Ezekiel 19:14
in Ezekiel 19Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it hath devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
KJV
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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This verse in Ezekiel 19
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFire is gone out - A vindictive and murderous disposition has taken hold: - Of a rod of her branches - Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, who was of the blood-royal of Judah: - Hath devoured her fruit - Hath assassinated Gedaliah, slain many people, and carried off others into the country of the Ammonites. But he was pursued by Jonathan, the son of Kareah, who slew many of his adherents, and delivered much of the people. She hath no strong rod - None of the blood-royal of Judah left.
This site's exposition
plucked up in fury
on Ezekiel 19:12-14
The vine is plucked up in fury and cast to the ground, the east wind drying its fruit until no strong rod remains. Planted in a dry and thirsty ground rather than by the waters, the vine sets fire in its own branches, a ruin that consumes itself.
This site's exposition
gone out from its main branch
Wesley reads the fire from the main branch as the rebellion of Zedekiah, the ruler whose revolt brought the king of Babylon against Jerusalem. Clarke sees Ishmael, a man of the royal branch. He murdered the governor Gedaliah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10 and following) Your mother is like a vine planted over the water, your blood. Its fruits and branches grew abundantly from many waters. And solid rods became scepters of rulers for it, and its stature was elevated in its branches. And it saw its height in the multitude of its palm trees. And in anger, it was uprooted and thrown to the ground, and a scorching wind dried up its fruit. Its strong rods withered and dried up, and fire consumed it. And now she has been transplanted into a desert in an impassable land and thirsty.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Fire - The fire of rebellion, kindled by Zedekiah, who is of the blood-royal. No strong rod - The regal dignity is ceased.
Orders given to the prophet to bewail the fall of the royal family, which had long made so great a figure by virtue of a covenant of royalty made with David and his seed, so that the eclipsing and extinguishing of it are justly lamented by all who know what value to put upon the covenant of our God, as we find, after a very large account of that covenant with David ( Ps. lxxxix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
6, 7 ), none of the house of David left that have a right to rule, no wise men, or men of sense, that are able to rule." It goes ill with any state, and is likely to go worse, when it is thus deprived of the blessings of government and has no strong rods for sceptres.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Isa 11:1) out of Zion," to reign first as a spiritual, then hereafter as a literal king. is . . . and shall be for a lamentation--Part of the lamentation (that as to Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim) was matter of history as already accomplished; part (as to Zedekiah) was yet to be fulfilled; or, this prophecy both is a subject for lamentation, and shall be so to distant posterity.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Fire is gone out - Compare the marginal reference. Zedekiah is regarded, like Abimelech, as all usurper and the ruin of his people.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And fire came out of the staff of its sturdy branches From the iniquity of its kings and princes, the evil came to it.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֵּצֵ֨א | vatetze' | and it went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵ֜שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִמַּטֵּ֤ה | mimateh | from [the] branch of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| בַדֶּ֙יהָ֙ | vadeiha | shoots its | H905 → | 200 times |
| פִּרְיָ֣הּ | piryah | fruit its | H6529 → | 119 times |
| אָכָ֔לָה | ʾakhalah | it consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֥יָה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָ֛הּ | vah | in it | ||
| מַטֵּה־ | mateh- | a branch of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| עֹ֖ז | ʾoz | strength | H5797 → | 92 times |
| שֵׁ֣בֶט | shevet | a scepter | H7626 → | 190 times |
| לִמְשׁ֑וֹל | limshol | to rule | H4910 → | |
| קִ֥ינָה | kinah | [is] a lamentation | H7015 → | 18 times |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַתְּהִ֥י | vatehi | and it has become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְקִינָֽה׃ פ | lekinah | <into> a lamentation | H7015 → | 18 times |
וַתֵּצֵ֨אand it went out
vatetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֵ֜שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִמַּטֵּ֤הfrom [the] branch of
mimatehH4294 →252 times
בַדֶּ֙יהָ֙shoots its
vadeihaH905 →200 times
פִּרְיָ֣הּfruit its
piryahH6529 →119 times
אָכָ֔לָהit consumed
ʾakhalahH398 →810 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֥יָהit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
בָ֛הּin it
vah
מַטֵּה־a branch of
mateh-H4294 →252 times
עֹ֖זstrength
ʾozH5797 →92 times
שֵׁ֣בֶטa scepter
shevetH7626 →190 times
לִמְשׁ֑וֹלto rule
limsholH4910 →
קִ֥ינָה[is] a lamentation
kinahH7015 →18 times
הִ֖יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
וַתְּהִ֥יand it has become
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
לְקִינָֽה׃ פ<into> a lamentation
lekinahH7015 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 19:1“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
it leads to
- Ezekiel 27:2
“Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.
- Ezekiel 26:17
Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all…
- 2 Kings 24:12
Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him…
- 2 Kings 23:34
Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he…
- 2 Kings 25:5–7
but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was separated from him.
- Ezekiel 27:2
Through
Ezekiel 19:11It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 31:3
Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
- Daniel 4:11
The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.
- Ezekiel 31:3
Through
2 Kings 24:20For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.