1.
Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
princes. Septuagint reads"prince"(singular) Here refers to Zedekiah.
Israel. Put here for Judah. See note on 1 Kings 12:17 .
2.
And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
thy mother. Probably Hamutal, one of the wives of Josiah, the mother of Shallum (or Jehoahaz) and Zedekiah (2 Kings 23:31 and Ezekiel 24:18 ). The other son of Josiah (Jehoiakim) had a different mother (Zebudah). See 2 Kings 23:36 .
3.
And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
one of her whelps. Probably Jehoahaz (i.e. Shah lam), the youngest son of Josiah, is intended (1 Chronicles 3:15 ).
catch = rend,
men. Hebrew ' adam . App-14 ,
4.
The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
taken in their pit. As a lion is taken (Psalms 35:7 ; Psalms 94:13 ).
they : i.e. Pharaoh = necho (2 Kings 23:30-34 . 2 Chronicles 36:1-4 ). Jeremiah laments his fate. See Jeremiah 22:10-12 .
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.
another of her whelps. Probably Jehoiakim, an other son of Josiah (2 Kings 23:36 . 2 Chronicles 36:1-4 ). Hardly Jehoiachin, who reigned only three months (2 Kings 24:8 ). But Jehoiakim reigned eleven years, and his character corresponds with Ezekiel 19:7-8 , here. See 2Ki 23:36 ; 2 Kings 24:1-6 , Jeremiah 22:11-19 .
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.
knew their desolate palaces. Aramaean and Septuagint read "injured or defiled his widows".
knew = knew carnally. See 2 Chronicles 36:8 .
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.
in ward in chains = in a cage with hooks (or hoops), as lions are represented on the monuments. See 2 Chronicles 36:5-7 , and Jeremiah 22:13-19 .
king. Some codices read "land".
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.
Thy mother. Another Simile . See the Structure (W, p. 1130).
in thy blood: or, in thy vineyard (according to Dr. C. D. Ginsburg).
waters. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 8:7 ). App-92 .
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.
wind. Hebrew. ruach . App-9 .
13.
And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
now , &c. Referring to Jeconiah and Ezekiel's own days (1, 3; and 2 Kings 24:12-16 ).
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.
of a rod : or, of the rod: i.e. Zedekiah, who byhis perjury brought about the destruction of Jerusalem by fire,