Ezekiel 23:1
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Ver. 1. _The word of the Lord._] See Ezekiel 18:1 .... [ Continue Reading ]
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Ver. 1. _The word of the Lord._] See Ezekiel 18:1 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: Ver. 2. _There were two women._] This is the same in effect with Ezekiel 16:1,63, but there more plainly, here parabolically expressed. _Sermo est eraditus et elegans, simul tamen spurcas et obscaenus,_ _a_ to set forth the hatefulness... [ Continue Reading ]
And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. Ver. 3. _And they committed whoredoms in Egypt._] See Eze 20:8 Joshua 24:14 . _ They committed whoredoms in their youth._] Like the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the names of them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah._ Ver. 4. _And the names of them were Aholah,_] _i.e., _ Her tent, not mine (so he calleth Samaria, or... [ Continue Reading ]
And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbours, Ver. 5. _And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine._] _Fornicata est sub me,_ under colour and covert of a marriage made with me. See what a fair gloss Jeroboam set upon his foul ido... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel 23:6 [Which were] clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Ver. 6. _Which were clothed with blue._] With rich and gorgeous attire. _Vestis luxuriae nidus._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them [that were] the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself._ Ver. 7. _Thus she committed her whoredoms with them._] Heb., She bestowed her whoredoms upon them; she was no niggard. A littl... [ Continue Reading ]
Neither left she her whoredoms [brought] from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. Ver. 8. _Neither left she her idols brought from Egypt._] Witness her two golden calves brought therehence by Jeroboam, in imit... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. Ver. 9. _Wherefore I have delivered her._] 2 Kings 17:23 . “ _Per quod quis peccat, per idem punitur et ipse._ ”... [ Continue Reading ]
These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. Ver. 10. _These discovered her nakedness,_] _i.e., _ They have shamefully punished her for a stinking strumpet. _as _ Eze 23... [ Continue Reading ]
And when her sister Aholibah saw [this], she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in [her] whoredoms. Ver. 11. _And when her sister Aholibah saw this._] And yet would not be warned; which was a just both presage and desert of her utter destruct... [ Continue Reading ]
She doted upon the Assyrians [her] neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Ver. 12. _She doted._] _Amantes amentes._ Loving her lovers. See Ezekiel 23:5 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Then I saw that she was defiled, [that] they [took] both one way, Ver. 13. _Then I saw that she was defiled._] Whence it is that man's nature is so prone to idolatry, and why that sin is compared to adultery, see Polanus upon this chapter, pp. 538-540.... [ Continue Reading ]
And [that] she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion, Ver. 14. _For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall._] So unbridled was her lust that she fell to doting upon those _quos tantum per umbram et imaginem as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:_ Ver. 15. _Girded with girdles._] Rich clothes are oft but fine covers of the foulest shame. If every silken... [ Continue Reading ]
And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. Ver. 16. _And as soon as she saw them with her eyes._] Here began the mischief. _Ut vidi ut perii! Conciliatorem peccati oculum Talmudici nominant._ “ _Oculi sunt in amore duces._ ” Many ha... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. Ver. 17. _Into the bed of love._] Or, Of breasts, which are the symbols of love and seats of delight, as naturalists note. See Prover... [ Continue Reading ]
_So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister._ Ver. 18. _Then my mind was alienated from her._] So Jeremiah 6:8; see there.... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. Ver. 19. _In calling to mind the sins of her youth._] This was to recommit them, because she remembered them with delight. It argueth an unmortified frame when... [ Continue Reading ]
For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh [is as] the flesh of asses, and whose issue [is like] the issue of horses. Ver. 20. _Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses._] _Qui sunt bene mentulati (honos sit nutibus) et qui semine abundant._ Commodus the emperor, who had never a good property in h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth._ Ver. 21. _Thus thou calledst to remembrance._] See Ezekiel 23:19 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; Ver. 22. _Therefore, O Aholibah._] _Flagitium et flagellum sunt ut acus et filum._ Sin and punishment are inseparable c... [ Continue Reading ]
The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, [and] all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. Ver. 23. _Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa._] The inhabitants of these several countries, subj... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, [which] shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. Ver. 24. _I will set judgment be... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. Ver. 25. _And they shall take away thy... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels._ Ver. 26. _They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes._] Wherein thou hast so much prided thyself. _ And take away thy fair jewels._] _Instrumenta mundi tui; _ the instruments of thy decking. Isa 3:18-24... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom [brought] from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. Ver. 27. _Then will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee._] Thy prepensed wickedness. This benefit thou shalt reap... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand [of them] whom thou hatest, into the hand [of them] from whom thy mind is alienated: Ver. 28. _I will deliver thee._] God hath a holy hand in all the evils that befall his people, by whomsoever.... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Ver. 29. _And they shall deal with thee hatefully._] As ill as the wit of malice can devise... [ Continue Reading ]
I will do these [things] unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, [and] because thou art polluted with their idols. Ver. 30. _Thou art polluted with their idols._] Whereby thou thoughtest to have purged away thy sins, as Papists also do; but it proveth otherwise.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Ver. 31. _Therefore will I give her cup into thine hand._] An allusion to the manner of feasts, whereat the symposiarch or governor gave every guest his cup fitly tempered. God is the great _Modimperator._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much._ Ver. 32. Thou shaIt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large.] Yea, though it have eternity to the bottom.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Ver. 33. _Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow._] That dry drunkenness, _ut si catapotium bibas._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt even drink it and suck [it] out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD._ Ver. 34. _And thou shalt break the sherds thereof,_] _i.e., _ Of the cup, which thou shalt cast away with utmost indignation: but thou... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Ver. 35. _Because thou hast forgotten me._] This was the source of all their sins, and cause of all their calamities. _ And cast me behind thy ba... [ Continue Reading ]
The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; Ver. 36. _Wilt thou judge?_] See Ezekiel 20:4; Ezekiel 22:2 .... [ Continue Reading ]
That they have committed adultery, and blood [is] in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through [the fire], to devour [them]. Ver. 37. _And blood is in their hands._] Adultery is the devil's nest... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. Ver. 38. _They have defiled my sanctuary in the same day._] When they had done evil as they could, they exercised mine external worship that they might seem religious. So Isaiah 66:3... [ Continue Reading ]
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. Ver. 39. _For when they had slain._] When their hands were full of blood, and even reeking hot therewith. This was detestable... [ Continue Reading ]
And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, Ver. 40. _Ye have sent for men._] Ye have trusted to foreign forces and carnal combinations.... [ Continue Reading ]
And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. Ver. 41. _And satest._] For entertainment sake. _ Whereupon thou hast set mine incense_] So fighting against me, as it were, with mine own weapons, and abusing my best gifts to my grea... [ Continue Reading ]
And a voice of a multitude being at ease [was] with her: and with the men of the common sort [were] brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Ver. 42. _And a voice of a multitude being at ease._] Or, Being jolly and jocund, as... [ Continue Reading ]
Then said I unto [her that was] old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she [with them]? Ver. 43. _To her that was old in adulteries._] _Inveteratae et detritae,_ withered and overworn. _ And she with them?_] Is she - as Helen was παλαι γυνη - the same still, no changeling... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. Ver. 44. _Yet they went in unto her._] They committed idolatry without mean or measure, being woefully hardened and habituated therein.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they [are] adulteresses, and blood [is] in their hands. Ver. 45. _And the righteous men._] So the Chaldees are called, because less wicked than the Jews (as the Scyt... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. Ver. 46. _I will bring up a company._] A numerous army, which shall make much havoc and slaughter.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Ver. 47. _And the company shall stone them._] As by the law they did adulteresses.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. Ver. 48. _Thus will I cause lewdness to cease._] Thus, if it may be done no otherwise. Thus still, if men will not mend by fair means, they are taken away by death, that they may sin no... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD. Ver. 49. _And ye shall bear the sins,_] _i.e., _ The punishment of your idolatry; neither shall ye have colour of cause to complain of my severity. _ And ye shall... [ Continue Reading ]