1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not, which have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.
3 And thou, son of man, prepare thee a captive's baggage, and go captive by day in their sight; and thou shalt go captive from thy place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.
4 And bring forth thy baggage by day in their sight, as a captive's baggage, and thou thyself, go forth at even in their sight as they that go forth into captivity.
5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
6 In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, and thou shalt not see the ground: for I have appointed thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my baggage by day, as a captive's baggage, and in the even I digged through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, [and] bore it upon [my] shoulder, in their sight.
8 And in the morning the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
10 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This burden [concerneth] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
11 Say, I am your sign: as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall go into exile, into captivity.
12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon [his] shoulder in the dark, and shall go forth; they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby; he shall cover his face, that he see not the land with [his] eyes.
13 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; but he shall not see it, and there shall he die.
14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his troops; and I will draw out the sword after them.
15 And they shall know that I [am] Jehovah when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries.
16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they shall come; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
17 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with anxiety;
19 and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with astonishment, because her land shall be left desolate of all that is in it, for the violence of all them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be a desolation; and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
21 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
22 Son of man, what is that proverb which ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days shall be prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the accomplishment of every vision.
24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel.
25 For I [am] Jehovah; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed, it shall be no more deferred. For in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word and will perform it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
26 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.
28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: There shall none of my words be deferred any more, but the word that I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 12
Commentary on Ezekiel 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
Though the vision of God's glory had gone up from the prophet, yet his word comes to him still, and is by him sent to the people, and to the same purport with that which was discovered to him in the vision, namely, to set forth the terrible judgments that were coming upon Jerusalem, by which the city and temple should be entirely laid waste. In this chapter,
Eze 12:1-16
Perhaps Ezekiel reflected with so much pleasure upon the vision he had had of the glory of God that often, since it went up from him, he was wishing it might come down to him again, and, having seen it once and a second time, he was willing to hope he might be a third time so favoured; but we do not find that he ever saw it any more, and yet the word of the Lord comes to him; for God did in divers manners speak to the fathers (Heb. 1:1) and they often heard the words of God when they did not see the visions of the Almighty. Faith comes by hearing that word of prophecy which is more sure than vision. We may keep up our communion with God without raptures and ecstasies. In these verses the prophet is directed,
Eze 12:17-20
Here again the prophet is made a sign to them of the desolations that were coming on Judah and Jerusalem.
Eze 12:21-28
Various methods had been used to awaken this secure and careless people to an expectation of the judgments coming, that they might be stirred up, by repentance and reformation, to prevent them. The prophecies of their ruin were confirmed by visions, and illustrated by signs, and all with such evidence and power that one would think they must needs be wrought upon; but here we are told how they evaded the conviction, and guarded against it, namely, by telling themselves, and one another, that though these judgments threatened should come at last yet they would not come of a long time. This suggestion, with which they bolstered themselves up in their security, is here answered, and shown to be vain and groundless, in two separate messages which God sent to them by the prophet at different times, both to the same purport; such care, such pains, must the prophet take to undeceive them, v. 21, 26. Observe,