighbors also trapped this lion and took him captive to Babylon thus ending his reign.

This describes the career of King Jehoiachin, who also ruled over Judah for only three months (in 598-597 B.C.). Probably the writer omitted referring to King Jehoiakim, the intervening king, because he was not taken into exile like Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin. Other interpreters believe King Jehoiakim is the person in view. [Note: E.g., Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 256; and Block, The Book . . ., pp. 604-7.] The Babylonians captured Jehoiachin and took him into exile in 597 B.C. Later he enjoyed a measure of freedom, but he never returned to rule over Judah (2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Kings 25:27-30; 2 Chronicles 36:8-10).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And he went up and down among the lions,.... The kings, as the Targum; kings of neighbouring nations, as Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and sometimes he was subject to the one, and sometimes to the offer: and his going up and down among them may denote his continuance as a king; for whereas his brother reigned but three months, he reigned eleven years:

he became a young lion; an oppressive prince, a cruel and tyrannical king:

and learned to catch the prey, [and] devoured men; he was notorious for his acts of injustice and arbitrary power; for the detaining the wages of workmen, and for his oppression, violence, and rapine, and shedding of innocent blood, Jeremiah 22:13.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      Here are, I. Orders given to the prophet to bewail the fall of the royal family, which had long made so great a figure by virtue of a covenant of royalty made with David and his seed, so that the eclipsing and extinguishing of it are justly lamented by all who know what value to put upon the covenant of our God, as we find, after a very large account of that covenant with David ( Psalms 89:3; Psalms 89:20, c.), a sad lamentation for the decays and desolations of his family (Isaiah 89:38; Isaiah 89:39): But thou hast cast off and abhorred, hast made void the covenant of thy servant and profaned his crown, c. The kings of Judah are here called princes of Israel for their glory was diminished and they had become but as princes, and their purity was lost; they had become corrupt and idolatrous as the kings of Israel, whose ways they had learned. The prophet must take up a lamentation for them; that is, he must describe their lamentable fall as one that did himself lay it to heart, and desired that those he preached and wrote to might do so to. And how can we expect that others should be affected with that which we ourselves are not affected with? Ministers, when they boldly foretel, must yet bitterly lament the destruction of sinners, as those that have not desired the woeful day. He is not directed to give advice to the princes of Israel (that had been long and often done in vain), but, the decree having gone forth, he must take up a lamentation for them.

      II. Instructions given him what to say. 1. He must compare the kingdom of Judah to a lioness, so wretchedly degenerated was it from what it had been formerly, when it sat as a queen among the nations, Ezekiel 19:2; Ezekiel 19:2. What is thy mother? thine, O king? (we read of Solomon's crown wherewith his mother crowned him, that is, his people, Song of Solomon 3:11), thine, O Judah? The royal family is as a mother to the kingdom, a nursing mother. She is a lioness, fierce, and cruel, and ravenous. When they had left their divinity they soon lost their humanity too; and, when they feared not God, neither did they regard man. She lay down among lions. God had said, The people shall dwell alone, but they mingled with the nations and learned their works. She nourished her whelps among young lions, taught the young princes the way of tyrants, which was then used by the arbitrary kings of the east, filled their heads betimes with notions of their absolute despotic power, and possessed them with a belief that they had a right to enslave their subjects, that their liberty and property lay at their mercy: thus she nourished her whelps among young lions. 2. He must compare the kings of Judah to lions' whelps,Ezekiel 19:3; Ezekiel 19:3. Jacob had compared Judah, and especially the house of David, to a lion's whelp, for its being strong and formidable to its enemies abroad (Genesis 49:9, He is an old lion; who shall stir him up?) and, if they had adhered to the divine law and promise, God would have preserved to them the might, and majesty, and dominion of a lion, and does it in Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But these lions' whelps were so to their own subjects, were cruel and oppressive to them, preyed upon their estates and liberties; and, when they thus by their tyranny made themselves a terror to those whom they ought to have protected, it was just with God to make those a terror to them whom otherwise they might have subdued. Here is lamented, (1.) The sin and fall of Jehoahaz, one of the whelps of this lioness. He became a young lion (Ezekiel 19:3; Ezekiel 19:3); he was made king, and thought he was made so that he might do what he pleased, and gratify his own ambition, covetousness, and revenge, as he had a mind; and so he was soon master of all the arts of tyranny; he learned to catch the prey and devoured men. When he got power into his hand, all that had before in any thing disobliged him were made to feel his resentments and become a sacrifice to his rage. But what came of it? He did not prosper long in his tyranny: The nations heard of him (Ezekiel 19:4; Ezekiel 19:4), heard how furiously he drove at his first coming to the crown, how he trampled upon all that is just and sacred, and violated all his engagements, so that they looked upon him as a dangerous neighbour, and prosecuted him accordingly, as a multitude of shepherds is called forth against a lion roaring on his prey,Isaiah 31:4. And he was taken, as a beast of prey, in their pit. His own subjects durst not stand up in defence of their liberties, but God raised up a foreign power that soon put an end to his tyranny, and brought him in chains to the land of Egypt. Thither Jehoahaz was carried captive, and never heard of more. (2.) The like sin and fall of his successor Jehoiakim. The kingdom of Judah for some time expected the return of Jehoahaz out of Egypt, but at length despaired of it, and then took another of the lion's whelps, and made him a young lion,Ezekiel 19:5; Ezekiel 19:5. And he, instead of taking warning by his brother's fate to use his power with equity and moderation, and to seek the good of his people, trod in his brother's steps: He went up and down among the lions,Ezekiel 19:6; Ezekiel 19:6. He consulted and conversed with those that were fierce and furious like himself, and took his measures from them, as Rehoboam took the advice of the rash and hot-headed young men. And he soon learned to catch the prey, and he devoured men (Ezekiel 19:6; Ezekiel 19:6); he seized his subjects' estates, fined and imprisoned them, filled his treasury by rapine and injustice, sequestrations and confiscations, fines and forfeitures, and swallowed up all that stood in his way. He had got the art of discovering what effects men had that lay concealed, and where the treasures were which they had hoarded up; he knew their desolate places (Ezekiel 19:7; Ezekiel 19:7), where they his their money and sometimes hid themselves; he knew where to find both out; and by his oppression he laid waste their cities, depopulated them by forcing the inhabitants to remove their families to some place of safety. The land was desolate, and the country villages were deserted; and though there was great plenty, and a fulness of all good things, yet people quitted it all for fear of the noise of his roaring. He took a pride in making all his subjects afraid of him, as the lion makes all the beasts of the forest to tremble (Amos 3:8), and by his terrible roaring so astonished them that they fell down for fear, and, having not spirit to make their escape, became an easy prey to him, as they say the lions do. He hectored, and threatened, and talked big, and bullied people out of what they had. Thus he thought to establish his own power, but it had a contrary effect, it did but hasten his own ruin (Ezekiel 19:8; Ezekiel 19:8): The nations set against him on every side, to restrain and reduce his exorbitant power, which they joined in confederacy to do for their common safety; and they spread their net over him, formed designs against him. God brought against Jehoiakim bands of the Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, with the Chaldees (2 Kings 24:2), and he was taken in their pit. Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon,2 Chronicles 36:6. They put this lion within grates, bound him in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon,Ezekiel 19:9; Ezekiel 19:9. What became of him we know not; but his voice was nowhere heard roaring upon the mountains of Israel. There was an end of his tyranny: he was buried with the burial of an ass (Jeremiah 22:19), though he had been as a lion, the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Note, The righteousness of God is to be acknowledged when those who have terrified and enslaved others are themselves terrified and enslaved, when those who by the abuse of their power to destruction which was given them for edification make themselves as wild beasts, as roaring lions and ranging bears (for such, Solomon says, wicked rulers are over the poor people,Proverbs 28:15), are treated as such--when those who, like Ishmael, have their hand against every man, come at last to have every man's hand against them. It was long since observed that bloody tyrants seldom die in peace, but have blood given them to drink, for they are worthy.