Ezekiel 19:12

But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Ezekiel addresses the house of Israel regarding the downfall of Judah’s monarchy, immediately following his description of the tree’s former royal height in verse 11. He delivers this oracle to the exiled community to explain their current national collapse.

The words — בְּ/חֵמָה (be./che.Mah) translates literally as “in rage,” describing the motive for the tree’s removal. הוֹבִ֣ישׁ (ho.Vish) means “it dried up,” detailing the east wind’s effect on the fruit.

The thread — The motif of an east wind withering vegetation appears in Ezekiel 17:10, Hosea 13:15, and Isaiah 27:11. These passages consistently pair divine judgment with the same agricultural imagery of sudden drying and destruction.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human power and royal ambition are subject to sudden, irreversible removal. It requires the reader to accept that divine fury, not human strategy, determines the fate of leaders and nations.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתֻּתַּ֤שׁva./tu.Tashand/ it was plucked up בְּחֵמָה֙be./che.Mahin/ rage לָאָ֣רֶץla./'A.retzto the/ ground הֻשְׁלָ֔כָהhush.La.khahit was thrown down וְר֥וּחַve./Ru.achand/ [the] wind of הַקָּדִ֖יםha./ka.Dimthe/ east הוֹבִ֣ישׁho.Vishit dried up פִּרְיָ֑הּpir.Ya/hfruit/ its הִתְפָּרְק֧וּhit.pa.re.Kuthey were torn off וְיָבֵ֛שׁוּve./ya.Ve.shuand/ they became dry מַטֵּ֥הma.Teh[the] branch of עֻזָּ֖הּ'u.Za/hstrength/ its אֵ֥שׁ'esha fire אֲכָלָֽתְהוּ׃'a.kha.La.te./huit consumed/ it

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 17:10 Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”
Hosea 13:15 Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
Isaiah 27:11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
Jeremiah 31:28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 15:4 No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
Ezekiel 19:11 It 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.
Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
2 Kings 23:29 During Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
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 died.
2 Kings 24:6 And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.