Ezekiel 19

Ezekiel 19:1-14

• In the ancient Near East, a funeral song had a special rhythm and style. It usually praised the good qualities of the person who had died. It also compared past glory with the present loss.

  In this chapter, however, the people being mourned were not yet dead. The song does not praise them. Instead, it lists their sins and failures. This funeral song clearly shows that their judgment was certain and explains why it would happen.

• The lion (Ezekiel 19:2–9) and the vine (19:10–14) were common pictures for Israel’s princes and for the royal family of Judah. These images would have been familiar to the people who first heard this message.

Ezekiel 19:2-4

• The first picture shows a lioness and one of her cubs, whom she chose as the leader of her group. This cub represents Jehoahaz, who ruled for only three months before Pharaoh Neco took him to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33–34).

• tear his prey … devoured men: The prophet describes Jehoahaz’s short reign in completely negative terms. He presents his rule as evil and harmful.

• In ancient times, hunters often caught lions with a net and a pit. In this passage, that picture is a metaphor for what would happen to Jehoahaz. He would be captured and taken away to Egypt by force.

Ezekiel 19:5-7

The second cub acted like the first one, but he was even more violent. He destroyed towns and cities.

This cub may represent Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, or Zedekiah. The text does not clearly say which one.

It is also not clear which towns and cities were destroyed. The prophet may be describing the harmful results of the king’s foolish foreign policy (his decisions about relationships with other nations). These choices brought suffering to the towns and cities of Judah.

Ezekiel 19:8-9

The Babylonians captured and killed Jehoiakim in Judah. They exiled Jehoiachin and Ezekiel to Babylon. Zedekiah's rule ended when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.

Ezekiel 19:10

The vine clearly represents Judah, whom the Lord had planted and cared for in the best possible conditions.

Ezekiel 19:11-12

Judah’s pride led to its fall. The Lord removed the nation in his anger (compare Ezekiel 17:1–10). He then placed Judah in exile. Exile is life away from the land God had given them. It was like being planted in a dry desert.

Ezekiel 19:13-14

The fire that came from the vine’s own branches probably represents Zedekiah. That fire burned up the fruit. The fruit represents the land and the people.

After this destruction, no strong branch remained. There was no branch able to become a ruler’s scepter (a symbol of kingly authority). Zedekiah would not have an immediate successor.

Aquifer Open Study Notes © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.