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.

And it had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

And she hath strong rods to make sceptres for them that bear rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches: and she saw her height in the multitude of her branches.

And it had strong rods for sceptres of them that bear rule, and its stature was exalted between the thick boughs; and it was conspicuous by its height with the multitude of its branches.

And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bore rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her hight with the multitude of her branches.

And it hath strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And high is its stature above thick branches, And it appeareth in its height In the multitude of its thin shoots.

And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bore rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.

And she had a strong rod for a rod of authority for the rulers, and it became tall among the clouds and it was seen lifted up among the number of its branches.

And she had strong rods To be sceptres for them that bore rule; And her stature was exalted Among the thick branches, And she was seen in her height With the multitude of her tendrils.

And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her branches.

Et fuerunt illi virgae roboris [248] ad sceptra dominantium: et elevata fuit statura ejus supra, [249] et apparuit in altitudine sua, in multitudine ramorum suorum.

Sceptres - Genesis 49:10.
The thick branches - Or, the clouds; so Ezekiel 31:3, Ezekiel 31:10, Ezekiel 31:14.

She had strong rods - Zedekiah, and his many sons.
Her stature was exalted - Zedekiah grew proud of his numerous offspring and prosperity; and although he copied the example of Jehoiakim, yet he thought he might safely rebel against the king of Babylon.

And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bear rule,.... That is, many sprung from her, and rose up in that nation who were fit to hold sceptres to be kings, rulers and governors, and were such. So the Targum.
"and there were in her strong rulers, kings that were, highly to subdue kingdoms;''
such as David, Solomon, and at hers after them: or this may refer to the times of Josiah, and at his death, who left behind him several sons, who became kings, besides other princes of the blood; as his brother Mattaniah, who also was king: and some even carry this to Zedekiah himself, who had many children, who seemed to be strong rods, fit for sceptres, or sceptre bearers; that is, to be kings. The allusion seems to be to the sceptres of the ancients, which were no other than walking sticks, cut off of the stems or branches of trees, and decorated with gold, or studded with golden nails. Thus Achilles is introduced by Homer (c) as swearing by a sceptre; which, being cut off of a trunk of a tree left on the mountains, and stripped of its bark and leaves, should never more produce leaves and branches, or sprout again: and such an one, he observes, the Grecian judges, carry in their hands. Sometimes they were made of the "oleaster" (d), or wild olive, the same as a shepherd's staff; for what shepherds were to their flocks, that were kings to men;
and her stature was exalted among the thick branches; as the body and trunk of a tree rises up higher than the branches, which are thickest about the middle of it, and so more eminent and conspicuous; thus it was with the nation of the Jews, and the royal family in it, that appeared more glorious and excellent among the nobles and princes of it; or, as the Targum expresses it,
"it was lifted up in its strength above its own kingdom;''
or rather the sense is, that in the days of David and Solomon, and some others, it greatly exceeded all the kingdoms of the nations round about it:
and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches; was seen and taken notice of for the multitude of her people, and the grandeur of her state.
(c) Iliad. 1. l. 234, &c. (d) Paschal. de Coronis, l. 6. c. 19. p. 406, 407.

strong rods--princes of the royal house of David. The vine shot forth her branches like so many scepters, not creeping lowly on the ground like many vines, but trained aloft on a tree or wall. The mention of their former royal dignity, contrasting sadly with her present sunken state, would remind the Jews of their sins whereby they had incurred such judgments.
stature-- (Daniel 4:11).
among the thick branches--that is, the central stock or trunk of the tree shot up highest "among its own branches" or offshoots, surrounding it. Emblematic of the numbers and resources of the people. HENGSTENBERG translates, "among the clouds." But Ezekiel 31:3, Ezekiel 31:10, Ezekiel 31:14, supports English Version.

Strong rods - Many excellent persons endowed with qualifications befitting kings, that they might sway the scepter. Exalted - Above the ordinary majesty of other kingdoms. Thick branches - This kingdom equalled, if not excelled, the greatest neighbour - kingdoms, and her kings exceeded all their neighbouring kings, in riches and power.