Ezekiel 9:1-2

He cried also in mine ears Namely, the man whom he had seen upon the throne; with a loud voice This denoted the terribleness of the judgments which were going to be inflicted. Cause them that have charge, &c. That is, says Lowth, “the angels who had the charge of executing God's judgments upon the city.” Or it may be intended of the Chaldean army, or of its principal leaders, who had a charge or commission against Jerusalem, to avenge the divine justice of it, because of its heinous provocations. The passage is prophetical of the slaughter which should be made of its inhabitants. And behold, &c. No sooner was the command given, than these ministers of God's displeasure appear ready to execute it. Six men In the vision they appeared as men, and the prophet terms them according to their appearance. From the way of the higher gate See note on Ezekiel 8:14. Which lieth toward the north The Babylonians made their inroads into Palestine, as has been more than once observed, from the north, and by this gate it seems, the Chaldeans first entered into the city. And every man a slaughter-weapon in his hand Prepared for the work to which they were called. And one among them was clothed with linen A garment proper to the priesthood; and the habit in which the angels often appeared, Daniel 10:5; Daniel 12:6. This person, at least, seems to have been an angel, who had the charge given him of preserving those that were to be saved amidst the general destruction; with a writer's inkhorn by his side That he might set a mark on those who were to be preserved amidst the general slaughter. Thus, Revelation 7:2, St. John in a vision saw an angel with the seal of the living God, and therewith the servants of God were sealed in their foreheads; “in allusion,” says Bishop Newton, “to the ancient custom of marking servants in their foreheads, to distinguish what they were, and to whom they belonged.” The position of the inkhorn, by the side of this writer, may appear strange to a European reader, but according to Olearius, Dr. Shaw, and others, the custom of placing it by the side continues in the East to this day. And they went in and stood beside the brazen altar To denote that the men ordained to destruction were offered up as so many sacrifices to God's justice. The destruction of the wicked is elsewhere expressed by the name of a sacrifice: see Ezekiel 39:17; Isaiah 29:2; Isaiah 34:6.