6 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it:
And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? Yea, cause her to know all her abominations,
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies [and] violence; the prey departeth not.
The godly [man] hath perished out of the land, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood, they hunt every man his brother with a net.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away captive his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
and also [because of] the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah would not pardon.
Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed. She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I wondered, seeing her, with great wonder.
And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast who comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and shall conquer them, and shall kill them: and their body [shall be] on the street of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
And they said each one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
and they have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and have drunk [it].
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and caused Israel to come forward by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he caused the families of Judah to come forward, and he took the family of the Zarhites. And he caused the family of the Zarhites to come forward man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he caused his household to come forward man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also passed over unto them their children, whom they bore unto me, to be devoured. Moreover this have they done unto me: in the same day have they defiled my sanctuary and profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slaughtered their children unto their idols, they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and behold, thus have they done in the midst of my house. And furthermore, they sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thine eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments; and satest upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hadst set mine incense and mine oil. And the voice of a multitude living carelessly was with her; and with people of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, and they put bracelets upon their hands, and a beautiful crown upon their heads. And I said of her that was old in adulteries, Will she now commit her fornications, even she. And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a whorish woman: so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah the lewd women. And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; for they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
Behold, the princes of Israel have been in thee to shed blood, each according to his power. In thee have they made light of father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. In thee there have been slanderous men to shed blood; and in thee have they eaten upon the mountains; in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness;
This shall not be your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst of it: I will judge you in the borders of Israel;
Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and it is the cauldron; but you will I bring forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared the sword, and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
And to the others he said in my hearing, Go after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have pity. Slay utterly the old man, the young man, and the maiden, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the elders who were before the house.
The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed by the fire; they have melted, and melted in vain; and the bad are not plucked away.
And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.
Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in thy sight. And Saul said to Jehovah the God of Israel, Give a perfect [testimony]! And Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people escaped. And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 24
Commentary on Ezekiel 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 24
Eze 24:1-27. Vision of the Boiling Caldron, and of the Death of Ezekiel's Wife.
1, 2. Ezekiel proves his divine mission by announcing the very day, ("this same day") of the beginning of the investment of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; "the ninth year," namely, of Jehoiachin's captivity, "the tenth day of the tenth month"; though he was three hundred miles away from Jerusalem among the captives at the Chebar (2Ki 25:1; Jer 39:1).
2. set himself—laid siege; "lay against."
3. pot—caldron. Alluding to the self-confident proverb used among the people, Eze 11:3 (see on Eze 11:3), "This city is the caldron and we be the flesh"; your proverb shall prove awfully true, but in a different sense from what you intend. So far from the city proving an iron, caldron-like defense from the fire, it shall be as a caldron set on the fire, and the people as so many pieces of meat subjected to boiling heat. See Jer 1:13.
4. pieces thereof—those which properly belong to it, as its own.
every good piece … choice bones—that is, the most distinguished of the people. The "choice bones" in the pot have flesh adhering to them. The bones under the pot (Eze 24:5) are those having no flesh and used as fuel, answering to the poorest who suffer first, and are put out of pain sooner than the rich who endure what answers to the slower process of boiling.
5. burn … bones—rather, "pile the bones." Literally, "Let there be a round pile of the bones."
therein—literally, "in the midst of it."
6. scum—not ordinary, but poisonous scum, that is, the people's all-pervading wickedness.
bring it out piece by piece—"it," the contents of the pot; its flesh, that is, "I will destroy the people of the city, not all at the same time, but by a series of successive attacks." Not as Fairbairn, "on its every piece let it (the poisonous scum) go forth."
let no lot fall upon it—that is, no lot, such as is sometimes cast, to decide who are to be destroyed and who saved (2Sa 8:2; Joe 3:3; Ob 11; Na 3:10). In former carryings away of captives, lots were cast to settle who were to go, and who to stay, but now all alike are to be cast out without distinction of rank, age, or sex.
7. upon the top of a rock—or, "the dry, bare, exposed rock," so as to be conspicuous to all. Blood poured on a rock is not so soon absorbed as blood poured on the earth. The law ordered the blood even of a beast or fowl to be "covered with the dust" (Le 17:13); but Jerusalem was so shameless as to be at no pains to cover up the blood of innocent men slain in her. Blood, as the consummation of all sin, presupposes every other form of guilt.
8. That it might cause—God purposely let her so shamelessly pour the blood on the bare rock, "that it might" the more loudly and openly cry for vengeance from on high; and that the connection between the guilt and the punishment might be the more palpable. The blood of Abel, though the ground received it, still cries to heaven for vengeance (Ge 4:10, 11); much more blood shamelessly exposed on the bare rock.
set her blood—She shall be paid back in kind (Mt 7:2). She openly shed blood, and her blood shall openly be shed.
9. the pile for fire—the hostile materials for the city's destruction.
10. spice it well—that the meat may be the more palatable, that is, I will make the foe delight in its destruction as much as one delights in well-seasoned, savory meat. Grotius, needlessly departing from the obvious sense, translates, "Let it be boiled down to a compound."
11. set it empty … that … brass … may burn, … that … scum … may be consumed—Even the consumption of the contents is not enough; the caldron itself which is infected by the poisonous scum must be destroyed, that is, the city itself must be destroyed, not merely the inhabitants, just as the very house infected with leprosy was to be destroyed (Le 14:34-45).
12. herself—rather, "she hath wearied Me out with lies"; or rather, "with vain labors" on My part to purify her without being obliged to have recourse to judgments (compare Isa 43:24; Mal 2:17) [Maurer]. However, English Version gives a good sense (compare Isa 47:13; 57:10).
13. lewdness—determined, deliberate wickedness; from a Hebrew root, "to purpose."
I have purged thee—that is, I have left nothing untried which would tend towards purging thee, by sending prophets to invite thee to repentance, by giving thee the law with all its promises, privileges, and threats.
thou shalt not be purged … any more—that is, by My gracious interpositions; thou shalt be left to thine own course to take its fatal consequences.
14. go back—desist; relax [Fairbairn].
15. Second part of the vision; announcement of the death of Ezekiel's wife, and prohibition of the usual signs of mourning.
16. desire of … eyes—his wife: representing the sanctuary (Eze 24:21) in which the Jews so much gloried. The energy and subordination of Ezekiel's whole life to his prophetic office is strikingly displayed in this narrative of his wife's death. It is the only memorable event of his personal history which he records, and this only in reference to his soul-absorbing work. His natural tenderness is shown by that graphic touch, "the desire of thine eyes." What amazing subjection, then, of his individual feeling to his prophetic duty is manifested in the simple statement (Eze 24:18), "So I spake … in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded."
stroke—a sudden visitation. The suddenness of it enhances the self-control of Ezekiel in so entirely merging individual feeling, which must have been especially acute under such trying circumstances, in the higher claims of duty to God.
17. Forbear to cry—or, "Lament in silence"; not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expression of it [Grotius].
no mourning—typical of the universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would preclude mourning, such as is usual where calamity is but partial. "The dead" is purposely put in the plural, as referring ultimately to the dead who should perish at the taking of Jerusalem; though the singular might have been expected, as Ezekiel's wife was the immediate subject referred to: "make no mourning," such as is usual, "for the dead, and such as shall be hereafter in Jerusalem" (Jer 16:5-7).
tire of thine head—thy headdress [Fairbairn]. Jerome explains, "Thou shalt retain the hair which is usually cut in mourning." The fillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laid aside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2Sa 15:30). The reason was, the priests had their headdress of fine twined linen given them for ornament, and as a badge of office. The high priest, as having on his head the holy anointing oil, was forbidden in any case to lay aside his headdress. But the priests might do so in the case of the death of the nearest relatives (Le 21:2, 3, 10). They then put on inferior attire, sprinkling also on their heads dust and ashes (compare Le 10:6, 7).
shoes upon thy feet—whereas mourners went "barefoot" (2Sa 15:30).
cover not … lips—rather, the "upper lip," with the moustache (Le 13:45; Mic 3:7).
bread of men—the bread usually brought to mourners by friends in token of sympathy. So the "cup of consolation" brought (Jer 16:7). "Of men" means such as is usually furnished by men. So Isa 8:1, "a man's pen"; Re 21:17, "the measure of a man."
19. what these things are to us—The people perceive that Ezekiel's strange conduct has a symbolical meaning as to themselves; they ask, "What is that meaning?"
21. excellency of your strength—(compare Am 6:8). The object of your pride and confidence (Jer 7:4, 10, 14).
desire of … eyes—(Ps 27:4). The antitype to Ezekiel's wife (Eze 24:16).
pitieth—loveth, as pity is akin to love: "yearned over."
Profane—an appropriate word. They had profaned the temple with idolatry; God, in just retribution, will profane it with the Chaldean sword, that is, lay it in the dust, as Ezekiel's wife.
sons … daughters … left—the children left behind in Judea, when the parents were carried away.
22. (Jer 16:6, 7). So general shall be the calamity, that all ordinary usages of mourning shall be suspended.
23. ye shall not mourn … but … pine away for your iniquities—The Jews' not mourning was to be not the result of insensibility, any more than Ezekiel's not mourning for his wife was not from want of feeling. They could not in their exile manifest publicly their lamentation, but they would privately "mourn one to another." Their "iniquities" would then be their chief sorrow ("pining away"), as feeling that these were the cause of their sufferings (compare Le 26:39; La 3:39). The fullest fulfilment is still future (Zec 12:10-14).
24. sign—a typical representative in his own person of what was to befall them (Isa 20:3).
when this cometh—alluding probably to their taunt, as if God's word spoken by His prophets would never come to pass. "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now" (Jer 17:15). When the prophecy is fulfilled, "ye shall know (to your cost) that I am the Lord," who thereby show My power and fulfil My word spoken by My prophet (Joh 13:19; 14:29).
25, 26. "The day" referred to in these verses is the day of the overthrow of the temple, when the fugitive "escapes." But "that day," in Eze 24:27, is the day on which the fugitive brings the sad news to Ezekiel, at the Chebar. In the interval the prophet suspended his prophecies as to the Jews, as was foretold. Afterwards his mouth was "opened," and no more "dumb" (Eze 3:26, 27; compare Eze 24:27; 33:21, 22).