John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Ezekiel 7:1
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 7
This chapter contains a prophecy of the speedy destruction of the Jews, as being just at hand; of the particular judgments that should come upon them; of the horror that should seize them, and the distress that all ranks of men among them should be in, a few only escaping, who are described as in mournful circumstances. The destruction in general is denounced as being very near; the end being come, which is often repeated; and as it is represented as sudden, so without mercy; which is declared, Eze 7:1; the particular judgments, sword, pestilence, and famine, are mentioned in Eze 7:15, and the few that should escape are compared to mourning doves, Eze 7:16; the trembling, horror, and shame that should be upon all, are intimated in Eze 7:17; the unprofitableness of their gold and silver to deliver them, and the unsatisfying nature of these things, are expressed, Eze 7:19; the profanation and destruction of their temple are prophesied of, Eze 7:20; and for their murder, rapine, and oppression, it is threatened that their houses should be possessed by the worst of Heathens, and their holy places defiled; and one calamity should come upon another; when their application to prophets, priests, and ancient men for counsel, would be in, vain, Eze 7:23; and king, prince, and people, should be in the most melancholy and distressed circumstances, Eze 7:27.
Ver. 1. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Or again, as the Arabic version; for this is a distinct prophecy from the former; though of the same kind with it; and was delivered out, either immediately upon the former; or, however, some time between that and the following in the next chapter, which has a date to it. The Targum calls it the word of prophecy from the Lord.
Ezekiel 7:2
Ver. 2. Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel,.... The inhabitants of it; not the ten tribes, who were already carried captive; but the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and those that were with them, who dwelt in the land. The mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys, were before addressed; now the land itself: what the Lord by the prophet said unto the land, or the people of it, follows:
an end: for here a colon is to be placed; that is, the end of God's patience and forbearance; he would bear with them no longer, at least but a very little while; the time of vengeance was coming upon them, and an utter consumption should be made of them; see La 4:18;
the end is come upon the four corners of the earth, or "land"; for not the whole world, and the end of that, as in Mt 24:3, are meant; but the land of Judea and the destruction of it, which should be general; upon the four wings of it, as in the Hebrew text; that is, in all parts of it, east, west, north, and south. The Targum is,
"the punishment of the end, or the punishment determined to come upon the four winds of the earth;''
see Re 7:1; and this punishment was just going to be inflicted on them; for this prophecy was in the sixth year of King Zedekiah; and in the ninth year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem; and in the eleventh year took it, 2Ki 25:1.
Ezekiel 7:3
Ver. 3. Now [is] the end [come] upon thee,.... This is repeated for the confirmation of it, and for the sake of application of it to the people of Israel, of whom he had before spoken in the third person; but now in the second, in order to arouse them, and excite attention:
and I will send mine anger upon thee; the token of it, the punishment of their sins:
and I will judge thee according to thy ways; pass sentence, and execute it, as their evil ways and practices deserved:
and I will recompense, or "put upon thee" {f},
all thine abominations; cause them to bear as a burden the just punishment of their detestable iniquities; which would be more than they would be able to bear, though not more than they deserved.
{f} Kyle yttn "ponam super te", Pagninus; "dabo super te", Montanus; "reponam super te", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus.
Ezekiel 7:4
Ver. 4. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity,.... Though the punishment will be heavy, and the lamentation will be great; see Eze 5:11;
but I will recompense thy ways upon thee; the evil of punishment for the evil of sin, the righteous demerit of their actions:
and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; not taken away, unatoned for, and indeed not repented of. The Targum is,
"and the punishment of thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee:''
and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord; to whom vengeance belongs; who takes notice of sinful actions, and punishes for them; to whom appertain the perfections of omniscience, omnipotence, and punitive justice.
Ezekiel 7:5
Ver. 5. Thus saith the Lord God,.... Here should be a stop, a colon, requiring attention to what follows, it being something awful and terrible:
an evil, an only evil, behold, it cometh; meaning the destruction of the city and temple; which, though but one, was such an one as was never known before nor was there any like it. The Targum is,
"evil after evil, lo, it cometh;''
one evil after another; when one evil is gone, another comes, as in Eze 7:26. The Syriac version is, "behold, evil for evil comes"; the evil of punishment for the evil of sin.
Ezekiel 7:6
Ver. 6. An end is come, the end is come,.... These words, so often repeated, show the eagerness and concern of the prophet's mind; the speed and haste destruction was making; and the great stupidity of the people, which required such a frequent repetition:
it watcheth for thee; that is, their damnation slumbered not, but was awake, and waited till the time was up, which was just at hand, for it to take place; see 2Pe 2:3;
behold, it is come; either the end, or rather the evil before mentioned; it was just at the door; it denotes the certainty of it, and its near approach.
Ezekiel 7:7
Ver. 7. The morning is come upon thee, O thou that dwellest in the land,.... That is, early ruin was come, or was coming, upon the inhabitants of Judea, which before is said to be awake, and to watch for them; and now the day being broke, the morning come, it hastened to them. Some, because this word {g} is used in Isa 18:5; for a crown or diadem, think a crowned head, a king, is here meant; particularly Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the instrument of the destruction of Jerusalem. So the Targum,
"the kingdom is revealed upon or against thee, O inhabitant of the land.''
Jarchi interprets it of the morning setting as the sun does, its light and glory disappearing; and so denotes a dark and gloomy day;
the time is come; the appointed time of Jerusalem's ruin, the time of her visitation;
the day of trouble, or "noise" {h},
[is] near; either of the Chaldean army, its chariots and horses, and of their armour; or of the howling and lamentation of the Jews:
and not the sounding again of the mountains; not like the echo of a man's voice between the mountains, which is only imaginary, but this is real; so Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: or this was not like the shoutings of the vintage, which were joyful ones, Isa 16:9; but this the voice of lamentation and sorrow, doleful sounds. Jarchi says the word signifies the cry of the voice, proclaiming or calling on persons to fly to the tops of the mountains, which now should not be; and so the Targum,
"and there is no fleeing or escaping to the tops of the mountains.''
{g} hrypuh "corona", Tigurine version, so some is Vatablus; "cidaris matutina", Montanus. {h} hmwhm "tumultus", Montanus, Piscator, Starckius; "strepitus", Calvin; "clamoris", Vatablus.
Ezekiel 7:8
Ver. 8. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee,.... It might be very well said to be shortly, or near at hand, that the Lord would bring down his judgments upon this people; since it was some time in the sixth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity that this prophecy was delivered; and it was in the ninth year that Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem; so that it was but about three years before God would begin to pour out his fury on them:
and accomplish mine anger upon thee; not only send it, and begin to express it, but go on to finish it, till he had spent all his fury upon them he meant and threatened, and their sins deserved:
and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and I will recompense thee for all thine abominations; which is repeated from Eze 7:3, for the confirmation of it, and to show the certainty of it, that nothing would prevent it.
Ezekiel 7:9
Ver. 9. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity,.... This verse is the same with Eze 7:4; only instead of "I will recompense thy ways upon thee", here it is,
I will recompense thee according to thy ways upon thee and thine abominations [that] are in the midst of thee; which have both the same sense, showing the equity and justice of the divine proceedings: and to the clause, it is added,
and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord that smiteth; with the rod of his anger, inflicts punishment for sin. The Syriac version is, "that smiteth them"; the Jews, by suffering them to be carried captive: and so the Targum,
"I am the Lord that bringeth upon you a smiting,''
or the blow; the sense is, that when it came, they should be sensible that it was the Lord's doing. See Gill on "Eze 7:4".
Ezekiel 7:10
Ver. 10. Behold the day, behold, it is come,.... That is, the day of trouble and distress, said to be near, Eze 7:3;
the morning is gone forth; See Gill on "Eze 7:7";
the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded; both these phrases may be understood of Nebuchadnezzar; he was the rod, with which the Lord smote his people, as the Assyrian monarch is called the rod of his anger,
Isa 10:5: and was a very proud prince, and had budded and blossomed, and had brought forth much bad fruit of that kind; see Da 3:15; or these may be separately considered; the rod may be interpreted of Nebuchadnezzar, which had been growing up, and preparing for the chastisement of the people of the Jews, and now was just ready to be made use of; and "pride" may respect the sin of that people, which was the cause of their being smitten with this rod, as the following words seem to indicate. The Targum is,
"a ruler hath budded, a wicked one hath appeared.''
Ezekiel 7:11
Ver. 11. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness,.... Some understand this of the Chaldeans, who came with great violence against the Jews, and were a rod in the hand of the Lord, to scourge them for their wickedness; and this seems to be the sense of the Targum,
"spoilers are risen up to visit the wicked;''
but rather the violence, oppression, and rapine of the Jews are meant, and mentioned as the cause of their punishment; for this their oppression of the poor and needy, the widow and the fatherless, among them, God suffered the king of Babylon, a wicked prince, to come and chastise them:
none of them [shall remain], nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs; meaning not the Chaldean army, as if they came not of themselves, but of God, and much less were cut off, for they returned to their own land again; but the Jews, who either should die in the siege with the famine and pestilence, or be put to death by the sword, or be carried into captivity:
neither [shall there be] wailing for them; the destruction should be so general, that there would be but few left to mourn; and those that were left would be struck with such a stupor and amazement at the calamity, that they would not be capable of mourning; or with such a dread of the enemy, that there would be no place for lamentation over their dead friends and relations.
Ezekiel 7:12
Ver. 12. The time is come, the day draweth near,.... According to the Targum, the time of the recompence of iniquities, and the day of punishment of sins; of the sins of the Jews, by the Chaldean army, which no doubt is true; but it seems chiefly to refer to what follows: and the sense is, the time was coming on, in which
let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; it is usual for the buyer of houses or lands to rejoice, because an addition is made to his estate, and especially when he has made, as he thinks, a good purchase; and the seller, he mourns because he is obliged to part with his estate to pay his debts, and so is reduced in his circumstances; but now the time was coming when the one would have no occasion to rejoice, nor the other to mourn; not the buyer rejoice, because, being carried captive, he cannot enjoy his possessions; nor the seller mourn, because, if he had not sold his house or field, he must have left it:
for wrath [is] upon all the multitude thereof; upon the whole body of the Jewish nation, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, buyer and seller; those that are in good circumstances, and those that are in bad ones; so that hereby they were all upon a level, in the same case and condition.
Ezekiel 7:13
Ver. 13. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold,.... In the year of jubilee, because he shall be in captivity: according to the law in Le 25:13, when a man had sold his possession, he returned to it again, if alive, in the year of jubilee; let it come sooner or later, within thirty, or twenty, or ten years after the sale, be it as it will: now the Babylonish captivity being seventy years, in that time there must be a jubilee; and yet those that had sold their estates, being captives in another land, could not return to them:
although they were yet alive: either though what they have sold is in being, and in good condition; or rather, though they that have sold them are in the land of the living, but, not being in their own land, cannot possess:
for the vision [is] touching the whole multitude thereof; the prophecy of the destruction of the Jews is general, and respects the whole body of the people; men of all ranks and degrees, the buyer and the seller, the rich and the poor:
[which] shall not return; void and of no effect, but shall be fully accomplished; see Isa 54:11; though some think this refers not to prophecy, but to the people, who did not upon it return by repentance; in this sense it is taken by Jarchi and Kimchi; and so the Targum,
"for the prophets prophesied to the whole multitude of them to return by repentance, and they returned not:''
neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life: either secure himself from danger by his unrighteous mammon, his ill gotten goods; or think to escape by his daring impiety, and vicious course of life, continued in without repentance.
Ezekiel 7:14
Ver. 14. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready,.... That is, the Jews, when they understood that the enemy was approaching, blew the trumpet, to give the inhabitants of their several cities and towns warning of it; that they might gather together, provide themselves with armour, and put themselves in a posture of defence, or go forth to meet the enemy, and stop his progress: or, "blow ye the trumpet", so the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and so may be considered as an irony or sarcasm; blow the trumpet, as an alarm of war, and see what will be the effect of it:
but none goeth to the battle: not having courage enough to face the enemy, but instead of that find to the fortified cities, and particularly to Jerusalem: the reason of this timidity and cowardice was,
for my wrath [is] upon all the multitude thereof; the intention of God was to destroy them all by one means or another; and therefore a heart was not given them to defend themselves, or oppose the enemy.
Ezekiel 7:15
Ver. 15. The sword [is] without,.... Without the city, where the enemy was besieging; so that those that went without, in order to make their escapes fell into their hands:
and the pestilence and the famine within; within the city; so that such who thought themselves safe in their own houses died by those judgments:
he that [is] in the field shall die by the sword; by the hands of the Chaldeans:
and he that [is] in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him; and he shall die by the hand of God.
Ezekiel 7:16
Ver. 16. But they that escape of them shall escape,.... Some few should escape the pestilence, famine, and sword, and flee to the mountains, where they should live a very miserable and uncomfortable life; so that this is no contradiction to the wrath of God being upon the whole multitude, Eze 7:12; as it follows:
and shall be on the mountains; whither they shall flee, when the city is broken up and taken; and so the Syriac version reads it, in connection with the preceding words, "and they that escape of them shall escape to the mountains"; barren and desert places, where they shall find no subsistence, nor have any agreeable company and conversation, but live in solitude and distress:
like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, everyone for his iniquity: like doves that live in valleys, or gather together there, and hide themselves in the holes of the rocks, on the sides of the valleys, from birds of prey; or are so called, to distinguish them from wild doves, which, when they have lost their mates, make a very mournful noise, though not loud and clamorous. So those Jews that escaped, being in such an uncomfortable condition, turned out of house and home, and deprived of their substance, should lament their fate; not in loud cries, lest they should be heard by the enemy and taken, but in secret sighs, and in a mournful tone; acknowledging to God, and to one another, their sins; they now became sensible of, which brought these calamities upon them. So God's people, the remnant according to the election of grace, who "escape" the general ruin sin has brought on mankind, are for the most part "upon the mountains", in an afflicted and persecuted state; they are like "doves" for their harmlessness, amiableness, cleanness, modesty chastity, sociableness, and timorous disposition; and like doves "of the valleys", in a low estate, through corruption, temptation, desertion, affliction, and persecution; and "mourn" over their own "iniquity", the sin of their nature, their unbelief and various transgressions being committed against a God of love, contrary to his grace, grieving to his Spirit, and dishonourable to his Gospel; and being what break their bereave them of comfort, and deprive them of communion with God.
Ezekiel 7:17
Ver. 17. All hands shall be feeble,.... No strength in them, to lay hold on weapons of war to defend themselves, or fight the enemy; no heart nor courage in them, to go forth and meet him; and even afraid to lift up their voice in mourning, lest they should be heard, and pursued, and taken:
and all knees shall be weak [as] water; tremble and beat one against another, for fear of the enemy; or,
"shall flow with water,''
as the Targum; either with sweat or urine, which are sometimes both caused by fear.
Ezekiel 7:18
Ver. 18. They shall also gird [themselves] with sackcloth,.... As a token of mourning, Ge 37:34;
and horror shall cover them: either the horror of a guilty conscience, or the perpetual dread and terror of the enemy:
and shame [shall be] upon all faces; because of their sins and transgressions, which they shall now be convinced of; or because of their desolate condition, their sins had brought them into:
and baldness upon all their heads; through the plucking off of the hair of their heads in their distress; for to make baldness as a token of mourning for the dead was forbidden the Jews, De 14:1.
Ezekiel 7:19
Ver. 19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed,.... As being of no use unto them to preserve them from famine and pestilence, and as being an hinderance to them in their flight from the enemy. Kimchi observes that this may be interpreted of their idols of gold and silver, which shall now be had in contempt by them, and cast away, when they shall find they cannot save them from ruin; see Isa 2:20;
their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; these can neither deliver from temporal judgments nor from wrath to come; see Pr 10:2; nor idols made of them:
they shall not satisfy their souls, nor fill their bowels; gold and silver cannot be eaten; these will not satisfy the craving appetite, nor fill the hungry belly: the words show that the famine would be so great, that bread could not be got for any money; and therefore gold and silver would be of no avail; since they could not be fed upon, or give any satisfaction to a famishing soul; nor could idols of gold and silver neither:
because it is the stumbling block of their iniquity; what was the occasion of their iniquity, covetousness, and idolatry, at which they stumbled, and fell into sin, and so into punishment for it.
Ezekiel 7:20
Ver. 20. As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty,.... Or, "for pride" {i}. The gold, silver, jewels, riches, and treasure, which the Lord gave to this people, they made a bad use of; and instead of contributing to the support of his worship and interest, and of giving liberally to the poor, they converted it to their own pride and luxury: or rather the temple, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it, is meant; which was a beautiful structure, and adorned with gifts, and set for glory, majesty, and excellency by the Lord; yea, where his excellent Majesty dwelt himself:
but they made the images of their abominations [and] of their detestable things therein; or, "of it" {k}; that is, of their gold and silver, which is another bad use they put their riches to: or rather "in it" {l}; that is, the temple; where, having made their idols, they placed them; see Jer 7:30;
therefore have I set it far from them; that being destroyed, and they being carried away captive into a strange land, far from that.
{i} Nwagl "in superbiam", V. L. Calvin, Starckius. {k} wb "ex eo", Tigurine version. {l} "In eo". Pagninus, Montanus, Polanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Starckius.
Ezekiel 7:21
Ver. 21. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey,.... The Babylonians, who lived in a foreign country, and were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel; the temple was suffered of the Lord to fall into their hands as a prey; who spoiled it of all its riches and glory, and carried away the vessels of gold, of silver, and of brass, and other valuable things; see Jer 52:17;
and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; meaning the same persons, and the same thing, and the same use they should make of it; for not the wicked of the world in general are meant, but of the land, or this land; the land of Babylon, where the prophet was:
and they shall pollute it; by entering into it and spoiling it, by pillaging and burning it.
Ezekiel 7:22
Ver. 22. My face will one turn also from them,.... Deny them his presence, and withdraw his protection from them; show them no favour, nor afford them any help and succour in their distress, when they cry unto him; so the Targum,
"I will cause my Shechinah to remove from them:''
unless the Chaldeans are meant, as some think, whose robberies and ravages the Lord would wink at, and not restrain, but suffer them to plunder and spoil at pleasure: since it follows,
and they shall pollute my secret [place]; the holy of holies, by going into it, which none but the high priest might do, and he but once a year; though the Targum understands this of the Jews, and makes it to be a reason of what is threatened in the preceding clause, rendering it thus,
"because they have profaned the land of the house of my Shechinah:''
for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it; as did the king of Babylon and his army; and afterwards, in the second temple, Antiochus, Pompey, and Titus Vespasian.
Ezekiel 7:23
Ver. 23. Make a chain,.... To bind them; not the robbers, the Chaldeans, but the Jews; in order either to bring them to the bar to be tried for capital crimes hereafter mentioned, or to be led bound in chains into captivity; see Ne 3:10;
for the land is full of bloody crimes; or, "judgment of bloods" {m}; capital crimes, such as are deserving of death, particularly murder, or shedding of innocent blood; so the Targum interprets it of sins of murder:
and the city is full of violence; rapine, oppression, and injury done to the poor, the widow, and the fatherless; meaning the city of Jerusalem, where was the great court of judicature, and where justice ought to have been administered.
{m} Mymd jpvm "judicio sanguiuum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Polanus, Starckius; "criminibus capitalibus", Piscator; "sanguianariis judiciis", Castalio.
Ezekiel 7:24
Ver. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the Heathen,.... The Chaldeans, notorious for their cruelty, savageness, and barbarity:
and they shall possess their houses; which they have built, and thought to have lived and died in, and left them to their children for an inheritance; but the Chaldeans, and not their children, became their heirs, and inherited their houses and lands:
I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; or, "the pride of the mighty ones" {n}; the noble and the rich; their wealth and substance, by which their pride and grandeur were supported, being takes away from them:
and their holy places shall be defiled; the temple, in which were the holy place, and the holy of holies: or, "they that sanctify them"; the priests that offered sacrifices, which only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; even these holy persons and things, as well as holy places, would be defiled.
{n} Myze Nwag "superbiam fortium", Calvin; "superbiam robustorum", Starckius.
Ezekiel 7:25
Ver. 25. Destruction cometh,.... Upon the temple, city, nation, and people; the king of Babylon, the destroyer of the Gentiles, and now of the Jews, being on his way, Jer 4:7;
and they shall seek peace, and [there shall be] none; that is, the Jews will seek to make peace with the Chaldeans; but the latter will not hearken to them, but go on with the siege, till they have taken the city, put part to the sword, and carried the other captive.
Ezekiel 7:26
Ver. 26. Mischief shall come upon mischief,.... One misfortune or calamity after another; first one unhappy event, and then another, as was Job's case. The Targum is,
"breach upon breach shall come {o}:''
and rumour shall be upon rumour; that the Chaldean army is in such a place; and then that it is in another place still nearer; and then that it is but a few miles off, and, will be here immediately: rumours of wars, as well as wars, themselves, are very distressing; see Mt 24:6;
then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; apply to him for a prophecy, to know the event of things, whether and when they might expect a deliverance:
but the law shall perish from the priest; whose lips should keep knowledge, and from whose mouth the law, the doctrine and interpretation of it, might be expected; but now either there would be no priests at all; or such as were would be ignorant and unlearned, and incapable of instructing the people:
and counsel from the ancients; with whom it usually is; and which is of great service in a time of distress: this therefore adds greatly to the calamity, that there would be no prophet to tell them what should come to pass; no priest to instruct them; nor senator or wise man to give them counsel.
{o} So R. Sol. Urhin. Ohel Moed, fol. 96. 1.
Ezekiel 7:27
Ver. 27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation,.... Meaning one and the same person, Zedekiah not being able to save himself and his people; and who falling into the hands of the king of Babylon, his children were slain before him; then his own eyes put out, and he bound in chains, and carried captive to Babylon,
Jer 39:6;
and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled; weakened through fear and distress; incapable of business, and unable to help themselves and others; and the more so, when they found their case desperate; which was manifest by the mourning and desolation of their king, in whom their confidence had been placed:
I will do unto them after their way; or, "for their way" {p}; because of their evil ways and works:
and according to their deserts will I judge them; take vengeance on them, as the Targum: or, "in their judgments will I judge them" {q}; the same measure they have meted out to others shall be measured out to them, Mt 7:1:
and they shall know that I [am] the Lord; the only Lord God, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, true and faithful, holy, just, and good.
{p} Mkrdm "pro viis ipsorum", Calvin; "pro via ipsorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, {q} Mjpva Mhyjpvmbw "et in", sive "pro judiciis eorum judicabo eos", Calvin, Polanus, Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Ezekiel 8:1
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 8
This chapter contains a vision the prophet had of the idolatry of the Jews, which was the cause of their destruction. The time when, place, where, and persons with whom he was, when the hand of the Lord came upon him, are mentioned, Eze 8:1; then follows a description of the divine Person that appeared to him, Eze 8:2; and an account is given how he was in a visionary way brought to Jerusalem, and to the temple, where he saw the glory of the God of Israel, and the idolatry of the people, Eze 8:3; which latter was gradually represented to him; first the image of jealousy in the entry at the gate of the altar northward, Eze 8:5; then greater abominations through a hole in the wall, by which he saw their idols, in the form of reptiles and four footed beasts, portrayed on the wall, Eze 8:6; next seventy of the ancients of Israel, among whom were one mentioned by name, offering incense to these idols, Eze 8:11; after this, greater abominations still are showed him, at the north of the temple, women weeping for Tammuz, Eze 8:13; and then again far greater ones, twenty five men, between the porch and the altar, with their backs to the temple, and their face to the east, worshipping the sun, and putting the branch to the nose, Eze 8:15; wherefore it is reasoned to deal with them in fury, without any mercy, pity, and compassion, Eze 8:18.
Ver. 1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month,.... This was the sixth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin; the sixth month was the month Elul, which answers to part of August, and part of September. The Septuagint and Arabic versions wrongly render it, the fifth month. The fifth day of the month is thought to have been the sabbath day, which seems probable by what follows; this was just a year and two months from the first vision, Eze 1:1;
[as] I sat in mine house; in Chaldea, by the river Chebar; he was now sitting, the time of lying on his side, both right and left, being now up, even four hundred and thirty days. It was in the fifth year, and on the fifth of Tammuz, that the first vision was; seven days the prophet sat with them of the captivity at Telabib; at the end of which he was ordered to lie on his side; first on his left side three hundred ninety days, and then on his right side forty days: now reckoning from the middle of Tammuz, to the fifth of Elul in the sixth year, were but, as Kimchi observes, four hundred days; but this being, as another Jewish writer says {r}, an intercalated year, by the intercalation of a month, which consisted of thirty days, the whole number was completed, and the prophet was now sitting: or it may be this position is observed, because he was now teaching and instructing the people, which was frequently done sitting; See Gill on "Mt 5:1"; and this in his own private house, being now in captivity, and having neither temple nor synagogue to teach in;
and the elders of Judah sat before me; to hear the word of the Lord from his mouth, the law explained, or any fresh prophecy delivered by him; or to have his advice and counsel in their present circumstances. These were the elders of Judah that were carried captive along with Jehoiachin; though some think they were those that were at Jerusalem, and that all this was only in a visionary way; but the former sense seems most agreeable; seeing this was previous to the vision, and with what goes before describes the time, place, and witnesses of the vision;
that the hand of the Lord fell there upon me; which the Targum interprets of the spirit of prophecy, which came with power upon him: it denotes the energy and efficacy of the Spirit of God in throwing him into an ecstasy, and acting upon him, and revealing to him the things he did; which are related in the following verses.
{r} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 26. p. 73. Vid. Kimchi in loc.
Ezekiel 8:2
Ver. 2. And then one beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire,.... The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "behold the likeness of a man"; reading vya, "a man", for va, "fire"; but without supposing such a reading, for which there is no foundation, this likeness may very well be understood of the likeness of a man; since mention is made of his joins in the next clause, and of his hand in Eze 8:3; and the description agrees with the appearance of a man in Eze 1:26; it was usual for the Son of God, who doubtless is here meant, to appear in a human form; and so Junius and Tremellius supply the words,
"and lo a likeness "of a man", as in the appearance of fire:''
it was the form of a fiery man that was seen, as he is further described:
from the appearance of his loins, even downward, fire; his lower parts, thighs, legs, and feet; expressive either of the light of grace communicated from Christ to his people; or of his fervent love towards them, or flaming zeal for God and his house; or rather of his wrath against an idolatrous people; see Re 1:15; a like description is in Eze 1:27;
and from his loins, even upward, as the appearance of brightness; his upper parts, back, belly, breast, shoulders, arms, head, &c. which may denote his incomprehensible majesty and glory; his glory being the glory of the only begotten, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person. The Targum renders both the one and the other part of the description thus,
"and I saw, and twelve a likeness as the look of fire, the look of glory, which the eye cannot see, nor is it possible to look upon it; and beneath the look of fire, and the look of glory, which the eye cannot behold, nor is it possible to contemplate it; and above, as the look of brightness:''
as the colour of amber: or "chasmal": which some take to be the name of an angel. The Syriac version is, "as the look of God";
See Gill on "Eze 1:4"; and
See Gill on "Eze 1:27".
Ezekiel 8:3
Ver. 3. And he put forth the form of an hand,.... That is, he that appeared in the likeness of a man, and with so much glory and splendour, out of the midst of the fire and brightness which were about him, put forth the form of a hand, that looked like a man's hand; for this appearance was not real, only visionary; and this seems to design the Spirit of God sent forth by Christ, sometimes called the finger of God, Lu 11:20; as appears by what follows:
and took me by a lock of mine head; without hurting him, showing his power over him; and by this means raising him from his seat, as it seemed to the prophet:
and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and heaven; took him off of his seat, and out of his house, lifted him up in the air, and carried him through it, as he thought; for this was not real and local; in like manner as the spirit caught away Philip, Ac 8:39; but in vision, as follows:
and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem; so it was represented to him in a true vision, which was of God, and not of Satan, that he was carried from Chaldea to Jerusalem; not that he really was, for he was still in Chaldea; and here in vision was he brought again, and found himself to be when that vision was over,
Eze 11:24; but things so appeared to him, as if he was actually brought to Jerusalem by the power of the Spirit of God:
to the door of the inner gate: not of Jerusalem, but the temple, or rather the court, the inner court; see Eze 10:3; and so it should be rendered "to the door of the gate of the inner court" {s}; and thus it is explained by Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech:
that looketh toward the north; for there were gates on every side:
where [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy; some graven image, perhaps the image of Baal; so called, because it provoked the Lord to jealousy, De 32:21. Gussetius {t} suggests, that lmo, "Semel", here may be the same with Semele; who, in the opinion of the Heathens, made Juno jealous.
{s} tymynph rev xtp la "ad ostium portae interioris, [sub.] atrii", Pagninus, Vatablus, Piscator. {t} Ebr. Comment. p. 903.
Ezekiel 8:4
Ver. 4. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel [was] there,.... In the temple, between the cherubim, where the Shechinah or the glory of the divine Majesty dwelt; for as yet he had not removed, though provoked to it, and as he afterwards did; or he was here to destroy the idols, and both city and temple, for the idolatry of the people; or this is here mentioned, to show the baseness and wickedness of the people, that they should place an idol where the Lord himself was:
according to the vision that I saw in the plain; it was the same glorious Person he saw in the temple whom he had before seen in the plain, Eze 3:22; and that was the same he had seen in the vision by the river Chebar, Eze 1:3.
Ezekiel 8:5
Ver. 5. Then said he unto me, son of man,.... That is, the glorious Person described above in this vision, the glorious God of Israel, seen by the prophet in the temple, he spoke unto him, calling him son of man; a name by which he often goes in this prophecy:
lift up thine eyes now toward the north; of the mountain of the house without the court, as Jarchi interprets it:
so I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north: being obedient to the heavenly vision:
and behold northward at the gate of the altar; at the northern gate of the inner court, where was the altar of burnt offering, brought by Ahaz; to the north of the altar he built in imitation of that at Damascus,
2Ki 16:10; and here stood
this image of jealousy in the entry; or the image of this jealousy; the image before mentioned, which provoked the Lord to jealousy; this stood at the entry of the northern gate, which led into the inner court, and to the altar.
Ezekiel 8:6
Ver. 6. He said furthermore unto me, son of man,.... He continued his speech to the prophet, saying
seest thou what they do? the idolatrous Jews, who had set up a graven image at the northern gate of the court, where the altar was, and were sacrificing to it:
[even] the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here; for to set up an idol where he was, and an altar by his altar, and to sacrifice to Baal, and not to him, or to Baal along with him, or besides him, or to any other idol, were very abominable to the Lord: even to such a degree,
that I should go far from my sanctuary? be obliged to leave it, not being able to bear such abominable idolatries: or, "that they should go far from my sanctuary" {u}; depart from the true worship and service of it, and fall into idolatry:
but turn thee yet again; from the north to the south it may be; however, to some other part of the temple:
[and] thou shalt see greater abominations; or, "great abominations" {w}; for there is no necessity of rendering it "greater": but the meaning is, that he should see other great abominations besides what he had seen, than which there could not be anything well greater.
{u} yvdqm lem hqxrl "ut longius recedant, [vel] abeant, [sub.] Israelitae a sauctuario meo", Vatablus; and to this sense are the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; "ad longe recedendum", Cocceius. {w} twldg twbewt "abominationes magnas", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Piscator, Cocceius. Starckius.
Ezekiel 8:7
Ver. 7. And he brought me to the door of the court,.... Of the inner court, the court of the priests and Levites. Dr. Lightfoot {x} says this was the east gate, and most common way of entrance; and in that gate the sanhedrim used to sit in these times; and there the prophet sees their council chamber painted about with imagery:
and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall; of one of the chambers of the priests and Levites, where they lay.
{x} Prospect of the Temple, c. 28. p. 2018.
Ezekiel 8:8
Ver. 8. Then said he unto me, son of man, dig now in the wall,.... And so make the hole larger; that he might have a fuller view of what was to be seen within the wall:
and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door; an opening, by which he could go into the cell or chamber, and take a full view of what was to be seen there. All this was visionary, for in reality the prophet did not dig, nor could he, not having anything to dig with; but so things appeared to his mind in the vision: first a little hole, by which he could discern there was a room; then, by making use of some means, a large door appeared, at which there was an entrance into it.
Ezekiel 8:9
Ver. 9. And he said unto me, go in,.... Into the room or chamber the door opened into:
and behold the wicked abominations they do here; the idolatries there committed, wicked in themselves, and abominable to God.
Ezekiel 8:10
Ver. 10. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things,.... As beetles and others, worshipped for gods:
and abominable beasts; unclean ones; not only oxen, but dogs and cats, and other impure creatures; for such were the gods of the Egyptians, from whom the Jews took their deities:
and all the idols of the house of Israel; which were many, even as numerous as their cities:
portrayed upon the wall round about; the pictures of them were drawn and placed around the wall of the room or chamber; and where they were worshipped by the priests and Levites, and members of the sanhedrim; and this was not in one chamber only, but in many, as appears from Eze 8:12.
Ezekiel 8:11
Ver. 11. And there stood before them,.... Before the pictures, as the Vulgate Latin version expresses it, praying, sacrificing, and offering incense unto them:
seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel; the whole sanhedrim, or great court of judicature among the Jews, as Kimchi; or at least there is an allusion to that number, which were appointed in Moses' time to be officers over the people, and govern and direct them,
Nu 11:16; which shows how sadly depraved and corrupted the state was, that not the common people only, but the civil magistrates, the chief rulers and governors, were given to idolatry; and those that should have taught the people the right way led them wrong; and it is still a further aggravation of their crime that they should do this in the chambers of the priests and Levites, where they ought not to have been:
and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan; who was either the prince of the sanhedrim, or at least a person of great note and esteem; and shows the corruption to be general, from the least to the greatest: Shaphan was a scribe in Josiah's time, who had a son named Ahikam, perhaps the father of this, 2Ki 22:3; in
Eze 11:2; he is said to be the son of Azur, and one of the princes of the people:
with every man his censer in his hand; to offer incense to the idols portrayed on the wall; and which they did, for it follows:
and a thick cloud of incense went up; there were many that offered; and perhaps they offered a large quantity, being very liberal and profuse in this kind of devotion to their idols.
Ezekiel 8:12
Ver. 12. Then said he unto me, son of man, hast thou seen,.... Here should be a stop, as the accent "segolta" shows; hast thou taken notice of, hast thou considered, what thou hast seen, the amazing shocking abominations committed by these men? it follows, and the question is to be repeated, "hast thou seen"
what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? their deeds being evil, such as will not bear the light, of which they had reason to be ashamed before men; and which they imagined would not be seen by the Lord, though the darkness and the light are both alike to him:
every man in the chambers of his imagery? the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "in his hidden" or "secret chamber"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "in the hidden place of his bedchamber". The Targum is,
"in the chamber of the house of his bed;''
in his bedchamber; that is, in those chambers of the temple, which belonged to the priests and Levites, on the walls of which were portrayed the images and pictures of their gods. Here they had their secret rites or mysteries performed, in imitation of the Heathens; who had the several mysteries of their religion privately observed; to which none were admitted but those that were initiated into them; as those of Osiris among the Egyptians; of Ceres with the Grecians; and of Bona Dea among the Romans; as Junius observes. Though some interpret this of the imaginations of their minds, according to which they framed to themselves deities, and a form of worship;
for they say, the Lord seeth not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth; this they gave as a reason of their idolatry, because the Lord took no notice of them, did not help them when in distress; but, as they concluded, had forsaken them; therefore they betook themselves to the gods of the Egyptians, Syrians, and other nations, for their assistance and protection: for these words are not the language of Epicureans, or such who deny the providence of God in general; who think that God takes no notice of the lower world, only of the upper one, as Kimchi and others interpret them; for these elders of Israel were not so ignorant and stupid as to deny the general providence of God, only distrusted his particular care of them.
Ezekiel 8:13
Ver. 13. He said also unto me, turn thee yet again,.... Towards the north, as before; See Gill on "Eze 8:6";
[and] thou shall see greater abominations that they do; or: "the great abominations"; for so the words may be strictly rendered; nor does it appear that what follows, though great abominations, were greater than the creeping things, four footed beasts, and other idols, or dunghill gods, portrayed upon the walls, which the elders of Israel burnt incense to.
Ezekiel 8:14
Ver. 14. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house, which [was] towards the north,.... By "the Lord's house" no doubt is meant the temple, which the Targum here calls the house of the sanctuary of the Lord; that gate of the temple (for the temple had several gates) which was to the north was the gate called Teri or Tedi, and was very little used {y}. In this part of the temple were the sacrifices offered; and therefore it was the greater abomination to commit idolatry where the Lord was more solemnly worshipped:
and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz: they were not in the court of the women, where they should have been; but at the northern gate, near the place of sacrifice; and they were sitting there, which none but the kings of the house of Judah, and of the family of David, were allowed in the temple {z}; but, what was the greatest abomination, they were weeping for Tammuz. Jarchi says this was an image, which they heated inwardly, and its eyes were of lead; and these being melted with the heat, it seemed to weep; wherefore (the women) said, it asks for an offering: but not the idol, but the women, wept. Kimchi relates various interpretations of it;
"some (he says) expound it by an antiphrasis, "making Tammuz glad"; in the month of Tammuz they made a feast to the idol, and the women came to make him glad: others say, that with great diligence they brought water to the eyes of the idol called Tammuz, and it wept; signifying that it desired they would worship it: others interpret the word Tammuz as signifying "burnt"; (from the words in Da 3:19; anwtal azml, "to heat the furnace";) as if should say, they wept for him, because he was for they burnt their sons and daughters in the fire, and the women wept for them. He further observes, that Maimonides {a} writes, that he found written in one of the books of the ancient idolaters, that there was a man of the idolatrous prophets, whose name was Tammuz; who called to a certain king, and commanded him to worship the seven stars, and the twelve signs of the zodiac, for which the king put him to a violent death; and, the same night he died, all the images from the ends of the earth gathered together to the temple of Babylon, to a golden image which was the image of the sun; and this image was hanging between the heavens and the earth, and it fell into the midst of the temple, and so all the images round about it; and it declared unto them what had happened to Tammuz the prophet; and all the images wept and lamented all that night; and when it was morning, they all fled to their temples at the ends of the earth; and this became an everlasting statute to them, that at the beginning of the first day of the month Tammuz, every year, they lament and weeps for Tammuz; and there are others that expound Tammuz the name of a beast which they worship;''
but, leaving these interpretations, Tammuz was either the Adonis of the Grecians; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it Adonis; who was a young man beloved by Venus, and, being killed by a boar, his death was lamented by her; and, in respect to the goddess, an anniversary solemnity was kept by men and women lamenting his death, especially by women. So Pausanias, speaking of a certain place, there (says he) the women of the Argives (a people in Greece) mourn for Adonis {b}. Lucian {c} gives a particular account of this ceremony, as performed at Byblus, a city in Phoenicia, not far from Judea; from whence the Jews might have borrowed this custom.
"I have seen (says he), in Byblus, a large temple of Venus Byblia, where they performed the rites unto Adonis, and I was a spectator of them. The Byblians say the affair relating to Adonis (or his death) by a boar happened in their country; and, in memory of it, every year they beat themselves, lament and offer sacrifice, and great mourning goes through the whole country; and when they beat themselves and mourn, they sacrifice to Adonis as dead; but the day following they pretend he is alive; and they shave their heads, as the Egyptians do at the death of Apis;''
and indeed it is thought by some that this Tammuz is the Osiris of the Egyptians; the same with Mizraim, the first king of Egypt, who, being slain in battle, his wife his ordered that he should be worshipped as a god, and a yearly lamentation made for him; and indeed Osiris and Adonis seem to be one and the same, only in different nations called by different names. Mention is made in Plato {d} of Thamus, a king that reigned at Thebes over all Egypt, and was the god called Ammon; no doubt the same with this Tammuz; and who is here called, in the Syriac and Arabic versions, Thamuz or Tamuz; he seems to be the same with Ham; and Egypt was called, the land of Ham, Ps 105:27; and it is most probable the Jews borrowed this piece of idolatry from the Egyptians their neighbours; with whom they were now very familiar, and from whom they expected help against the Chaldeans; but as there were such shocking obscenities used in this idolatrous service, it is most amazing that the Jewish women, who had been instructed in the law and worship of God, should ever go into it. Gussetius {e} thinks that Bacchus, the god of wine, is meant; and gives several reasons for it; and among the rest observes, that in the fourth month, called Tammuz from him, the vine was forming in ripe grapes; near the beginning of a fifth month, it was pressed out, and tunned up; and by the next month, having done fermenting, it was stopped up, which represented him buried; and for which the weeping was in this month.
{y} Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 3. {z} Maimon. Hilchot Melachim, c. 2. sect. 4. {a} Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 29, p. 426. {b} Corinthiaca, sive l. 2. p. 121. {c} De Dea Syria. Vid. Theocriti, adoniazousai, Idyll. 15. {d} Phaedrus, tom. 3. p. 974, Ed. Serran. {e} Ebr. Comment. p. 903. So Luther apud Dieteric. Antiqu. Bibl. par. 2. p. 132.
Ezekiel 8:15
Ver. 15. Then said he unto me, hast thou seen [this], O son of man?.... This shocking piece of idolatry, women weeping for Tammuz:
turn thee yet again, [and] thou shalt see greater abominations than these; or, "great abominations besides these" {f}.
{f} hlam twldg twbewt "abominationes magnas praeter istas", Calvin.
Ezekiel 8:16
Ver. 16. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house,.... The court of the priests, where they offered sacrifice, and into which none might come but themselves:
and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar; the porch that led into the temple, and the brasen altar, the altar of burnt offerings, which was a very sacred place, and reckoned more holy than the court of the priests {g}
[were] about five and twenty men; the number, more or less, not being exactly known; who they were, whether the priests or princes of the people, is not certain; probably some of both:
with their backs towards the temple of the Lord; that is, the most holy place, which they were obliged to, in order to do what is afterwards affirmed of them; for the sanctuary was built to the west, that in their worship the Jews might not look to the east, as the Gentiles did; wherefore these men, that they might imitate the Gentiles in their idolatry, turned their backs to the most holy place; which is an aggravation of their impiety; casting the utmost contempt on God, his worship, and the place of it:
and their faces towards the east: when the sun rises:
and they worshipped the sun towards the east; as many nations did, though forbidden the Jews by an express law of God, De 4:19; yet this they fell into, and had horses and chariots devoted to this idolatry; see 2Ki 21:3. The word rendered "worshipped" is compounded of two words; one signifying to "corrupt", the other to "worship": showing that, by worshipping the sun, they corrupted themselves, and the house of God; and so the Targum renders it,
"and, lo, they corrupted themselves, worshipping in the east the sun;''
and so it is explained in the Jerusalem Talmud,
"they corrupted the temple, and worshipped the sun;''
but Kimchi thinks the word {h} consists of the verb in the past tense, and of the participle; and that the sense is, when the prophet saw the men worshipping the sun to the east, as amazed at it, put this question to those that went in, "do ye worship also?" {i} so Ben Melech.
{g} Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 7. fol. 184. 4. {h} Mtywxtvm. {i} Vid. Hottinger. Smegma Orientale, l. 3. par. 1. c. 24. p. 154. who rather is of opinion that the word is compounded of the participle and the particle ta, or the pronoun Mta.
Ezekiel 8:17
Ver. 17. Then he said unto me, hast thou seen [this], O son of man?.... Took notice of and considered this piece of idolatry, worshipping the sun toward the east:
is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? could these things, which are such dreadful abominations, committed here in the temple, be reckoned light things by them, as surely they cannot? yet these are not all that they have done:
for they have filled the land with violence; with rapine and oppression; doing injury to the poor and needy, the widow and the fatherless, in all places:
and have returned to provoke me to anger; by other instances of idolatry:
and, lo, they put the branch to their nose; a laurel, or olive, or vine branch, which idolaters carried in their hands, and put to their nose, in honour of the idol they worshipped; in like manner as they kissed their hand at the sight of the sun, Job 31:26; and which the Jews did in imitation of the Heathen. This is one of the eighteen places in which there is "tikkun sopherim", or a "correction of the scribes"; who, instead of "my nose", direct to read "their nose"; hence the words are differently interpreted by the Jewish commentators; who, by hrwmz, rendered "branch", think an ill smell is meant; arising either from their posteriors, their back being towards the temple; or from the incense which they offered up to their idols; so Kimchi and Menachem in Jarchi; agreeably to which Fortunatus Scacchus {k} understands this, not of any branch used by idolaters, which they put to the nose of their idol, or their own, for the honour of that; but of the censer which the Israelites used, contrary to the command of God, and which they put to their nose to enjoy a forbidden smell; see Eze 16:18; but Gussetius {l} gives another sense of the words, rendering them, "they send forth a branch to their anger"; the Israelites are compared to a vine, as in Isa 5:1; sending forth bad branches, idolatrous actions, as here in this chapter; and to these bad branches they sent forth or added another, even anger against God, the prophets, true believers, and right worshippers of God; and therefore he also would deal in fury and wrath, as in Eze 8:18; so Dr. Lightfoot {m} renders it,
""they send the branch to my wrath", or "to their own wrath"; that is, to what they have deserved; as if it was said, in the same manner that anyone puts wood to the fire, the branch of the wild vine, that it may the more quickly be burnt; so do these put the branch to my wrath, that it may burn the more fiercely; hence it follows, "therefore will I also deal in fury", &c.''
The Targum is,
"and, lo, they bring shame (or confusion) to their faces;''
what they do turns to their own ruin and destruction; as follows:
{k} Sacror. Eleaochr. Myrothec. l. 2. p. 536. {l} Ebr. Comment. p. 231. {m} Heb. & Talmud. Exercitat. in Johan. xv. 6.
Ezekiel 8:18
Ver. 18. Therefore will I also deal in fury,.... Being provoked by such abominable idolatries, and such horrid insolence, and most contemptuous treatment:
mine eye shall not spare: neither will I have pity: see Eze 5:11;
and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice; very pressingly and earnestly for help, being in great distress:
[yet] will I not hear them; as they turned their backs on him, he will turn a deaf ear to them, and not regard their cries. The Targum is,
"they shall pray before me, with a great voice, and I will not receive their prayer.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Ezekiel 9:1
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 9
In this chapter is contained a vision, representing the destruction of the idolatrous Jews, and the preservation of the godly that were among them, in which different persons were employed; they that were concerned in the destruction of the idolaters are described by their office; they had charge over the city; by their form and appearance, men; by their number, six; by the quarter from whence they came, the way of the higher gate northward; and by the weapons they had in their hands, slaughter ones; and by their place and posture, standing beside the brasen altar, Eze 9:1; among these were one clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side; to whom the glorious God of Israel, who was removed from the cherub to the threshold of the house, gave orders to go through the city of Jerusalem, and mark those that mourned over the abominations of it, Eze 9:3; and the rest he ordered to go through the city, and slay all of every age, and sex, and state, except those that had the mark; beginning at the sanctuary, and filling the courts with the slain; which orders were obeyed, Eze 9:5; upon which the prophet expostulates with the Lord, and intercedes for the people; but is not heard, because of the abounding of iniquity among them; their frequent shedding of blood; their perversion of justice; and their abominable infidelity and atheism; for which reasons he was determined to show them no mercy, Eze 9:8; and the chapter is closed with a report made by the man clothed with linen, that he had done as was commanded him, Eze 9:11.
Ver. 1. He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice,.... That is, the glory of the Lord God of Israel, whom the prophet saw in the temple, and who directed him from place to place, and showed him all the abominations committed there: this loud voice of the Lord was not so much to excite the attention of the prophet, as to call together the ministers of his vengeance; and to show the greatness of his indignation, and the vehemence of his wrath, which was stirred up by the sins of the people:
saying, cause them that have the charge over the city to draw near; or,
"who were appointed over the city,''
as the Targum; that is, the city of Jerusalem; by whom are meant either the ministering angels, who had been the guardians of it, but now were to be employed another way; or the princes of the Chaldean army, who had a charge against the city to destroy it; see Isa 10:6. The Syriac version is, "draw near, ye avengers of the city"; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions are "the vengeance of the city draws nigh":
even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand; weapons of war, as bows and arrows, sword and spear; see Jer 6:22.
Ezekiel 9:2
Ver. 2. And, behold, six men,.... Either angels the form of men; or the generals of Nebuchadnezzar's army, as Kimchi interprets it; whose names are, Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, Jer 39:3; these six executioners of God's vengeance are, in the Talmud {n}, called
"wrath, anger, fury, destruction, breach, and consumption:''
came from the way of the higher gate, Kimchi observes, from the Rabbins, that this is the eastern gate called the higher or upper gate, because it was above the court of the Israelites. Maimonides {o} says, the upper gate is the gate Nicanor; and why is it called the upper gate? because it was above the court of the women; see 2Ki 15:35;
which lieth toward the north: where were the image of jealousy, and the women weeping for Tammuz, and other idolatrous practices were committed; which were the cause of the coming of these destroyers: moreover, the Chaldean army with its generals came out of the north; for Babylon lay north or northeast of Jerusalem; and so this gate, as Kimchi says, was northeast; and he adds, and Babylon was northeast of the land of Israel; see Jer 1:13;
and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; as ordered, Eze 9:1, a different word is here used; it signifies a hammer, with which rocks are broken in pieces, as the above mentioned Jewish writer observes. The Septuagint render it an axe or hatchet:
and one man among them; not one of the six, but who made a seventh. The Jews say this was Gabriel {p}; but this was not a created angel, as they; nor the Holy Spirit as Cocceius; but the Son of God, in a human form; he was among the six, at the head of them, as their leader and commander; he was but one, they six; one Saviour, and six destroyers:
[was] clothed with linen; not in the habit of a warrior, but of a priest; who, as such, had made atonement for the sins of his people, and intercession for them; and this may also denote the purity of his human nature, and his unspotted righteousness, the fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints: and
with a writer's inkhorn by his side; or "at his loins" {q}; nor a slaughter weapon, as the rest; but a writer's inkhorn; hence Kimchi takes him to be the king of Babylon's scribe; but a greater is here meant; even he who took down the names of God's elect in the book of life; and who takes an account, and keeps a book of the words, and even thoughts, of his people and also of their sighs, groans, and tears; see Mal 3:16; but now his business was to mark his people, and distinguish them from others, in a providential way; and keep and preserve them from the general ruin and destruction that was coming upon Jerusalem: or, "a girdle on his lions", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; and so was prepared and fit for business; which sense of the word is approved of by Castel {r}; and he asks, what has an inkhorn to do at a man's loins? but it should be observed, that it was the custom of the eastern people to carry inkhorns at their sides, and particularly in their girdles, as the Turks do now; who not only fix their knives and poniards in them, as Dr. Shaw {s} relates; but the "hojias", that is, the writers and secretaries, hang their inkhorns in them; and by whom it is observed, that that part of these inkhorns which passes between the girdle and the tunic, and holds their pens, is long and flat; but the vessel for the ink, which rests upon the girdle, is square, with a lid to clasp over it:
and they went in; to the temple, all seven:
and stood beside the brasen altar; the altar of burnt offering, so called to distinguish it from the altar of incense, which was of gold; here they stood not to offer sacrifice, but waiting for their orders, to take vengeance for the sins committed in the temple, and at this altar; near to which stood the image of jealousy, Eze 8:5.
{n} T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1. {o} Hilchot Cele Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 6. {p} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 77. 1. & Gloss. in ib. {q} wyntmb "in lumbis suis", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. {r} Lexic. Polyglott. col. 3393. {s} Travels, p. 227. Ed. 2.
Ezekiel 9:3
Ver. 3. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub,
whereupon he was,.... That is, the glorious God of Israel; or the glorious Shechinah, and divine Majesty, which dwelt between the cherubim over the mercy seat in the most holy place, removed from thence, as a token of his being about to depart from the temple, which in a short time would be destroyed. The Targum is,
"the glory of the God of Israel departed in the cherub on which he dwelt, in the house of the holy of holies;''
the cherubim removed with him, and were his chariot in which he rode; see Eze 10:18;
to the threshold of the house; of the holy of holies, as Jarchi interprets it; and so was nearer to the brasen altar, where the seven men stood, to give them their orders; of which an account follows:
and he called to the man clothed with linen, which [had] the writer's inkhorn by his side; he, being the principal person, is called first; and his business being to preserve the Lord's people shows that this was the first care of God.
Ezekiel 9:4
Ver. 4. And the Lord said unto him,.... This shows that a divine Person is meant by the glory of the God of Israel:
go through the midst of the city; that is, as it is next explained,
through the midst of Jerusalem; the city the six men had the charge over or against, Eze 9:1;
and set a mark upon the foreheads; not the Hebrew letter t, as some say, because in the form of a cross, and so signifying salvation by the cross of Christ; for this letter has no such form, neither in the characters used by the Jews, nor by the Samaritans, at least in the present character; though Origen and Jerom on the place say that the letter "tau" had the form of a cross in the letters the Samaritans used in their time; and this is defended by Walton {t}, who observes, that Azariah in his Hebrew alphabet gives a double figure, one like that which is in present use, and another in the form of a cross, called St. Andrew's cross, and as it appears in some shekels; and in the Vatican alphabet, which Angelus E Roccha published, the last letter has the form of a cross; as have the Ethiopic and Coptic alphabets, which, it is certain, sprung from the ancient Hebrew; and so Montfaucon says {u}, in some Samaritan coins, the letter "thau" has the form of a cross; which, if Scaliger had met with, he says he would never have opposed the testimonies of Origen and Jerom; though, after all, it seems to be no other than the form of the Greek "x"; and so the Talmudists say {w} the high priest, was anointed on his forehead in the same form: some think this letter was the mark, because it is the first letter of the word hrwt, "the law"; as if it pointed out such who were obedient to it; or of the word hyxt "thou shall live". It is a Rabbinical fancy, mentioned by Kimchi {x}, that Gabriel had orders to write the letter t in ink upon the foreheads of the righteous, and in blood upon the foreheads of the wicked; in the one it signified hyxt, "thou shall live", and in the other twmt, "thou shall die"; but, as Calvin observes, rather, if this letter could be thought to be meant, the reason of it was, because it is the last letter of the alphabet; and so may signify, that the Lord's people marked with it are the last among men, or the faith of the world; or that such who persevere to the end shall be saved: but the word signifies, not a letter, but a mark or sign; and so it is interpreted in the Septuagint version, and by the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and others; and denotes the distinction the Lord had made by his grace between them and others; and now by his power and providence in the protection of them; for the, Lord knows them that are his, and will preserve them. The allusion is either to the marking of servants in their foreheads, by which they were known who they belonged to, Re 7:3; or to the sprinkling of the posts of the Israelites' houses with blood, when the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, Ex 12:22;
of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof; the abominations were those abominable idolatries mentioned in the preceding chapter, and those dreadful immoralities hinted at in Eze 9:9; all which were grieving and distressing to godly minds, because they were contrary to the nature and will of God; transgressions, of his righteous law; and on account of which his name was dishonoured, and his ways blasphemed and evil spoken of; for these they sighed and groaned in private, and mourned and lamented in public; bearing their testimony against them with bitter expressions of grief and sorrow, by groans, words, and tears; and such as these are taken notice of by the Lord; he comforts those that mourn in Zion, and preserves them.
{t} Supplementum de Sicl. Formis, p. 37. 3. Prolegom. 3. de lingua Hebr. sect. 36. {u} Palaeograph. Graec. l. 2. c. 3. {w} T. Bab. Ceritot, c. 1. fol. 5. 2. {x} Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1.
Ezekiel 9:5
Ver. 5. And, to the others he said in mine hearing,.... To the other six men that had the slaughter weapons in their hands:
go ye after him through the city; that is, after the man clothed with linen; for he was sent out first to take care of the righteous, and preserve them; and the rest were not suffered to stir till he was gone; and then they are bid to go after him. The Syriac version is,
"to them that were with him he said to them before me, go through the city after me;''
as if these were the words of the man clothed with linen to the other six; and so the Arabic version; of it the other is the true reading, and gives the right sense, as the following words show:
and smite; the inhabitants of the city:
let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; not that the Chaldeans were inclined to mercy and pity, for they were a cruel and barbarous people; but this is said to show the resentment of God against the sins of the Jews; and that it was his will they should act the severe part they did.
Ezekiel 9:6
Ver. 6. Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children,
and women,.... All, of them objects of compassion, because of their age and sex; and yet none to be spared; and which orders were exactly obeyed; see 2Ch 36:17;
but come not near any man on whom [is] the mark; these were not to be slain; and though some were carried captive, as Daniel, and others; yet it was for their good and God's glory; see Re 7:3;
and begin at my sanctuary; the temple, the house of God, and the priests and Levites that dwelt there. The Septuagint version is, "begin at my saints"; those who professed themselves to be the saints of the Lord, and were separated and devoted to his service; and so the Rabbins say {y}, do not read yvdqmm, "at my sanctuary"; but yvdwqmm, "at those that sanctify me", or "my sanctified ones"; which they interpret of those that keep the whole law, from "aleph" to "tau"; see 1Pe 4:17;
then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house; the seventy elders of Israel, who offered incense to the idols portrayed upon the walls of the chambers of the temple, Eze 8:10; these they slew first.
{y} T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 4. 1.
Ezekiel 9:7
Ver. 7. And he said unto them, defile the house,.... The temple; do not be afraid of slaying any person in it, for fear of defiling it; they have defiled it with their abominations, and now do you defile it with their blood:
and fill the courts with the slain; the court of the priests, and the court of the Israelites, and the court of the women, and all the chambers where the priests and Levites were, and had their images portrayed:
go ye forth; from the brasen altar by which they stood, and out of the temple, after they had done their business there, and had slain all they should:
and they went forth, and slew in the city; they went out of the temple, and slew in the city all but those that had the mark.
Ezekiel 9:8
Ver. 8. And it came to pass, while they were slaying them,.... That were in the city:
and I was left; in the temple; and the only one that was left there, the rest were slain; for there were none marked in the temple, only in the city, Eze 9:4;
that I fell upon my face; as a supplicant, with great humility:
and cried, and said; being greatly distressed with this awful providence:
ah, Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel; the ten tribes had been carried captive before; there only remained the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and these were now threatened with an utter destruction:
in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? shown in the destruction of men, both in the city and temple, by famine, pestilence, and sword.
Ezekiel 9:9
Ver. 9. Then he said unto me,.... In order to satisfy the prophet, and make him easy, and show the equity and justice of the divine proceedings:
the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah [is] exceeding great; it cannot be well conceived or expressed how great it is; it abounded and superabounded: this is the answer in general, but in particular it follows:
and the land is full of blood; of murders, as the Targum interprets it; of shedding of innocent blood; and even of all atrocious and capital crimes:
and the city full of perverseness; or of perversion of judgment, as the Targum; the city of Jerusalem, where was the highest court of judicature, where the sanhedrim of seventy one sat to do justice and judgment, have nothing but perversion and injustice:
for they say, the Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not; does not concern himself with human affairs, and takes no notice of what is done below; and, having imbibed such atheistical principles, were hardened in sin, and gave themselves over to all iniquity; having no restraints upon them from the consideration of the providence of God, and his government of the world: or else the sense is, that the Lord had withheld his mercy and favours from them; and therefore they showed no regard to him, and looked upon all their evils and calamities as fortuitous events, and not as ordered by him as punishments for their sins.
Ezekiel 9:10
Ver. 10. And as for me also,.... As they have not spared the poor and the needy, the widow and the fatherless, but have perverted their judgment, and shed innocent blood:
mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, [but] I will recompence their way upon their head; deal with them by the law of retaliation, and reward them according to their deserts; see Eze 7:4.
Ezekiel 9:11
Ver. 11. And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which [had] the inkhorn by his side,.... Eze 9:2; to whom the orders were given to mark the mourners in the city, Eze 9:4. The Syriac version is, "then I saw the man", &c. which must direct him to observe and call to mind the distinguishing goodness of God to his own people:
reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me; meaning that the righteous were marked, and had been preserved, while the others were slain. Christ, as man and Mediator, sustains the character of a servant; as such he has commands enjoined him, which he has obeyed; he has done all he was to do; he has fulfilled the whole will of God, and wrought out the complete salvation of his people; a report of which he made when here on earth, Joh 17:4; and will do again at the last day; when all his people will be gathered in, and he shall deliver the kingdom to the Father, and present them all to him, having been kept by his power, saying, "lo, I and the children thou hast given me", Isa 8:18; when all will be done as was commanded, and he undertook, and the report made accordingly. Ben Melech observes, that the "Keri", or marginal reading is,
"according to all which thou hast commanded me;''
as if he should say, there is nothing wanting of all that was commanded.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Ezekiel 10:1
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 10
In this chapter is a vision, very much like that in the first chapter, with some difference, and with a different view, the design of it being to represent the wrath of God against Jerusalem, and his departure from the city and temple. A throne much like that in Eze 1:26 is described,
Eze 10:1; orders are given from it to scatter coals over the city,
Eze 10:2; the situation of the cherubim when these orders were given,
Eze 10:3; the removal of the glory of the Lord from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the consequences of it; the house filled with smoke; the court with the brightness of the Lord's glory; and the sound of the cherubim's wings heard to the outer court, as the voice of God, Eze 10:4; the orders of taking and scattering fire over the city executed, and the manner in which they were, Eze 10:6; a description of the cherubim and the wheels, much like that in the first chapter, Eze 10:8; the departure of the glory of God from the threshold to the east gate of the Lord's house, with the motion of the cherubim and wheels along with him, Eze 10:18; and the chapter is concluded with observing, that the cherubim are the same with the living creatures seen in the vision of the first chapter, and had the same form, likeness, and motion, Eze 10:20.
Ver. 1. Then I looked, and, behold,.... After the vision of the destruction of the greater part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by the six men with slaughter weapons, and of the preservation of a few by the man clothed with linen; another vision is seen by the prophet, in some things like to that he saw, of which there is an account in the first chapter; though in some circumstances different, and exhibited with a different view; partly to represent the destruction of Jerusalem by fire, and partly the Lord's removal from it, before or at that time:
in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim; the same with the living creatures, Eze 1:22; where the firmament or expanse of heaven is said to be over their heads, as here; See Gill on "Eze 1:22":
there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne; See Gill on "Eze 1:26".
Ezekiel 10:2
Ver. 2. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen,.... That is, the God of Israel, or the glory of the Lord, that sat upon the throne before described; he gave orders to the man clothed in linen, who appears in another character, and represents the Chaldean or Roman army:
and said, go in between the wheels, [even] under the cherub; the singular for the plural, the "cherubim"; the wheels were under these; the churches are under their ministers, their pastors, guides, and governors; or rather, since the wheels were by the cherubim, it should be rendered, as by some, "unto the cherub", or "cherubim" {a}:
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter [them] over the city; these "coals of fire" were an emblem of the wrath of God against Jerusalem, and of the destruction of it by fire; and these being fetched from between the cherubim, show that the cause of this wrath and ruin was the ill treatment of the prophets of the Lord; see 2Ch 36:15; as the destruction of the same city afterwards by the Romans was owing, as to the rejection and killing of the Messiah, so to the prosecution of his apostles, 1Th 2:15;
and he went in my sight; in the sight of the prophet, as it appeared to him in vision he saw him go in, as he was ordered, between the wheels, and under the cherubim; but as yet he did not see him take the coals of fire, and much less scatter them; these were afterwards done, as related in the other part of the vision.
{a} bwrkl txt la "in locum cerubinorum, [vel] cheruborum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ad cherubim", Tigurine version; which is approved by Noldius, p. 84. No. 398.
Ezekiel 10:3
Ver. 3. Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house,.... According to the Targum, it was the south side of the house; and so Jarchi interprets it opposite to the north, where the gross idolatries were committed, Eze 8:3; standing at the greatest distance from them, and bearing their testimony against them:
when the man went in; they stood as it were in a levee, through which the man passed, waiting upon him; paying a respect to him; assenting to what he did; and approving of it: this circumstance is mentioned, because they were not always in this position, only at this time; nor did they continue so; we afterwards hear of their motion:
and the cloud filled the inner court; the court of the priests, not as a token of God's presence, as at the dedication of the temple; but rather of judicial blindness and darkness, which the people of the Jews were left unto.
Ezekiel 10:4
Ver. 4. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub,.... Or, "cherubim"; those that were upon the mercy seat, between which the Shechinah or glorious majesty of God dwelt, in the most holy place: this is a token and intimation of the Lord's leaving of the temple; and a little before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, to which this vision chiefly, if not together, refers, a voice was heard in the temple,
"let us go hence {b}:''
[and stood] over the threshold of the house; either of the holy of holies, from whence he was removing; or rather of the holy place, the court of the priests, the inward court, and so open to the outward court, and view of the people in it:
and the house was filled with the cloud; the temple, being forsaken of God, was filled with darkness; as an emblem of that blindness which is come upon the Jews, and will continue on them till the fulness of the Gentiles brought in:
and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory; either the inward court, as the glory of the Lord passed through it, from the holy of holies; or rather the outward court, of which mention is made in Eze 10:4; the glory of the Lord being on the threshold Of the house, which looked towards that, and so enlightened it. This outward court signifies the Gentiles; who, when the Lord removed from the Jewish nation and people, were favoured with the glorious light of the Gospel, and ordinances of Christ; whereby they were enlightened, and filled with the knowledge of the Lord; with the knowledge of him, who is the brightness of his father's glory, and the express image of his person; so through the fall of the Jews salvation came to the Gentiles,
Ro 11:11.
{b} Josephus de Bello Judaeorum, l. 6. c. 5, sect. 3.
Ezekiel 10:5
Ver. 5. And the sound of the cherubim's wings was heard [even] to the outer court,.... Or outward court. The sound of the Gospel, which is a joyful sound; a sound of love, grace, and mercy; of life, liberty, peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ; the sound of this in the swift ministry of the apostles, signified by the "cherubim's wings", went into all the earth, and throughout the whole Gentile world; by which many souls were quickened and enlightened; many churches were formed; and the glory of the Lord, being revealed, was seen by all flesh; and the whole world was filled with the brightness of the Lord's glory, as it will be again, and more abundantly, in the latter day: and this sound was
as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh; the Gospel is as thunder, which is the voice of God; and the ministers of it are "Boanergeses", "sons of thunder", Mr 3:17: it shakes the conscience; shows men their danger; and points at the Saviour: it is not the word of man, but in deed and in truth the word of God: it is the voice of Christ, who is the Almighty; and it appears to be so, by its powerful effects, when attended with a divine energy, in quickening dead sinners; enlightening dark minds; unstopping deaf ears; softening hard hearts; and turning men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; it is so when God speaks in it, and by it; when it comes not in word only, but in the Holy Ghost, and in power.
Ezekiel 10:6
Ver. 6. And it came to pass, [that] when he had commanded the man clothed with linen,.... After the orders were given by him that was upon the throne to the man thus described:
saying, take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim; as in Eze 10:2;
then he went in; immediately, into the place where the wheels and cherubim were; even under the firmament of heaven, and the throne that was in it:
and stood beside the wheels, or "wheel"; to see what it was, as Kimchi thinks; or rather in order to go in between them, as he was bid to do,
Eze 10:2.
Ezekiel 10:7
Ver. 7. And [one] cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim,.... One of the four living creatures, or cherubim, put out his hand from among the rest:
unto the fire that [was] between the cherubim; so fire is said to go up and down among them, Eze 1:13; to which the reference is here:
and took [thereof], and put [it] into the hands of [him that was] clothed with linen: denoting, as before observed, that it was for the ill usage of the ministers of God's word that wrath came upon the people of the Jews, and the destruction of their city by fire; so wrath will come upon antichrist, and the antichristian states, for their usage of the ministers and churches of Christ, and in consequence of the prayers, and by the instigation of such persons; see Re 6:9; so one of the four beasts or living creatures, the same with the cherubim here, is said to give to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Re 15:7;
who took [it], and went out; took the fire, and went out of the temple, and scattered it upon the city of Jerusalem; so representing the Chaldean, or rather the Roman army, burning it with fire; see Mt 22:7; where they are called the armies of the King of kings.
Ezekiel 10:8
Ver. 8. And there appeared in the cherubim,.... The Septuagint version is, "I saw the cherubim"; and so the Syriac version, "I saw in the cherubim"; what follows:
the form of a man's hand under their wings; one of them put forth his hand, which was seen by the prophet, as declared in Eze 10:7; but this was only the "form" of one; which is observed to show that it is not to be taken literally, but as seen in the vision of prophecy; and being under their wings denotes secrecy and privacy: and the whole being applied to the ministers of the word is expressive of their activity and diligence in the work of the Lord, both in private and in public; and that they make no boast nor show of their works and labours, and ascribe nothing to themselves, but all to the grace of God that is with them, 1Co 15:10;
See Gill on "Eze 1:8".
Ezekiel 10:9
Ver. 9. And when I looked, behold, the four wheels by the cherubim,.... The churches by the ministers: of these "wheels", and why the churches are so called, and of their number "four", and their situation "by" the cherubim, See Gill on "Eze 1:15";
one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: a minister to a church; every church has its own pastor, elder, or overseer, by it, and over it:
and the appearance of the wheels [was] as the colour of a beryl stone; a precious stone of a sea green; See Gill on "Eze 1:16". The Targum renders it in general, "a precious stone"; the Septuagint version, "a carbuncle"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "a chrysolite".
Ezekiel 10:10
Ver. 10. And [as for] their appearances, they four had one likeness,.... They were exactly like one another; they were all composed of the same matter, had all the colour of a beryl stone, were all in the same form of a wheel; and in matter, form, and shape, entirely tallied and agreed one with another, as true Gospel churches do:
See Gill on "Eze 1:16";
as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel: not included in one another, but were formed in a cross or transverse way;
See Gill on "Eze 1:16".
Ezekiel 10:11
Ver. 11. When they went, they went upon their four sides,.... Which four sides they had, by being made in the transverse way before mentioned; just as the New Jerusalem church state is said to be foursquare, Re 21:16; and this may denote the uniformity of Gospel churches in every state and condition, prosperous and adverse; and the constancy of their walk, conduct, and conversation:
they turned not as they went: neither to the right hand or the left, but went on in the path of faith and duty, keeping close to the word of God, and keeping up a conversation, discipline, and worship, according to it:
but to the place where the head looked they, followed it; meaning either the rulers, guides, and governors of churches, pastors and elders; whose faith and conversation are followed by the members: or rather Christ himself, the head of the church, who is to be followed whithersoever he goes or directs: unless by the head is meant the same as the spirit, Eze 1:20; the Spirit of God, by whom the true members of Gospel churches are led, and after whom they walk. The Targum is,
"the place to which the first turned (or looked), after it they went;''
that is, the first of the wheels; and so may signify that the primitive churches are the pattern after which all the churches in after ages are to go;
they turned not as they went; this is repeated partly for the confirmation of it; and partly to excite attention to it, as being worthy of observation; See Gill on "Eze 1:17".
Ezekiel 10:12
Ver. 12. And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings,.... This is to be understood not of the wheels, to whom body or flesh, backs, hands, and wings, do not belong, but of the cherubim; and the sense is, that as the wheels were alike, and had one and the same form and appearance, so had the cherubim; they were exactly alike in their body, backs, hands, and wings; denoting the agreement between Gospel ministers, in their doctrine, work, and conversation:
and the wheels [were] full of eyes round about; that is, the rings or circles of the wheels, as in Eze 1:18; signifying that churches consisted of enlightened persons, who had a sight of their sin and danger, and looked to Christ for salvation, and walked circumspectly, and watched over one another:
[even] the wheels that they four had: the wheels that belonged to the four living creatures or cherubim.
Ezekiel 10:13
Ver. 13. As for the wheels, it was cried to them in my hearing,.... Or they were called, as the prophet heard in the vision, by the following name:
O wheel, or, "the wheel": for though there are several particular churches, yet they make up but one general assembly and Church of the firstborn, written in heaven; and will be all together in their perfect state, signified by the round form of the wheel;
See Gill on "Eze 1:15".
Ezekiel 10:14
Ver. 14. And everyone had four faces,.... That is, everyone of the wheels, for of these the words are continued; and which agrees with Eze 1:15;
See Gill on "Eze 1:15":
the first face [was] the face of a cherub; this being in the room of the ox's face, Eze 1:10, shows that the face of an ox and a cherub are the same; and that the living creatures have the general name of cherubim, from the face of an ox; and are so called from brk, which in the Syriac and Chaldee languages signifies to "plough", that creature being made use of in such service:
and the second face [was] the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle; how these are applicable to Gospel churches, and the true members of them,
See Gill on "Eze 1:15".
Ezekiel 10:15
Ver. 15. And the cherubim were lifted up,.... From the earth;
See Gill on "Eze 1:19";
this [is] the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar: a river in Chaldea, where the prophet was when he had the vision of the living creatures recorded in the "first" chapter; and hence it is out of doubt that the living creatures and the cherubim are the same.
Ezekiel 10:16
Ver. 16. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went by them,.... Ministers being guides to the churches in doctrine, worship, devotion, and conversation; See Gill on "Eze 1:19";
and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth,
the same wheels also turned not from beside them; ministers and churches go together; if the one remove, the other do also; they cannot long subsist without each other; and, generally speaking, as are the light, knowledge, zeal, affection, and devotion of the one, such are those of the other; See Gill on "Eze 1:19".
Ezekiel 10:17
Ver. 17. When they stood, [these] stood,.... When the one were inactive, lifeless, and without motion, making no progress in knowledge, experience, and practice, the other were so likewise;
See Gill on "Eze 1:21";
and when they were lifted up, [these] lifted up themselves [also]; like people, like priest, whether in things commendable or not, Ho 4:9;
for the spirit of the living creature [was] in them; the same spirit that was in the cherubim was in the wheels; and the same Spirit of God, who is a "spirit of life" {c}, as the words may be rendered, is in the churches, as in the ministers; generally speaking, if the one are lively, the other are also, and both move as they are acted by the Spirit; and also their motion from place to place, which is spoken of in Eze 10:18, is directed by the Spirit; see Ac 16:6.
{c} hyxh xwr pneuma bwhv, Sept. "spiritus vitae", V. L. Starckius.
Ezekiel 10:18
Ver. 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house,.... Whither he had removed from the cherub or the cherubim, between the mercy seat, Eze 10:4; taking another step towards a general departure from the temple and city, of which this was another signal and warning:
and stood over the cherubim: not on the mercy seat from whence he came, for hither he returned not; but over the cherubim or living creatures seen in the vision, which were under the throne in the firmament of heaven; an emblem, as we have seen, of Gospel ministers: and this may denote the exaltation of Christ, who is the glory of the Lord, the brightness of his Father's glory, above sheen; his protection of them, and presence with them; for, let him move where he will, he will not depart from his faithful ministers; he will be with them to the end of the world.
Ezekiel 10:19
Ver. 19. And the cherubim lifted up their wings,.... As birds do, when they are about to remove and fly away; these being upon the motion, ready to depart, as well as the glory of the Lord:
and mounted up from the earth in my sight: the land of Judea, where the Gospel was first preached; but this being slighted and despised, the apostles and first ministers of the Gospel took their flight from thence, and turned to the Gentiles:
when they went out, the wheels also [were] beside them: wherever they went in the Gentile world, their ministry was successful, souls were converted, and churches formed; when the glory of the God of Israel departed from the temple, and from the city of Jerusalem, and from the land of Judea, the Gospel ministry and the Gospel church state were removed likewise, and carried and fixed elsewhere:
and [everyone] stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; that is, the glory of the God of Israel, and the cherubim, and the wheels, they stood together in one place, the eastern gate of the temple, one of the outward gates: the gate of the court of the Israelites, or outward court, which looked to the east; which shows that they were just going, and leaving the house or temple desolate, no more to return to it; see Mt 23:38; the next remove was into the city, and then to a mountain on the east side of it; see Eze 11:23; it was in the eastern part of the world that the Gospel was first preached, after it was carried from Judea:
and the glory of the God of Israel [was] over them above; both over the cherubim and the wheels; great gifts were bestowed upon the ministers, and great grace was upon the churches; and the presence of God was with both, and a glory on them, and on that glory a defence.
Ezekiel 10:20
Ver. 20. This [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel, by the river of Chebar,.... This is repeated from
Eze 10:15; not only for the confirmation of it; but with an addition, to show that the appearance of the man upon the throne, Eze 1:26, is no other than the God of Israel; and inasmuch as Christ is there meant, for the Father never appeared in a human form, it follows that Christ is the God of Israel, under whose power, protection, and influence, the cherubim, his ministers, are; and so this is a proof of the true and proper deity of Christ:
and I knew that they [were] the cherubim; not by having seen the cherubim on the mercy seat, and comparing these forms with them, which none but a high priest could ever see; for, though Ezekiel was a priest, it does not appear that he was a high priest; but by the forms of them he had seen carved on the doors and walls of the temple, 1Ki 6:29.
Ezekiel 10:21
Ver. 21. Every one had four faces apiece,.... Every one of the four living creatures, or cherubim, had four faces; which were the face of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and of an eagle, Eze 1:10;
and everyone four wings: the Septuagint version reads eight wings; and the Syriac version "six"; so many in all indeed they had,
See Gill on "Eze 1:23";
and the likeness of the hands of a man [was] under their wings;
See Gill on "Eze 10:8".
Ezekiel 10:22
Ver. 22. And the likeness of their faces [was] the same faces,.... Or their faces were like the same,
which I saw by the river of Chebar; which prove that the living creatures and the cherubim must be the same:
their appearance and themselves; were exactly the same there was no difference in their faces or in their bodies:
they went everyone straight forward; their motion as well as their form were alike; they kept one even course, looking right on, and their eyes right before them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Ezekiel 11:1
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 11
This chapter contains an account of the sins of the princes of Judah; a prophecy of their destruction; some comfortable, promises respecting those of the captivity; and the chapter is closed with the finishing of the vision of the Lord's removing from Jerusalem; and the whole being ended, the prophet related it to the men of the captivity. In Eze 11:1; the prophet, is shown five and twenty men, among whom were two he knew, and are mentioned by name, and were princes of the people; and he is told that these men devised mischief, and gave bad advice to the people,
Eze 11:2; wherefore he is bid to prophesy against them,
Eze 11:4; which he accordingly did, the Spirit of the Lord falling upon him, Eze 11:5; declaring that their secret evils were known, as well as their public ones; and that, seeing they had multiplied their slain, and had feared the sword, the sword should come upon them; some should fall by it, and others should be carried captive; the consequence of which would be, that God would be known, and his justice acknowledged, it being what their sins deserved, Eze 11:6; upon this prophecy being delivered out, one of the princes before named died immediately; which filled the prophet with great concern, and put him upon expostulating with God, Eze 11:13; wherefore, for his comfort, he is told, that though the inhabitants of Jerusalem had insulted their brethren that were carried captive, and looked upon the land of Israel as their own possession, that God would be a little sanctuary to them; that he would gather them out of all lands, and give them the land of Israel; that they should come thither, and remove all idolatry from it, and should have regenerating and renewing grace given them, to walk in the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, by which they should appear to be his people, and he to be their God, Eze 11:14; but as for such that continued in their abominable idolatries, these should receive a just recompence of reward, Eze 11:21; after which follows an account of the entire removal of the glory of the Lord from the city of Jerusalem,
Eze 11:22; and the prophet being, in vision, brought again to Chaldea, reports the whole he had seen to them of the captivity,
Eze 11:24.
Ver. 1. Moreover, the spirit lifted me up,.... From the inner court of the temple, where the prophet was, according to the last account of him, Eze 8:16; it was the same Spirit that took him by the lock of his head, and lifted him up, as in Eze 8:3; and perhaps in the same manner:
and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward; where were the cherubim, and the wheels, and the glory of God above them, Eze 10:19;
and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; not the same as in Eze 8:16; for they were in a different place, between the porch and the altar; and about different service, they were worshipping there; and seem to be men of a different order, priests; whereas these were at the door of the eastern gate, sitting as a court of judicature, and were civil magistrates; though Jarchi and Kimchi take them to be the same. Some say Jerusalem was divided into twenty four parishes, districts, or wards, and everyone had its own head, ruler, and governor; and that there was one who was the president over them all, like the mayor and aldermen of a city;
among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur; not the same that is mentioned in Eze 8:11; he was the son of Shaphan, this of Azur; he was one of the seventy of the ancients of Israel, this one of the twenty five heads or rulers of the people; he seems to have been a prince; by having a censer in his hand, this was a priest: the Septuagint and Arabic versions call him Jechoniah:
and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah; these two are mentioned by name, as being principal men, and well known by the prophet; and the latter is observed more especially for what befell him, hereafter related:
princes of the people; men who were entrusted with power and authority to exercise the laws of the nation; and who should have been reformers of the people, and ought to have given them good advice, and set them good examples; whereas they were the reverse, as follows:
Ezekiel 11:2
Ver. 2. Then said he unto me, son of man,.... That is, the Lord, or, the Spirit of the Lord, that lifted him up:
these [are] the men that devise mischief; or "vanity" {d}; this is to be understood not of the two only that are named, though it may of them chiefly; but of all the twenty five, who formed schemes for the holding out of the siege, and for the security of the city, and of themselves in it, which was all folly and vanity:
and give wicked counsel in this city; either in ecclesiastical affairs, to forsake the worship of God, and cleave to the idols of the nations; or in civil things, as follows:
{d} Nwa "vanitatem", Calvin, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius; "vanum", Cocceius, Starckius.
Ezekiel 11:3
Ver. 3. Which say [it is] not near, let us build houses,.... Meaning that the destruction of the city was not near, as the prophet had foretold, Eze 7:3; and therefore encourage the people to build houses, and rest themselves secure, as being safe from all danger, and having nothing to fear from the Chaldean army; and so putting away the evil day far from them, which was just at hand: though the words may be rendered, "it is not [proper] to build houses near" {e}; near the city of Jerusalem, in the suburbs of it, since they would be liable to be destroyed by the enemy; but this would not be condemned as wicked counsel, but must be judged very prudent and advisable: and the same may be objected to another rendering of the word, which might be offered, "not in the midst to build houses"; or it is not proper to build houses in the midst of the city, in order to receive the multitude that flock out of the country, through fear of the enemy, to Jerusalem for safety; since by this means, as the number of the inhabitants would be increased, so provisions in time would become scarce, and a famine must ensue, which would oblige to deliver up the city into the hands of the besiegers; wherefore the first sense seems best. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render them, "are not the houses lately built?" and so not easily demolished, and are like to continue long, and we in them;
this [city is] the cauldron, and we [be] the flesh; referring to, and laughing at, what one of the prophets, namely Jeremiah, had said of them, comparing them to a boiling pot, Jer 1:13; and it is as if they should say, be it so, that this city is as a cauldron or boiling pot, then we are the flesh in it; and as flesh is not taken out of a pot until it is boiled, no more shall we be removed from hence till we die; we shall live and die in this city; and as it is difficult and dangerous to take hot boiling meat out of a cauldron, so it, is unlikely we should be taken out of this city, and carried captive; what a cauldron or brasen pot is to the flesh, it holds and keeps it from falling into the fire; that the walls of Jerusalem are to us, our safety and preservation; nor need we fear captivity.
{e} Mytb twnb bwrqb al "non in propinque aedificandae domus", Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius, Polanus; "non in propinquo aedificare domos", Montanus, Piscator, Starckius.
Ezekiel 11:4
Ver. 4. Therefore prophesy against them,.... Evil things against them, things that are disagreeable to them; since they flatter themselves with good things, and cry peace and safety, let them know that destruction is coming upon them: or, "concerning them" {f}; what will befall them, and that it will be otherwise with them than they imagine:
prophesy, O son of man; this is repeated, not only to stir up the prophet to the performance of his work and office, not fearing the faces, and revilings, and mockings of men; but to show the indignation of the Lord at their scoffs and jeers, and the certain accomplishment of what should be predicted.
{f} Mhyle "de eis", V. L. "super eos", Pagninus, Montanus.
Ezekiel 11:5
Ver. 5. And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me,.... In an extraordinary manner, and afresh, and enlightened his mind, and showed him things that should come to pass; and filled him with boldness and courage to declare them. The Targum interprets it of the spirit of prophecy:
and said unto me, speak; what I shall show and put into thy mouth, that speak out; be not afraid, but boldly declare all that I give thee in commission to say:
thus saith the Lord, thus have ye said, O house of Israel; as in
Eze 11:3; which perhaps was said in secret, and spoken privately, but known by the Lord; and it was not only the princes that said it, but the whole body of the people joined in with it, and agreed to it; though it is very probable they were influenced by the former:
for I know the things that come into your mind, [everyone of] them; not only their scoffing words, but the thoughts of their hearts; not one of them escaped the knowledge of God; the consideration of which should command an awe on men, and engage them to a watchfulness over their thoughts, words, and actions.
Ezekiel 11:6
Ver. 6. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city,.... Had killed many of the prophets of the Lord that had been sent unto them, and had shed much innocent blood; and not only had unjustly condemned many to die, and had put them to death without a cause; but also the death of all those that were slain while the city was besieging, and when it was taken, were owing to their advice and counsel, in encouraging them to hold out, and not deliver up the city; fancying they should be able to defend it, contrary to the declarations of the Lord by the prophet; wherefore their death is laid to such advisers, and they are called their slain:
and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain; such numbers of innocent persons being put to death, as in the times of Manasseh,
2Ki 21:16; or so many dying of the famine, pestilence, and sword, during the siege, and at the taking of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 11:7
Ver. 7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Applying the parabolical expressions they had derided, and explaining them, in a different sense from what they had put upon them:
your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they [are] the flesh; the prophets they had killed; the persons, who had died innocently for crimes laid to their charge they had not been guilty of; and such who had fallen by one judgment or another since the siege, they were the persons intended by "the flesh", and not such as were alive; and therefore could promise themselves nothing from this proverb they had taken up, and scoffed at:
and this [city is] the cauldron; that holds the slain, and in which they will lie and continue, and not the living:
but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it: where they promised themselves safety, and a long continuance; yet should not abide, but be carried captive.
Ezekiel 11:8
Ver. 8. Ye have feared the sword,.... Of the Chaldeans; and therefore they sent to the Egyptians for help. The Targum is,
"ye have been afraid of them that kill with the sword;''
and not afraid of the Lord; see Mt 10:28;
and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God; or those that kill with the sword, as the Targum; meaning the Chaldeans, who were sent by the Lord, and, when they took the city, put many to death by the sword, and carried captive others.
Ezekiel 11:9
Ver. 9. And I will bring you out of the midst thereof,.... Jerusalem, the cauldron, as they said it was, and where they thought they should be safe; this is repeated, to express the certainty of it, and to excite their attention to it, and remove their vain confidence:
and deliver you into the hands of strangers; the Chaldeans:
and will execute judgments among you; punishments for sin, such as famine, pestilence, sword, and captivity.
Ezekiel 11:10
Ver. 10. Ye shall fall by the sword,.... Of the Chaldeans; not in the city of Jerusalem, but out of it, when it was broken up, and they fled:
I will judge you in the border of Israel; that is, inflict punishment on them, particularly by the sword; which was done at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the sons of Zedekiah were slain, and all the princes of Judah, Jer 52:9; and this was on the border of the land of Israel, Nu 34:8;
and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord; who knows things, and foretells them before they are; and am able to accomplish all that is threatened; and am just and righteous in all my ways and works; and who am known by the judgments executed by me.
Ezekiel 11:11
Ver. 11. This [city] shall not be your cauldron,.... It was one, as in
Eze 11:7; but not theirs; it was the cauldron for the slain, for the dead, but not the living:
neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst of it; or, "and ye shall be" {g} or, "but ye shall be"; the negative is understood, and rightly supplied by us; though the Targum renders it without it,
"but ye shall be in the midst of it, as flesh that is boiled in the midst of a pot:''
[but] I will judge you in the border of Israel; this is repeated, that they might take notice of it, and to assure them that so it would be.
{g} wyht Mtaw "et vos critis", Montanus, Cocceius.
Ezekiel 11:12
Ver. 12. And ye shall know that I [am] the Lord,....
See Gill on "Eze 11:10";
for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments; which is the reason why the Lord would judge them on the border of Israel, and deliver them up into the hands of strangers; nor can he be thought to act the severe and cruel part to them, when this their disobedience is observed; since they had his statutes and his judgments made known to them, which were not known to other nations, and yet they regarded them not; wherefore it was but righteous in him to inflict his judgments upon them; and which is the more aggravated by what follows, and which still more clearly shows the justice of the divine proceedings against them:
but have done after the manners of the Heathens that [are] round about you; or, "the judgments of the Heathens" {h}; regarded them, and acted according to them, when they slighted and disobeyed the judgments of the Lord; instead of worshipping of him according to his revealed will, they served the idols of the nations round about them, and gave into all their superstitious rites and ceremonies.
{h} Myywgh yjpvmk "juxta judicia genitium", Pagninus, Montanus; "secundum jura gentium", Junius & Tremellius; Piscator; "secundum judicia gentium", Cocceius, Starckius.
Ezekiel 11:13
Ver. 13. And it came to pass when I prophesied,.... Or, "as I prophesied" {i}; that is, while he was prophesying, or declaring the above things from the mouth of the Lord, concerning the slaughter of the Jews by the sword, and the captivity of the rest:
that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died; one of the princes of the people, and was among the five and twenty men the prophet saw at the door of the east gate of the temple, Eze 11:1; this man dropped down dead on a sudden, just as Ananias and Sapphira at the feet of Peter, Ac 5:5. It was in a vision Ezekiel saw this, and in the temple; but no doubt at the same time this prince died at his own house, whose death was notified to the prophet in this way;
then fell I down upon my face; as greatly surprised at the event, and filled with concern at what would be the issue of this providence; looking upon it as a pledge and earnest, a token and forerunner, of the utter destruction of the people:
and cried with a loud voice; expressing the vehemency of his affection, and the earnestness of his supplication:
and said, ah, Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? or, "art thou making?" {k} the ten tribes had been carried captive many years ago, and a large number of the other two tribes in Jeconiah's captivity, so that there were but a remnant left in the land; and, upon the sudden and awful death of this prince, the prophet feared the Lord was going to make an utter end of them at once; which he deprecates.
{i} yabnhk "me prophetante", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus. {k} hve hta "tu faciem", Montanus, Starckius.
Ezekiel 11:14
Ver. 14. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,.... In answer to his prayer. The Targum calls it,
"the word of prophecy from the Lord;''
this was by way of comfort to the captives in Babylon, as the former was by way of threatening to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 11:15
Ver. 15. Son of man, thy brethren, [even] thy brethren, the men of thy kindred,.... Or, "of thy redemption" {l}; to whom the right of redemption of his lands and possessions belonged, as it did to those that were next akin. The Septuagint, by a mistake of the word, render it, "the men of thy captivity"; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions, following them. It is true those were his fellow captives who are here meant; some of them that were carried captive were his brethren by blood, and all by nation and religion; and these phrases, and the repetition, of them, are designed not only to excite the prophet's attention to, and to assure them of what is after declared; but to take off his concern for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who had used his brethren ill, and to turn his thoughts and affections towards his friends in Chaldea. Kimchi thinks that these three expressions refer to three captivities; the captivity of the children of Gad and Reuben; the captivity of Samaria, or the ten tribes; and the captivity of Jehoiachin. It follows,
and all the house of Israel wholly [are] they; or,
"all the house of Israel, all of them,''
as the Targum; that is, all the whole house of Israel. The Septuagint render it, "all the house of Israel is made an end of"; the Syriac version, "shall be blotted out"; and the Arabic version, "shall be cut off"; all wrong; since these words are not a threatening to the ten tribes, or those of the Jews in captivity, for all that follows is in favour of them; but only point at the persons the prophet is turned unto, and who are the subject of the following discourse. A colon, or at least a semicolon, should be here put; since the accent "athnach" is upon the last word;
unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, get ye far from the Lord; Kimchi interprets it, from the land of the Lord, the holy land; they being carried captive into a foreign country. The Targum is,
"from the fear of the Lord;''
the worship of the Lord; they being at a distance from the temple, and the service of it. These words are an insult of the inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the captives, suggesting that they were great sinners, and for their sins were taken away from their own land, and carried to Babylon; and that they deserved to be excommunicated from the house and people of God, and were so; and indeed this is a kind of a form of excommunication of them:
unto us is this land given in possession; you have forfeited your right to it, and are disinherited; we are sole heirs, and in the possession of it, and shall ever continue in it. The Syriac version reads this and the preceding clause as if they were the word of the Israelites to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, thus;
"because they said to them, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, depart from the Lord, for unto us is given this land for an inheritance.''
The Arabic version indeed makes them to be the words of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but render the last clause thus; "to you" (that is, "the Israelites") "is given the land for an inheritance".
{l} Ktlag yvna "viri redemptionis tua", Montanus, Heb. "viri redempturae tuae", Piscator.
Ezekiel 11:16
Ver. 16. Therefore say, thus saith the Lord God,.... Since they were so insulted and ill treated by their brethren the Jews:
although I have cast them afar off among the Heathen; both the ten tribes, even all the house of Israel, who were carried into Assyria, and placed in the cities of the Medes, in Halath and Habor, by the river Gozan, 2Ki 17:6; and those of the Jews in Jeconiah's captivity, among whom were Ezekiel, and his brethren, and his kindred:
and although I have scattered them among the countries; and therefore, what with the distance of the place where they were, and the dispersion of them among the people where they resided, their case might seem to be desperate; and that there was no probability, and scarce any possibility, of their being preserved as a people, and of their restoration to their own land:
yet will I be to them a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come; their dwelling place, as he has been to his people in all generations their protection from all their enemies, in whom, and by whose power, they should be safe; and whose presence they should enjoy, though deprived of public ordinances, of temple worship and service; though they were at a distance from the great sanctuary, the temple, the inhabitants of Jerusalem boasted of, yet the Lord would make up the want of that to them with himself. The Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi {m} interpret this of the synagogues, which were second to the temple, the Israelites had in foreign countries, where they prayed to the Lord, and worshipped him, and enjoyed his presence. It may be rendered, "the sanctuary of a few" {n}; they being but few, especially that were truly godly, that were carried captive: or, "a sanctuary for a little while" {o}; that is, during seventy years, and then they should be returned, as follows. The Targum is,
"I have given them synagogues, second to my sanctuary, and they are as few in the provinces where they are carried captive.''
{m} Ex T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 29. 1. {n} jem vdqml "ad sanctuarium paucitatis", Calvin; "in sanctuarium paucorum", Cocceius. So Ben Melech says the word is a substantive in some copies. {o} Paulisper, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Castalio.
Ezekiel 11:17
Ver. 17. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, I will even gather you from the people,.... The Babylonians, Medes, and Persians, where they had been carried captive:
and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered; that is, out of Chaldea and Media, out of which they should come in a body, and not singly, or in small numbers, as they did when Cyrus issued out his proclamation:
and I will give you the land of Israel; not only the Jews of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but many of the ten tribes came out of Babylon with Zerubbabel, and settled in the land of Israel; and hither they came also in later times, even those that settled in other countries; at their several festivals, and about such time more especially that the Messiah was expected, and continued there; and this will have a fuller completion at the restoration of the Jews in the latter days.
Ezekiel 11:18
Ver. 18. And they shall come thither,.... That those of the captivity shall come to the land of Israel, they or their posterity:
and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof; the idols of the nations, that had been there introduced, detestable to God and all good men:
and all the abominations thereof from thence; idols, as before, even all of them, so that idolatry should be wholly rooted out; this had its accomplishment under Zerubbabel, Ezra, Haggai, &c. when the worship of God was restored, and there was a reformation of many abuses in religion; and again in the times of the Maccabees; and will have a greater fulfilment at the time of the conversion of the Jews; when everything that is detestable and abominable among that people will be removed; of which conversion the following words are a prophecy.
Ezekiel 11:19
Ver. 19. And I will give them one heart,.... In opposition to a divided heart, Ho 10:2; divided between the true God and idols, wavering and halting between two opinions, sometimes serving God, and sometimes Baal; a heart to pursue one way of worship, and to serve the Lord with one shoulder or consent, Jer 32:40; a heart sincere to God and man, in opposition to a double or hypocritical one,
Ps 12:2; a heart single to the honour and glory of God, and firmly attached to his word and worship: also concord, harmony, an unity of affections to one another, so as to be of one heart and one soul, as the first Christians were, who were Jews, Ac 4:32; and an unity of judgment, an oneness of principle and practice, as there ought to be, 1Co 1:10; and all this is the gift of God, and flows from his grace and favour. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "another heart"; different from what they had before;
and I will put a new spirit within you; meaning either the Holy Spirit of God, the author of, regeneration and renovation: this is represented by the ancient Jews {p} as the same with the Spirit of the Messiah that moved upon the face of the waters, Ge 1:2; or the spirit of man, the seat of this renewing work; or rather the work itself, called "a new man", "a new creature", Eph 4:24; and this is a new frame and disposition of mind, in which are new principles of light and life, grace and holiness; a new understanding of themselves and state, of God and of Christ, of divine things and Gospel truths; new affections for God, and all that is good; new desires after grace and righteousness, after God and communion with him, after his word and ordinances, and conformity to Christ; new purposes and resolutions to serve the Lord, and glorify him; new delights and joys, and in short all things become new. Instead of "within you", the Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, read, "in them"; and to this the Targum agrees;
and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh; a heart hardened by sin, and confirmed in it; destitute of spiritual life, senseless and stupid as to spiritual things; stubborn and inflexible, on which no impressions are made by corrections, admonitions, and instructions of superiors; and so an impenitent one: this God only can remove; men cannot soften their own hearts; nor can ministers work upon them; nor will judgments themselves bring men to repentance: it is the work of God only; who does it by his word, with which he breaks the rock in pieces; by the discoveries of his love, with which he melts the heart that is harder than the nether millstone; by giving repentance to them, by working faith in them, to look to a crucified Christ and mourn, and all this by "his" Spirit: this is said to be taken "out of their flesh"; not their body, but their nature corrupted by sin, Joh 3:6; which shows that this hardness is natural to men, and rooted in them, and that it requires omnipotence to remove it;
and will give them an heart of flesh; a sensible and penitent one; a soft and tender one; a sanctified and spiritual one; one flexible and obsequious to the will of God; on which impressions are made; on which the laws of God are written; into which the doctrines of the Gospel are transcribed, Christ is formed, and the fear of God is implanted, with every other grace, all which are the gifts of God, and owing to his efficacious grace. The Targum of the whole is,
"and I will give them a fearing heart, and a spirit of fear I will put in their bowels (or in the midst of them); and I will break the heart of wickedness, which is as hard as a stone, out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart fearing before me to do my will.''
{p} Zokar in Gen. fol. 107. 3.
Ezekiel 11:20
Ver. 20. That they may walk in my statutes,.... Have their conversation ordered according to the will and word of God; to which there is neither will nor power, till God gives a new heart and spirit, or works in them both to will and to do:
and keep mine ordinances, and do them; all things appertaining to religion and worship, both in public and private:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; it will appear by walking in the statutes of the Lord, and by keeping his ordinances, that they are his people, made willing in the day of his power to serve him; and by having covenant blessings bestowed on them, the grace of God wrought in them, his fear upon them, and new hearts and spirits given them, that he is their covenant God and Father; by this means, what under the prevalence of idolatry was hid, will now be made manifest.
Ezekiel 11:21
Ver. 21. But [as for them],.... Who remained in Jerusalem, and were not carried captive, but continued in their, own land, and worshipped idols, the same as in Eze 11:15;
whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations; not images of gold and silver, which cannot be said to have a heart; but devils and evil spirits worshipped in them, who are well pleased and delighted with the worship given them; so that the hearts of the devils worshipped, and the hearts of the idolatrous worshippers, were alike and agreed; wherefore their hearts were very different from those before mentioned; so far from having one heart, that their hearts were double and divided, partly after God, and partly after their idols; and so far from walking in the statutes of the Lord, that they were walking after the will of their idols, and in the worship of them; which were abominable and detestable to God, and all good men. The Targum is,
"and after the worship of their idols, and of their abominations, their heart wanders.''
I will recompense their ways upon their own heads, saith the Lord God, that is, punish them according to their deserts, by the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.
Ezekiel 11:22
Ver. 22. Then did the cherubim lift up their wings,.... In order to remove, as in Eze 10:19;
and the wheels beside them; which were lifted up also along with the cherubim:
and the glory of the God of Israel [was] over them above; both cherubim and wheels.
Ezekiel 11:23
Ver. 23. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city,.... Of Jerusalem, whither it was removed from the door of the east gate of the temple, Eze 10:19; though no mention is made of such removal; and now, having left the temple, it leaves the city:
and stood upon the mountain, which [is] on the east side of the city; either waiting for the repentance of the inhabitants of it, leaving them with reluctance; or in order to bring down his judgments upon it, and behold its destruction and ruin: this mountain was the mountain of Olives, as the Targum interprets it: and so Jarchi and Kimchi; see
Zec 14:5. Christ stood on this mountain and wept over Jerusalem, and from hence he ascended to heaven. This Jarchi calls the third remove of the Shechinah or glory of the God of Israel. The Rabbins say {q} it removed ten times, and reckon them thus,
"from the mercy seat to the cherub; from the cherub to the cherub; from the cherub to the threshold; from the threshold to the court; from the court to the altar; from the altar to the roof; from the roof to the wall; from the wall to the city; from the city to the mountain; from the mountain to the wilderness; and from the wilderness it ascended and sat in its own place, according to Ho 5:15.''
{q} T. Bab. Roshhashana, fol. 31. 1.
Ezekiel 11:24
Ver. 24. Afterwards the spirit took me up,.... From the east gate of the temple, whither he had brought him; when he had been shown, and everything had been told him, necessary for the reproof of the Jews in Jerusalem, and for the comfort of the captives:
and brought me in vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity; all this was done in vision; so it appeared to the prophet, under the influence of the divine Spirit of God, as if he was carried to Jerusalem, and there saw and heard all he did, and then was brought back again to Chaldea; whereas this was only mental, not corporeal; he was all the while in Chaldea, though things were so represented to his mind as if he had been removed from place to place:
so the vision that I had seen went up from me; he returned to himself, and became as another man, or as he was before; and found himself in his own house, and among the elders of Judah This shows that the vision was from heaven, and therefore it is said to go up from him; and that prophecy was not of the will of men, but of God; and that the prophets were not always under the influence of a prophetic spirit; but this came and went, and was only with them at certain times.
Ezekiel 11:25
Ver. 25. Then I spake unto them of the captivity,.... The elders of Judah, and others with them, at Telabib, where the prophet had a house:
all the things the Lord had showed me; all the visions contained in the preceding chapters, from the beginning of the fourth chapter to the end of this: as the portraying Jerusalem on a tile, and lying on his side for a long time, as an emblem of the siege of that city; the barley cakes, denoting a famine; the sharp knife with which he cut off his hair, signifying the destruction of its inhabitants; how he was brought to Jerusalem, what idolatries he saw in the temple; the vision of the six men with slaughter weapons, and of another with a writer's inkhorn by his side; and also the vision of the cherubim and wheels, and the glory of the God of Israel, and their departure from the city and temple, together with what was threatened to the Jews in Jerusalem, and was promised to them in Chaldea; all which the prophet faithfully related, and kept back nothing that the Lord had made known unto him by words or signs.