Answer to idolaters who inquire of the Lord In ch. 13. Ezekiel had denounced the false prophets who led the people astray, and had threatened them with extirpation from the community of the Lord. But the question of false prophecy is not yet exhausted. It has another side. It is true that false pro... [ Continue Reading ]
Answer to idolaters who inquire of the Lord 1. _elders of Israel_ That is, in point of fact, elders of the exiles; but in them the prophet sees representatives of the house of Israel both at home and abroad (Ezekiel 14:4_; Ezekiel 14:7_), and when addressing them he feels himself speaking to his peo... [ Continue Reading ]
_set up their idols in_ Lit. _have laid their idols upon their heart_, which appears to mean, laid them on their minds, busied their thoughts and filled their affections with them. _stumblingblock of their iniquity_ The reference is still to the idols. Stumblingblock of iniquity is that over which... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord will answer such men directly through himself, by involving them in the consequences of their own idolatries and destroying them. _setteth up his idols_ Cf. Ezekiel 14:3. _will answer him that cometh_ If this reading be adopted, the rendering must be, I the Lord will answer him; he cometh... [ Continue Reading ]
_take … in their own heart_ The sinner's sin is like a snare in which he is captured and destroyed; sin carries its own retribution in itself (Job 8:4). The phrase "take them in their own heart" is explained by the words that follow, "because they are all estranged from me through their idols." Thei... [ Continue Reading ]
The _prophet_is not permitted to give an answer to any inquiries of such men. Jehovah will answer them through himself (Ezekiel 14:7); the message which the prophet has to deliver is, repentance or destruction!... [ Continue Reading ]
_every one … sojourneth in Israel_ Comp. Leviticus 17:8; Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 17:13; Leviticus 20:2, and remark on Ezekiel 14:1 above. On "setteth up" cf. Ezekiel 14:3. _answer him by myself_ Or, through myself, directly in deeds.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah's answer to the idolatrous inquirer: he will make him a sign and a proverb, and cut him off from his people. _make him a sign_ This is the traditional reading (Baer's _Ezek_. hiph. of _sîm_, cf. Ezekiel 21:16; Job 4:20). R.V. follows a different text. On "sign" &c. cf. Numbers 26:10; Deuter... [ Continue Reading ]
Fate of the prophet who gives an answer to idolatrous inquirers: he and they shall perish together 9. _be deceived when he hath spoken_ Rather, be deceived (or, enticed) AND SPEAK A WORD, i.e. a prophetic word, ch. Ezekiel 12:25 _seq_. The meaning appears to be: if the prophet, entering into the "he... [ Continue Reading ]
Both the people and prophet shall perish together; the punishment of the one shall be as that of the other. Already Jeremiah 14:15-16; Jeremiah 27:15. The passage rests on such general assumptions as these: 1. That the principles of the constitution of Israel are known, and the fundamental one is,... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet all these judgments of God have a far-off merciful end in view. They are a blast of fire and of judgment to consume the sin of the people (Isaiah 4:4), and when the tempest is overpast the sky rises clear behind that the house of Israel go no more astray … but that they may be My people and I ma... [ Continue Reading ]
The presence of righteous men among a sinful people will not save the sinners The passage may be in answer to thoughts which the prophet felt might rise in the minds of those to whom he spoke. He threatened destruction to people and prophets alike, a destruction indiscriminate and universal. Were n... [ Continue Reading ]
_when the land_ Rather: A land. The whole of Ezekiel 14:13 is supposition: when a land sinneth … and I stretch … and break … and send … and cut off.... [ Continue Reading ]
_these three men_ By Jeremiah the Lord had already said: "though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people" (Jeremiah 15:1). The history of Noah had been written, and was well known long before the time of Ezekiel. He is referred to by other prophets, e.g. Isaiah... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither sons nor daughters_ There is no support in the words for the idea of Hävernick that the three names, Noah, Daniel and Job form a climax, inasmuch as Noah saved his children, Daniel only his three fellow-exiles, while Job could deliver neither son nor daughter, though every week he intercede... [ Continue Reading ]
_say, Sword, go through_ This rendering assumes a grammatical anomaly. Rather, THE SWORD SHALL GO through. Ezekiel 14:19. The pestilence.... [ Continue Reading ]
_my fury upon it in blood_ The term "blood" is almost a synonym for "death;" cf. Psalms 30:9, "What profit is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit?" Ch. Ezekiel 5:7. On the Babylonian idea of "four" plagues, cf. Del. _Parad_. p. 146. Ezekiel 14:21. Application to Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
_How much more_ If when a single judgment is sent upon a land the wicked shall not be spared for the sake of the righteous, how much more shall this not happen when the wickedness of the land is so great that God's four sore judgments together fall upon it, as they shall fall upon Jerusalem? Ch. Eze... [ Continue Reading ]
_behold, therein shall be left_ Rather: AND BEHOLD, SHOULD THERE BE LEFT therein a remnant. After "behold" the verb is hypothetical, as often, e.g. ch. Ezekiel 13:12; Ezekiel 15:4. If some of the wicked in Jerusalem escape it is with a special design, viz. that those spared should reveal their great... [ Continue Reading ]