Ezekiel 19
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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.
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.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Ezekiel 19:1-14
A Lament for the Princes of Israel
1And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2and say:
What was your mother? A lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
3And she brought up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
4The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
6He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
7and seized their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
8Then the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
they spread their net over him;
he was taken in their pit.
9With hooks they put him in a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
10Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard
planted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
by reason of abundant water.
11Its strong stems became
rulers’ scepters;
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;
it was seen in its height
with the mass of its branches.
12But the vine was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
fire consumed it.
13Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
14And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
has consumed its fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Ezek. 19:1-14
A Lament Over Israel’s Princes
1“Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2and say:
“ ‘What a lioness was your mother
among the lions!
She lay down among them
and reared her cubs.
3She brought up one of her cubs,
and he became a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
and he became a man-eater.
4The nations heard about him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5“ ‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled,
her expectation gone,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a strong lion.
6He prowled among the lions,
for he was now a strong lion.
He learned to tear the prey
and he became a man-eater.
7He broke down their strongholds
and devastated their towns.
The land and all who were in it
were terrified by his roaring.
8Then the nations came against him,
those from regions round about.
They spread their net for him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
9With hooks they pulled him into a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon.
They put him in prison,
so his roar was heard no longer
on the mountains of Israel.
10“ ‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard
planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
because of abundant water.
11Its branches were strong,
fit for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered high
above the thick foliage,
conspicuous for its height
and for its many branches.
12But it was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
The east wind made it shrivel,
it was stripped of its fruit;
its strong branches withered
and fire consumed them.
13Now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and thirsty land.
14Fire spread from one of its main branches
and consumed its fruit.
No strong branch is left on it
fit for a ruler’s scepter.’
This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
Our own unfaithfulness is often the cause of God’s blessings being removed. Israel’s sins before they were taken captive by a foreign land were great. The nation as a whole was living in transgression of God’s holy law. So, we too, may look to the transgression of God’s commands as the cause of much of our weakness spiritually. We are each privileged to take responsibility for our part of a problem. We need an awareness of self that leads us to taking ownership of areas where we fall short. because "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
In spite of God’s call to holiness, human error and weakness always comes out. While we’re in the furnace of affliction, learning hard lessons, let us remember it is God who is teaching us through adversity, trouble, and heartache. Perhaps we can echo with the Israelites following the Egyptian bondage: God has not led us out here to die. God is guiding our lives, and He has a perfect purpose and plan to all His dealings with the sons of men.
May we say with Job: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Chris Hufnagel
Pastor, Brunswick/Camden SDA Churches, Georgia USA (as of this writing)
