9 Nevertheless, if thou warn H2094 the wicked H7563 of his way H1870 to turn H7725 from it; if he do not turn H7725 from his way, H1870 he shall die H4191 in his iniquity; H5771 but thou hast delivered H5337 thy soul. H5315
But G2532 fornication, G4202 and G1161 all G3956 uncleanness, G167 or G2228 covetousness, G4124 let it G3687 not be once G3366 named G3687 among G1722 you, G5213 as G2531 becometh G4241 saints; G40 Neither G2532 filthiness, G151 nor G2532 foolish talking, G3473 nor G2228 jesting, G2160 which G3588 are G433 not G3756 convenient: G433 but G235 rather G3123 giving of thanks. G2169 For G1063 this G5124 ye know, G2075 G1097 that G3754 no G3756 G3956 whoremonger, G4205 nor G2228 unclean person, G169 nor G2228 covetous man, G4123 who G3739 is G2076 an idolater, G1496 hath G2192 any inheritance G2817 in G1722 the kingdom G932 of Christ G5547 and G2532 of God. G2316 Let G538 no man G3367 deceive G538 you G5209 with vain G2756 words: G3056 for G1063 because G1223 of these things G5023 cometh G2064 the wrath G3709 of God G2316 upon G1909 the children G5207 of disobedience. G543
For G1063 this G5124 is G2076 the will G2307 of God, G2316 even your G5216 sanctification, G38 that ye G5209 should abstain G567 from G575 fornication: G4202 That every one G1538 of you G5216 should know G1492 how to possess G2932 his G1438 vessel G4632 in G1722 sanctification G38 and G2532 honour; G5092 Not G3361 in G1722 the lust G3806 of concupiscence, G1939 even G2532 as G2509 the Gentiles G1484 which G3588 know G1492 not G3361 God: G2316 That no G3361 man go beyond G5233 and G2532 defraud G4122 his G846 brother G80 in G1722 any matter: G4229 because G1360 that the Lord G2962 is the avenger G1558 of G4012 all G3956 such, G5130 as G2531 we G4277 also G2532 have forewarned G4277 you G5213 and G2532 testified. G1263 For G1063 God G2316 hath G2564 not G3756 called G2564 us G2248 unto G1909 uncleanness, G167 but G235 unto G1722 holiness. G38 He therefore G5105 that despiseth, G114 despiseth G114 not G3756 man, G444 but G235 God, G2316 who hath G1325 also G2532 given G1325 unto G1519 us G2248 his G846 holy G40 Spirit. G4151
(For G1063 many G4183 walk, G4043 of whom G3739 I have told G3004 you G5213 often, G4178 and G1161 now G3568 tell G3004 you even G2532 weeping, G2799 that they are the enemies G2190 of the cross G4716 of Christ: G5547 Whose G3739 end G5056 is destruction, G684 whose G3739 God G2316 is their belly, G2836 and G2532 whose glory G1391 is in G1722 their G846 shame, G152 who G3588 mind G5426 earthly things.) G1919
Be G4105 not G3361 deceived; G4105 God G2316 is G3456 not G3756 mocked: G3456 for G1063 whatsoever G3739 G1437 a man G444 soweth, G4687 that G5124 shall he G2325 also G2532 reap. G2325 For G3754 he that soweth G4687 to G1519 his G1438 flesh G4561 shall G2325 of G1537 the flesh G4561 reap G2325 corruption; G5356 but G1161 he that soweth G4687 to G1519 the Spirit G4151 shall G2325 of G1537 the Spirit G4151 reap G2325 life G2222 everlasting. G166
Now G1161 the works G2041 of the flesh G4561 are G2076 manifest, G5318 which G3748 are G2076 these; Adultery, G3430 fornication, G4202 uncleanness, G167 lasciviousness, G766 Idolatry, G1495 witchcraft, G5331 hatred, G2189 variance, G2054 emulations, G2205 wrath, G2372 strife, G2052 seditions, G1370 heresies, G139 Envyings, G5355 murders, G5408 drunkenness, G3178 revellings, G2970 and G2532 such G5125 like: G3664 of the which G3739 I tell G4302 you G5213 before, G4302 as G2531 I have G4277 also G2532 told you in time past, G4277 that G3754 they which do G4238 such things G5108 shall G2816 not G3756 inherit G2816 the kingdom G932 of God. G2316
For G3754 we are G2070 unto God G2316 a sweet savour G2175 of Christ, G5547 in G1722 them that are saved, G4982 and G2532 in G1722 them that perish: G622 To G3739 the one G3303 we are the savour G3744 of death G2288 unto G1519 death; G2288 and G1161 to the other G3739 the savour G3744 of life G2222 unto G1519 life. G2222 And G2532 who G5101 is sufficient G2425 for G4314 these things? G5023 For G1063 we are G2070 not G3756 as G5613 many, G4183 which corrupt G2585 the word G3056 of God: G2316 but G235 as G5613 of G1537 sincerity, G1505 but G235 as G5613 of G1537 God, G2316 in the sight G2714 of God G2316 speak we G2980 in G1722 Christ. G5547
And G1161 when they had appointed G5021 him G846 a day, G2250 there came G2240 many G4119 to G4314 him G846 into G1519 his lodging; G3578 to whom G3739 he expounded G1620 and testified G1263 the kingdom G932 of God, G2316 G5037 persuading G3982 them G846 concerning G4012 Jesus, G2424 both G5037 out of G575 the law G3551 of Moses, G3475 and G2532 out of the prophets, G4396 from G575 morning G4404 till G2193 evening. G2073 And G2532 some G3303 believed G3982 the things which were spoken, G3004 and G1161 some believed not. G569 And G1161 when they agreed not G800 G5607 among G4314 themselves, G240 they departed, G630 after that Paul G3972 had spoken G2036 one G1520 word, G4487 G3754 Well G2573 spake G2980 the Holy G40 Ghost G4151 by G1223 Esaias G2268 the prophet G4396 unto G4314 our G2257 fathers, G3962 Saying, G3004 Go G4198 unto G4314 this G5126 people, G2992 and G2532 say, G2036 Hearing G189 ye shall hear, G191 and G2532 shall G4920 not G3364 understand; G4920 and G2532 seeing G991 ye shall see, G991 and G2532 not G3364 perceive: G1492 For G1063 the heart G2588 of this G5127 people G2992 is waxed gross, G3975 and G2532 their ears G3775 are dull G917 of hearing, G191 and G2532 their G846 eyes G3788 have they closed; G2576 lest G3379 they should see G1492 with their eyes, G3788 and G2532 hear G191 with their ears, G3775 and G2532 understand G4920 with their heart, G2588 and G2532 should be converted, G1994 and G2532 I should heal G2390 them. G846 Be it G2077 known G1110 therefore G3767 unto you, G5213 that G3754 the salvation G4992 of God G2316 is sent G649 unto the Gentiles, G1484 and G2532 that they will hear G191 it. G846
And G1161 when G5613 G5037 Silas G4609 and G2532 Timotheus G5095 were come G2718 from G575 Macedonia, G3109 Paul G3972 was pressed G4912 in the spirit, G4151 and testified G1263 to the Jews G2453 that Jesus G2424 was Christ. G5547 And G1161 when they opposed G498 themselves, G846 and G2532 blasphemed, G987 he shook G1621 his raiment, G2440 and said G2036 unto G4314 them, G846 Your G5216 blood G129 be upon G1909 your G5216 own heads; G2776 I G1473 am clean: G2513 from G575 henceforth G3568 I will go G4198 unto G1519 the Gentiles. G1484
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 33
Commentary on Ezekiel 33 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 33
Eze 33:1-33. Renewal of Ezekiel's Commission, Now that He Is Again to Address His Countrymen, and in a New Tone.
Heretofore his functions had been chiefly threatening; from this point, after the evil had got to its worst in the overthrow of Jerusalem, the consolatory element preponderates.
2. to the children of thy people—whom he had been forbidden to address from Eze 24:26, 27, till Jerusalem was overthrown, and the "escaped" came with tidings of the judgment being completed. So now, in Eze 33:21, the tidings of the fact having arrived, he opens his heretofore closed lips to the Jews. In the interval he had prophesied as to foreign nations. The former part of the chapter, at Eze 33:2-20, seems to have been imparted to Ezekiel on the evening previous (Eze 33:22), being a preparation for the latter part (Eze 33:23-33) imparted after the tidings had come. This accounts for the first part standing without intimation of the date, which was properly reserved for the latter part, to which the former was the anticipatory introduction [Fairbairn].
watchman—Eze 33:1-9 exhibit Ezekiel's office as a spiritual watchman; so in Eze 3:16-21; only here the duties of the earthly watchman (compare 2Sa 18:24, 25; 2Ki 9:17) are detailed first, and then the application is made to the spiritual watchman's duty (compare Isa 21:6-10; Ho 9:8; Hab 2:1). "A man of their coasts" is a man specially chosen for the office out of their whole number. So Jud 18:2, "five men from their coasts"; also the Hebrew of Ge 47:2; implying the care needed in the choice of the watchman, the spiritual as well as the temporal (Ac 1:21, 22, 24-26; 1Ti 5:22).
3. the sword—invaders. An appropriate illustration at the time of the invasion of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar.
4. blood … upon his own head—metaphor from sacrificial victims, on the heads of which they used to lay their hands, praying that their guilt should be upon the victims.
6. his iniquity—his negligence in not maintaining constant watchfulness, as they who are in warfare ought to do. The thing signified here appears from under the image.
7. I have set thee a watchman—application of the image. Ezekiel's appointment to be a watchman spiritually is far more solemn, as it is derived from God, not from the people.
8. thou shalt surely die—by a violent death, the earnest of everlasting death; the qualification being supposed, "if thou dost not repent."
9. Blood had by this time been shed (Eze 33:21), but Ezekiel was clear.
10. be upon us—that is, their guilt remain on us.
pine away in them—if we suffer the penalty threatened for them in Eze 24:23, according to the law (Le 26:39).
how should we … live?—as Thou dost promise in Eze 33:5 (compare Eze 37:11; Isa 49:14).
11. To meet the Jews' cry of despair in Eze 33:10, Ezekiel here cheers them by the assurance that God has no pleasure in their death, but that they should repent and live (2Pe 3:9). A yearning tenderness manifests itself here, notwithstanding all their past sins; yet with it a holiness that abates nothing of its demands for the honor of God's authority. God's righteousness is vindicated as in Eze 3:18-21 and Eze 18:1-32, by the statement that each should be treated with the closest adaptation of God's justice to his particular case.
12. not fall … in the day that he turneth—(2Ch 7:14; see Eze 3:20; 18:24).
15. give again that he had robbed—(Lu 19:8).
statutes of life—in the obeying of which life is promised (Le 18:5). If the law has failed to give life to man, it has not been the fault of the law, but of man's sinful inability to keep it (Ro 7:10, 12; Ga 3:21). It becomes life-giving through Christ's righteous obedience to it (2Co 3:6).
17. The way of the Lord—The Lord's way of dealing in His moral government.
21. twelfth year … tenth month—a year and a half after the capture of the city (Jer 39:2; 52:5, 6), in the eleventh year and fourth month. The one who escaped (as foretold, Eze 24:26) may have been so long on the road through fear of entering the enemy's country [Henderson]; or, the singular is used for the plural in a collective sense, "the escaped remnant." Compare similar phrases, "the escaped of Moab," Isa 15:9; "He that escapeth of them," Am 9:1. Naturally the reopening of the prophet's mouth for consolation would be deferred till the number of the escaped remnant was complete: the removal of such a large number would easily have occupied seventeen or eighteen months.
22. in the evening—(see on Eze 33:2). Thus the capture of Jerusalem was known to Ezekiel by revelation before the messenger came.
my mouth … no more dumb—that is, to my countrymen; as foretold (Eze 24:27), He spake (Eze 33:2-20) in the evening before the tidings came.
24. they that inhabit … wastes of … Israel—marking the blindness of the fraction of Jews under Gedaliah who, though dwelling amidst regions laid waste by the foe, still cherished hopes of deliverance, and this without repentance.
Abraham was one … but we are many—If God gave the land for an inheritance to Abraham, who was but one (Isa 51:2), much more it is given to us, who, though reduced, are still many. If he, with 318 servants, was able to defend himself amid so many foes, much more shall we, so much more numerous, retain our own. The grant of the land was not for his sole use, but for his numerous posterity.
inherited the land—not actually possessed it (Ac 7:5), but had the right of dwelling and pasturing his flocks in it [Grotius]. The Jews boasted similarly of their Abrahamic descent in Mt 3:9 and Joh 8:39.
25. eat with the blood—in opposition to the law (Le 19:26; compare Ge 9:4). They did so as an idolatrous rite.
26. Ye stand upon your sword—Your dependence is, not on right and equity, but on force and arms.
every one—Scarcely anyone refrains from adultery.
27. shall fall by the sword—The very object of their confidence would be the instrument of their destruction. Thinking to "stand" by it, by it they shall "fall." Just retribution! Some fell by the sword of Ishmael; others by the Chaldeans in revenge for the murder of Gedaliah (Jer 40:1-44:30).
caves—(Jud 6:2; 1Sa 13:6). In the hilly parts of Judea there were caves almost inaccessible, as having only crooked and extremely narrow paths of ascent, with rock in front stretching down into the valleys beneath perpendicularly [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 1.16.4].
28. most desolate—(Jer 4:27; 12:11).
none … pass through—from fear of wild beasts and pestilence [Grotius].
30. Not only the remnant in Judea, but those at the Chebar, though less flagrantly, betrayed the same unbelieving spirit.
talking against thee—Though going to the prophet to hear the word of the Lord, they criticised, in an unfriendly spirit, his peculiarities of manner and his enigmatical style (Eze 20:49); making these the excuse for their impenitence. Their talking was not directly "against" Ezekiel, for they professed to like his ministrations; but God's word speaks of things as they really are, not as they appear.
by the walls—in the public haunts. In the East groups assemble under the walls of their houses in winter for conversation.
in the doors—privately.
what is the word—Their motive was curiosity, seeking pastime and gratification of the ear (2Ti 4:3); not reformation of the heart. Compare Johanan's consultation of Jeremiah, to hear the word of the Lord without desiring to do it (Jer 42:1-43:13).
31. as the people cometh—that is, in crowds, as disciples flock to their teacher.
sit before thee—on lower seats at thy feet, according to the Jewish custom of pupils (De 33:3; 2Ki 4:38; Lu 10:39; Ac 22:3).
as my people—though they are not.
hear … not do—(Mt 13:20, 21; Jas 1:23, 24).
they show much love—literally, "make love," that is, act the part of lovers. Profess love to the Lord (Mt 7:21). Gesenius translates, according to Arabic idiom, "They do the delights of God," that is, all that is agreeable to God. Vulgate translates, "They turn thy words into a song of their mouths."
heart goeth after … covetousness—the grand rival to the love of God; therefore called "idolatry," and therefore associated with impure carnal love, as both alike transfer the heart's affection from the Creator to the creature (Mt 13:22; Eph 5:5; 1Ti 6:10).
32. very lovely song—literally, a "song of loves": a lover's song. They praise thy eloquence, but care not for the subject of it as a real and personal thing; just as many do in the modern church [Jerome].
play well on an instrument—Hebrew singers accompanied the "voice" with the harp.
33. when this cometh to pass—when My predictions are verified.
lo, it will come—rather, "lo it is come" (see Eze 33:22).
know—experimentally, and to their cost.