PREVIOUS CHAPTER - NEXT CHAPTER - HELP - GR VIDEOS - GR YOUTUBE - TWITTER - SD1 YOUTUBE CHAPTER 7 Eze 7:1-27. LAMENTATION OVER THE COMING RUIN OF ISRAEL; THE PENITENT REFORMATION OF A REMNANT; THE CHAIN SYMBOLIZING THE CAPTIVITY. 2. An end, the end--The indefinite "an" expresses the general fact of God bringing His long-suffering towards the whole of Judea to an end; "the," following, marks it as more definitely fixed (Am 8:2).
4. thine abominations--the punishment of thine abominations.
5. An evil, an only evil--a peculiar calamity such as was never before; unparalleled. The abruptness of the style and the repetitions express the agitation of the prophet's mind in foreseeing these calamities. 6. watcheth for thee--rather, "waketh for thee." It awakes up from its past slumber against thee (Ps 78:65, 66).
7. The morning--so Chaldean and Syriac versions (compare
Joe 2:2).
Ezekiel wishes to awaken them from their lethargy, whereby they were
promising to themselves an uninterrupted night
(1Th 5:5-7),
as if they were never to be called to account [CALVIN]. The expression, "morning," refers to the fact
that this was the usual time for magistrates giving sentence against
offenders (compare
Eze 7:10,
below;
Ps 101:8;
Jer 21:12).
GESENIUS, less probably, translates, "the
order of fate"; thy turn to be punished.
8, 9. Repetition of Eze 7:3, 4; sadly expressive of accumulated woes by the monotonous sameness. 10. rod . . . blossomed, pride . . . budded--The "rod" is the Chaldean Nebuchadnezzar, the instrument of God's vengeance (Isa 10:5; Jer 51:20). The rod sprouting (as the word ought to be translated), &c., implies that God does not move precipitately, but in successive steps. He as it were has planted the ministers of His vengeance, and leaves them to grow till all is ripe for executing His purpose. "Pride" refers to the insolence of the Babylonian conqueror (Jer 50:31, 32). The parallelism ("pride" answering to "rod") opposes JEROME'S view, that "pride" refers to the Jews who despised God's threats; (also CALVIN'S, "though the rod grew in Chaldea, the root was with the Jews"). The "rod" cannot refer, as GROTIUS thought, to the tribe of Judah, for it evidently refers to the "smiteth" (Eze 7:9) as the instrument of smiting.
11. Violence (that is, the violent foe) is risen up as
a rod of (that is, to punish the Jews') wickedness
(Zec 5:8).
12. let not . . . buyer rejoice--because he has bought an estate at
a bargain price.
13. although they were yet alive--although they should live to the
year of jubilee.
14. They have blown the trumpet--rather, "Blow the trumpet," or, "Let them blow the trumpet" to collect soldiers as they will, "to make all ready" for encountering the foe, it will be of no avail; none will have the courage to go to the battle (compare Jer 6:1), [CALVIN]. 15. No security should anywhere be found (De 32:25). Fulfilled (La 1:20); also at the Roman invasion (Mt 24:16-18).
16.
(Eze 6:6).
17. shall be weak as water--literally, "shall go (as) waters"; incapable of resistance (Jos 7:5; Ps 22:14; Isa 13:7).
18. cover them--as a garment.
19. cast . . . silver in . . . streets--just retribution; they had abused their silver and gold by converting them into idols, "the stumbling-block of their iniquity" (Eze 14:3, 4, that is, an occasion of sinning); so these silver and gold idols, so far from "being able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath" (see Pr 11:4), shall, in despair, be cast by them into the streets as a prey to the foe, by whom they shall be "removed" (GROTIUS translates as the Margin, "shall be despised as an unclean thing"); or rather, as suits the parallelism, "shall be put away from them" by the Jews [CALVIN]. "They (the silver and gold) shall not satisfy their souls," that is, their cravings of appetite and other needs.
20. beauty of his ornament--the temple of Jehovah, the especial
glory of the Jews, as a bride glories in her ornaments (the very imagery
used by God as to the temple,
Eze 16:10, 11).
Compare
Eze 24:21:
"My sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your
eyes."
21. strangers--barbarous and savage nations. 22. pollute my secret place--just retribution for the Jews' pollution of the temple. "Robbers shall enter and defile" the holy of holies, the place of God's manifested presence, entrance into which was denied even to the Levites and priests and was permitted to the high priest only once a year on the great day of atonement. 23. chain--symbol of the captivity (compare Jer 27:2). As they enchained the land with violence, so shall they be chained themselves. It was customary to lead away captives in a row with a chain passed from the neck of one to the other. Therefore translate as the Hebrew requires, "the chain," namely, that usually employed on such occasions. CALVIN explains it, that the Jews should be dragged, whether they would or no, before God's tribunal to be tried as culprits in chains. The next words favor this: "bloody crimes," rather, "judgment of bloods," that is, with blood sheddings deserving the extreme judicial penalty. Compare Jer 51:9: "Her judgment reacheth unto heaven."
24. worst of the heathen--literally, "wicked of the nations"; the
giving up of Israel to their power will convince the Jews that this is a
final overthrow.
25. peace, and . . . none-- (1Th 5:3).
26. Mischief . . . upon . . . mischief--
(De 32:23;
Jer 4:20).
This is said because the Jews were apt to fancy, at every abatement of
suffering, that their calamities were about to cease; but God will
accumulate woe on woe.
27. people of the land--the general multitude, as distinguished from
the "king" and the "prince." The consternation shall pervade all ranks.
The king, whose duty it was to animate others and find a remedy for
existing evils, shall himself be in the utmost anxiety; a mark of the
desperate state of affairs.
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