CHAPTER 19 Sep. 23 
Lamentation for Judah’s Princes
Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel 2and say, What was your mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her cubs. 3She brought up one of her cubs: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. 4The nations also heard of him; he was caught in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. 5Now when she saw that she had waited and her hope was lost, then she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion. 6He went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men. 7He knew their palaces and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and its fullness, because of the noise of his roaring. 8Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit. 9They put him in a cage with hooks and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, 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 waters. It was fruitful and full of branches because of the many waters. 11It had strong rods for the sceptres of those who bore rule, and their height was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches. 12But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them. 13Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. 14Fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it has 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.

Commentary

19:2 The lioness represents Judah or Jerusalem. 
19:3 She brought up one of her cubs- Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, whose father was conquered killed by Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt. 
19:5 Took another of her cubs- Jehoiakim, after Jehoahaz had been taken to Egypt (:4).
19:6 He went up and down among the lions- Jehoiakim acted like the leaders [“lions”] around him in the Gentile world.
19:11 A reference to Zedekiah and his sons; but Zedekiah became proud, was broken down by the Babylonians and Jerusalem was burnt (:12). Zedekiah comes over in Jeremiah as a weak man when it came to doing the right thing; it seems he wanted to obey God’s word through Jeremiah, but feared the opinion of the princes and that the Babylonians might abuse him (Jer. 38:19-24). However, this verse fills out the picture- his fear of the opinion of others was due to his pride. We may appear humble, but if we are only so because we are image conscious- then in fact we are proud.