Ezekiel 11:15

the men of thy kindred Lit. the men of thy redemption. This could only mean, the men to be redeemed, or delivered, by thy intercession the men for whom thou shouldst pray. Such a sense is difficult to draw from the words. In usage the term has not the meaning of "kindred." Probably the word should be so read as to mean "exile" the men of thy exile, i.e. thy fellow captives.

are they unto whom It is better to regard the first words in the verse down to "wholly" as exclamations: "thy brethren, thy brethren, thy fellow exiles, and all the house of Israel, all of it! they unto whom …" The sentence is not strictly grammatical, but the exclamations give an answer to the prophet's anxious question, "wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" (Ezekiel 11:13). The destruction of them of Jerusalem is no full end; the fellow-exiles of the prophet and all the house of Israel scattered abroad (ch. Ezekiel 4:4; Ezekiel 36:16) remain. The second half of the verse is loosely attached to the first they to whom, &c.

Get ye far from the Lord A slight alteration in a point would give the sense: of whom … have said (say), They are farfrom the Lord. The change is hardly necessary. Those left were in possession of the temple, the abode of Jehovah, and had the assurance of his presence, in which those gone forth had no part, for to go into a foreign land was to come under the dominion of other gods, according to the words of David, "For they have driven me out this day from having part in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods" (1 Samuel 26:19, cf. Deuteronomy 4:28; Deuteronomy 28:36; Deuteronomy 28:64; Jeremiah 16:13; Hosea 9:3). See ch. Ezekiel 8:12; Ezekiel 9:9, for the expression of a different mood of feeling.

is this land given is the land. Comp. the expression of similar pretensions, ch. Ezekiel 33:24.

16 seq. Answer of Jehovah. It is true he has scattered the exiles among the nations; but he will again gather them.