Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ver. 1. _Again the word of the Lord came unto me._] For the better setting on of what had been said in the foregoing chapter, for cutting the combs of the self-conceited Jews, and convincing them of their wickedness and wretchedness thereby. The chap... [ Continue Reading ]
Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, Ver. 2. _Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations._] Which as yet she taketh no knowledge of. Rebuke her therefore sharply, that she may be sound in the faith, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.... [ Continue Reading ]
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. Ver. 3. _Thy birth._] Heb., Thy cutting out. Compare Isaiah 51:1 . _ And thy nativity._] _Vide insignem genealogiam, vide_ γενεθλοιν _pude... [ Continue Reading ]
_And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all._ Ver. 4. _Thy navel was not cut._] None was so courteous as to do any of these necessary good offices for thee, a poor,... [ Continue Reading ]
_None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born._ Ver. 5. _None eye pitied thee._] No, not thy mother, in whose heart God had planted natural affection for that... [ Continue Reading ]
And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live. Ver. 6. _And when I passed by thee._] Not by chance, _as _ Luk 10:31 but of free choice, and according to mine eterna... [ Continue Reading ]
I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: [thy] breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou [wast] naked and bare. Ver. 7. _As the bud of the field._] He prosecuteth the allegory of a m... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine._ Ver. 8. _Behold, thy time was the time o... [ Continue Reading ]
Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. Ver. 9. _Then washed I thee with water._] I cleansed thee from all thy pollutions by the merit and Spirit of my dear Son. See 1 Corinthians 6:11 . _ And I anointed thee with oil._] Newly... [ Continue Reading ]
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. Ver. 10. _I clothed thee also with broidered work._] _Phrygionica veste variegata._ With variety of precious graces, whereby thou didst outshine Solomon... [ Continue Reading ]
I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. Ver. 11. _I decked thee also with ornaments._] See Ezekiel 16:7; such as render thee amiable and admirable. Christ himself, who was not moved at all with the offer of all the world's good, Mat 4:9-10 con... [ Continue Reading ]
And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Ver. 12. _And I put a jewel on thy forehead._] Heb., On thy nose. See on Genesis 24:47 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment [was of] fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. Ver. 13. _Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver._] Yea, with f... [ Continue Reading ]
And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. Ver. 14. _And thy renown went forth._] Pliny saith of Jerusalem that it was the most famous of all the cities of the East; of the world he might hav... [ Continue Reading ]
But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. Ver. 15. _But thou didst trust in thine own beauty._] Thou grewest proud of it, and thoughtest there was none such; whenas thou mightes... [ Continue Reading ]
_And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so]._ Ver. 16. _And of thy garments thou didst take._] Thou sparedst for no cost to trick up thy mawmets and monuments of... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, Ver. 17. _Images of men._] To be thy gallants, with whom thou mightest adulterise and idolise. _Vah scelus!_ Surely he is a rare man th... [ Continue Reading ]
And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. Ver. 18. _And tookest thy broidered, &c._] See Ezekiel 16:16 .... [ Continue Reading ]
My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, [wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and [thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD. Ver. 19. My meat also … thou hast even set it before them.] Either as consecrated to them, or otherwise to be consecra... [ Continue Reading ]
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. [Is this] of thy whoredoms a small matter, Ver. 20. _Whom thou hast born unto me._] Who at their birth were mine by virtue of my covenant, and who should there... [ Continue Reading ]
_That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through [the fire] for them?_ Ver. 21. _That thou hast slain my children._] Note that he yet calleth them his children, though so born, and so murdered. See on Ezekiel 16:20 .... [ Continue Reading ]
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, [and] wast polluted in thy blood. Ver. 22. _Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth._] Hence all thy haughtiness and hauntiness. We should often say, as that noble I... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) Ver. 23. _Woe, woe unto thee, saith the Lord God._] A double woe will fall very heavy here and hereafter; woe and alas for evermore.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel 16:24 [That] thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. Ver. 24. _That thou hast also built unto thee._] How stintless is sin, and how like is this to Jeremiah's preaching! Jer 2:3-8 _ An eminent place._] Or brothel house, that thy ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Ver. 25. _And hast made thy beauty to be abhorred._] By being made so cheap and common. Sin is a reproach to any peop... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Ver. 26. _Great of flesh._] _Torosi,_ _scil., _ _propter potentiam et petulantiam._ The prophet persisteth in the metaphor, from the manner of shamelessl... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary [food], and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way._ Ver. 27. _I have stretched out my hand over thee._] To cut thee short.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Ver. 28. _Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians._] By making sinful leagues, and gadding so much about to change thy way. Jer... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. Ver. 29. _In the land of Canaan._] Thou hast lived in my good land, but not by my good laws. _ And yet thou wast not satisfied._] See on Ezekiel 16:28 .... [ Continue Reading ]
How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these [things], the work of an imperious whorish woman; Ver. 30. _How weak is thine heart._] Weak as water, melted in spiritual lust, putrefying alive, and perishing daily, as Tiberius said he perceived himself to do at Capreae. _a_... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;_ Ver. 31. _And hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornsst hire._] _Whore_ should be written _hore,_ as coming from the... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel 16:32 [But as] a wife that committeth adultery, [which] taketh strangers instead of her husband! Ver. 32. _Which taketh strangers instead of her husband._] This is a foul mistake; wedlock should be chaste. The window of the ark shut, that the waters of the flood enter not into it.... [ Continue Reading ]
They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. Ver. 33. _They give gifts to all whores._] See Ezekiel 16:31. Harlots are _cruces_ and _crumenimulgae,_ saith the comedian, crosses and suck purs... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the contrary is in thee from [other] women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary._ Ver. 34. _And the contrary is in thee, &c._] The Jews, before the Babylonish captivity... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Ver. 35. _Wherefore, O harlot._] A name good enough for such an odious housewife, the shame of her sex. He is not worthy of an honest name whose deeds are not honest. _ Hear the word of the Lord._] Hear thy doom, thy sentence: stoned thou shalt be as... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Ver. 36. _Because thy filthiness._] Heb., Thy poison, _a... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all [them] that thou hast loved, with all [them] that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. Ver. 37. _... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. Ver. 38. _And I will judge thee as women that break wedlock._] See Leviticus 20:10 Deuteronomy 22:22. The Egyptians cut off the harlot's nose, and the adulterer's privy mem... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. Ver. 39. _They shall throw down thine eminent place._] So did the... [ Continue Reading ]
They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. Ver. 40. _They shall also bring up a company against thee._] The Chaldeans, that "hasty and bitter nation." Hab 1:6 _ And they shall stone thee._] See on Ezekiel 16:35... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. Ver. 41. _In the sight of many women._] Those matrons whom thou hast misused; and many others wh... [ Continue Reading ]
So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Ver. 42. _So I will make my fury toward thee to rest._] Sept., I will dismiss mine anger upon thee. Like as when Haman was hanged, Ahasuerus's wrath was pacified; Est... [ Continue Reading ]
Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these [things]; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon [thine] head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. Ver. 43. _Because thou hast not remembered... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use [this] proverb against thee, saying, As [is] the mother, [so is] her daughter. Ver. 44. _Behold, every one that useth proverbs._] _Omnis paraemiator paraemiabit._ That is skilful at, and exercised in gibing and jeering; as was Socrates - called theref... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou [art] thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou [art] the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother [was] an Hittite, and your father an Amorite._ Ver. 45. Thou art thy mother's daughter.] As like her as if spat out of... [ Continue Reading ]
And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters. Ver. 46. _She and her daughters,_] _i.e., _ Her cities and villages. _ That dwell at thy left hand._] Thou art well set up... [ Continue Reading ]
Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as [if that were] a very little [thing], thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. Ver. 47. _Yet hast thou not walked after their ways._] But hast out sinned them. _Nolunt solita peccare,_ Do not make a hab... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel 16:48 [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Ver. 48. _As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done._] Heb., If Sodom thy sister hath done, &c.; _q.d., _ Then let me never be trusted... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Ver. 49. _Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,_] _i.e., _ Haughty mindedness and hig... [ Continue Reading ]
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good]. Ver. 50. _And they were haughty._] This sin of theirs is once more instanced as the root of the rest, the hate of heaven, and gate to hell. _ And committed abomination before me._] That unnatura... [ Continue Reading ]
Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. Ver. 51. _Neither hath Samaria committed half thy sins._] And yet thou lookest aloof upon her as a far greater... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. Ver. 52. _Thou also which hast judged thy sis... [ Continue Reading ]
When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: Ver. 53. _When I shall bring again._] Or, If I bring again, which I shall never do. The J... [ Continue Reading ]
That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. Ver. 54. _In that thou art a comfort unto them._] Ezekiel 14:22. _Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris; _ to have companions in misery is some kind of comfort.... [ Continue Reading ]
When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. Ver. 55. _When thy sister Sodom and her daughters._] See on Ezekiel 16:53. The Jews stil... [ Continue Reading ]
_For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,_ Ver. 56. _For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned._] Thou thoughtest her not worthy to be named in the same day with thee, and little dreamedst that thou shouldst be matched with her in misery. Or thus, Thou wouldst neith... [ Continue Reading ]
Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of [thy] reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all [that are] round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. Ver. 57. _Before thy wickedness was discovered,_] _sc., _ By my punishments, by my sending the Syri... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. Ver. 58. _Thou hast borne thy lewdness,_] _i.e., _ The punishment of it, and yet art little the better. See Isaiah 9:13 .... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Ver. 59. _I will even deal with thee._] I will avenge upon thee the quarrel of my covenant. Lev 26:25... [ Continue Reading ]
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Ver. 60. _Nevertheless I will remember my covenant._] Here beginneth the evangelical part of the chapter, which is for the comfort of the elect, who would be frighten... [ Continue Reading ]
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. Ver. 61. _And be ashamed._] With a saving and savoury shame, such as was that of Ezra and of the penitent publi... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: Ver. 62. _And I will establish my covenant._] My new spiritual and eternal covenant, grounded upon the Messias, and made with the whole Israel according to faith. Jer 31:31-34 2Co 3:3 Heb 8:8... [ Continue Reading ]
That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD. Ver. 63. _That thou mayest remember._] Thy many strayings. _ And never open thy mouth._] To extenuate thy sins, or t... [ Continue Reading ]