Ezekiel 19

Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

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.

And he went up and down among the lions, 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 fulness 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 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.

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 for a lamentation.

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Ezekiel 19:5

“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.”

Study Summary

When the lioness sees that her hope is lost through the imprisonment of the first cub, she takes another of her cubs and makes him a strong young lion. The lioness's response to the first cub's captivity demonstrates maternal instinct and dynastic persistence: even as one heir is lost, another is prepared to assume the throne. This represents the succession of Jehoiakim to replace his deposed brother.

Community Reflections

Adam Smith 2 (test user)7h ago

The meaning of sacrifice — Ezekiel 19

We bring nothing; He provides everything.. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. My grandmother used to quote this verse every morning. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often miss.. I notice the repetition here is deliberate — the author wants us to feel the emphasis, to let the truth sink deep into our hearts.. God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain, yet chosen. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. The contrast between human weakness and divine…

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