Ezekiel 19
19
Allegory of the Lions#Some commentators identify Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, sons of the same mother, as the “two young lions”; they were deported to Egypt and Babylon respectively. Cf. 2 Kgs 23:31–34; 24:18–20.
1As for you, raise a lamentation over the princes of Israel, 2and say:
What a lioness was your mother,
a lion among lions!
She made her lair among young lions,
to raise her cubs;
3One cub she raised up,
a young lion he became;
He learned to tear apart prey,
he devoured people.#2 Kgs 23:31–34.
4Nations heard about him;
in their pit he was caught;
They took him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.#A common fate for royal prisoners: e.g., Assurbanipal claims he put a ring in the jaw of a captive king and a dog collar around his neck (cf. v. 9). A wall relief shows Esarhaddon holding two royal captives with ropes tied to rings in their lips. #2 Chr 36:4.
5When she realized she had waited in vain,
she lost hope.
She took another of her cubs,
and made him a young lion.
6He prowled among the lions,
became a young lion;
He learned to tear apart prey,
he devoured people.#2 Kgs 24:9.
7He ravaged their strongholds,
laid waste their cities.
The earth and everything in it were terrified
at the sound of his roar.
8Nations laid out against him
snares all around;
They spread their net for him,
in their pit he was caught.#2 Kgs 24:2–15.
9They put him in fetters and took him away
to the king of Babylon,
So his roar would no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
Allegory of the Vine Branch
10Your mother was like a leafy vine#Vine: Judah. One strong branch: the Davidic king. This allegory describes the deportation of the Davidic dynasty to Babylon and laments the destruction of the house of David. From Ezekiel’s perspective, the arrogance of Judah’s kings leads to this tragedy (vv. 12–14).
planted by water,
Fruitful and full of branches
because of abundant water.
11One strong branch grew
into a royal scepter.
So tall it towered among the clouds,
conspicuous in height,
with dense foliage.#Dn 4:11.
12But she was torn out in fury
and flung to the ground;
The east wind withered her up,
her fruit was plucked away;
Her strongest branch dried up,
fire devoured it.#Hos 13:15.
13Now she is planted in a wilderness,
in a dry, parched land.#cf. Ez 20:35.
14Fire flashed from her branch,
and devoured her shoots;
Now she does not have a strong branch,
a royal scepter!#cf. Ez 20:47.
This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.
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Ezekiel 19: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Ezekiel 19
19
1 "And as for you, take up a lament over the leaders of Israel,
2 and you shall say: Why did your mother, the lioness, recline among the male lions, and raise her little ones in the midst of young lions?
3 And she led away one of her little ones, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to consume men.
4 And the Gentiles heard about him, and they seized him, but not without receiving wounds. And they led him away in chains to the land of Egypt.
5 Then, when she had seen that she was weakened, and that her hope had perished, she took one of her little ones, and appointed him as a lion.
6 And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.
7 He learned to make widows, and to lead their citizens into the desert. And the land, with its plenitude, was made desolate by the voice of his roaring.
8 And the Gentiles came together against him, on every side, from the provinces, and they spread their net over him; by their wounds, he was captured.
9 And they put him into a cage; they led him in chains to the king of Babylon. And they cast him into a prison, so that his voice would no longer be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother is like a vine, in your blood, planted by the water; her fruit and her branches have increased because of many waters.
11 And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was uprooted in wrath, and cast upon the ground. And the burning wind dried up her fruit. Her robust branches withered and were dried up. A fire consumed her.
13 And now she has been transplanted into the desert, into a land impassable and dry.
14 And a fire has gone forth from a rod of her branches, which has consumed her fruit. And there is no strong branch in her to become a scepter for the rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be a lamentation."
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