Verse 1
Ezekiel was to lament (Heb. qinah) for the princes of Israel. This is the first of five laments in Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 26:17-18; Ezekiel 27; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Ezekiel 32:1-16). Laments usually utilize the qinah or limping form of rhythm in Hebrew, and this one does. The qinah form consists normally of three accented words followed by two accented words in a couplet. For example in Ezekiel 19:2 in the NASB this rhythm is discernible: "She lay down among young lions; she reared her cubs." Usually translations cannot capture the rhythm of the Hebrew text. This rhythm gives a sorrowful feeling to the composition as it is read in Hebrew. The form is quite common in the Old Testament, especially in Lamentations, Psalms, and some of the prophetical books. [Note: For other characteristics of the qinah genre, see Block, The Book . . ., pp. 592-93.]
"A dirge was normally sung or chanted, by professional mourners after the death of the deceased and during his funeral. Ezekiel expressed the Lord’s sadness over the Judean leadership’s failure by chanting this elegy over her final rulers prior to their deaths . . ." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 830.]
However this dirge is also a riddle (cf. Ezekiel 17:1-10). Ezekiel used the term "princes" to describe Judah’s kings (Ezekiel 7:27; Ezekiel 12:10; Ezekiel 12:19; et al.).
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