John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 19:6

"And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men." — Ezekiel 19:6 (ASV)

Ezekiel confirms what I have already briefly touched on: that this second lion was no less savage and cruel than the former one he had described. Regarding the phrase he walked among lions, it means that his government was tyrannical, because there was then such foul barbarity in those regions that kings were scarcely human in their conduct.

Therefore, since kings were then everywhere like lions, the Prophet says that Jehoiakim was not different from them but was in every sense their ally. He walked, therefore, he says, in the midst of lions, because he imitated their ferocity. He later expresses this more clearly: that he became a lion, and was taught to seize his prey, so as to devour not only animals, but men, thus marking his extreme cruelty. He later adds—