_Again the word of the Lord came unto me_ “It is plain that Ezekiel
uttered what is contained in this chapter to Ezekiel 33:20, before
Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians; but how long before is
uncertain.” Bishop Newcome. _Son of man, speak to the children of
thy people_ To the Jews, to whom he... [ Continue Reading ]
_So thou, O son of man_ The Lord here applies the preceding account of
the watchman's office to the prophet, and shows that his duty is
illustrated thereby. As if he had said, If a watchman, appointed by
his fellow-citizens, is so highly guilty, if he do not give warning to
the city, and shall recei... [ Continue Reading ]
_If our transgressions be upon us_, &c. If the unpardoned guilt of our
sins lie upon us, and we be punished for them in the wasting of our
country, the burning of our city, the abolishing the public worship of
God, &c.; _and we pine away in them_ Experience their bitter
consequences in famine and di... [ Continue Reading ]
_When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live_ When I
make him a promise of life, peace, and every blessing which he stands
in need of; _if he trust to his own righteousness_ Formerly performed,
but now abandoned; or, if he rely upon the good works he hath done,
and think the worth o... [ Continue Reading ]
_If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed _ It
is a necessary condition of obtaining pardon, that men make
restitution of what they have unjustly gotten from others. The law is
express to this purpose, Leviticus 6:5, where the offender is required
to add a _fifth part_ to the... [ Continue Reading ]
_In the twelfth year of our captivity_, &c. According to this reading,
the news of the taking and burning of Jerusalem was brought to that
part of the Babylonish dominions where the Jewish captives were placed
in a year, five months, and twenty-six days after the calamity
happened: see Jeremiah 52:1... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening_ I felt a
sensible impulse of the prophetic spirit: see Ezekiel 1:3. _And had
opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning_ Had so influenced
my mind, that I found myself disposed and prepared to speak freely and
with authority. Not that he... [ Continue Reading ]
_They that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel_ They that are
left behind in the land, that is now wasted with fire and sword: see
the margin. _Speak, saying, Abraham was one, and inherited the land_
Had the privilege of dwelling and feeding his flocks in it; as if he
had said, ‘If Abraham, b... [ Continue Reading ]
_Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord_ Remove from them this destructive
carnal confidence, and show them what they do, and how far they are
from being Abraham's genuine seed. _Ye eat with the blood_ Which was
expressly forbidden in the Jewish law, as appears from Leviticus 7:26,
as well as that more... [ Continue Reading ]
_Surely they that are in the wastes_ They who continue to dwell among
the desolations of Jerusalem and Judea; _shall fall by the sword_ This
they accordingly did, both through the civil dissensions among them,
in the conspiracy formed against Gedaliah, and likewise by the
Chaldeans revenging his dea... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I will lay the land most desolate_ I will make the land destitute
of inhabitants, by the destruction which shall be made of them by the
sword, by wild beasts, and the pestilence, and by their being carried
into captivity. _And the pomp of her strength shall cease_ All that
wealth and magnificen... [ Continue Reading ]
_The children of thy people_ Those of the captivity; _still are
talking against thee_ Or rather, _of thee_, as the LXX. rightly render
it; for _with their mouths they showed much love_, as it follows in
the next verse. _By the walls and in the doors of their houses_ Both
in their public places of co... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when this cometh to pass_, (_lo, it will come_) Or, rather, _lo,
it is come;_ for so the same phrase is translated Ezekiel 6:2; Ezekiel
6:6; Ezekiel 6:10, the verb being in the present tense; when they
shall see thy prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem
actually fulfilled, and all... [ Continue Reading ]