Notes on Ezekiel
From the Original 1599 Geneva Bible Notes

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Eze 1:1

1:1 Now it came to pass in the {a} thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of {b} Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of {c} God.

The Argument - After Jehoiachin by the counsel of Jeremiah and Ezekiel had yielded himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and so went into captivity with his mother and various of his princes and of the people, some began to repent and murmur that they had obeyed the prophet's counsel, as though the things which they had prophesied would not come to pass, and therefore their estate would still be miserable under the Chaldeans. By reason of which he confirms his former prophecies, declaring by new visions and revelations shown to him, that the city would most certainly be destroyed, and the people grievously tormented by God's plagues, in so much that they who remained would be brought into cruel bondage. Lest the godly despair in these great troubles, he assures them that God will deliver his church at his appointed time and also destroy their enemies, who either afflicted them, or rejoiced in their miseries. The effect of the one and the other would be chiefly performed under Christ, of whom in this book are many notable promises, and in whom the glory of the new temple would perfectly be restored. He prophesied these things in Chaldea, at the same time that Jeremiah prophesied in Judah, and there began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity.

(a) After that the book of the Law as found, which was the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, so that twenty-five years after this book was found, Jeconiah was led away captive with Ezekiel and many of the people, who the first year later saw these visions.
(b) Which was a part of Euphrates so called.
(c) That is, notable and excellent visions, so that it might be known, it was no natural dream but came from God.

Eze 1:3

1:3 The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the {d} hand of the LORD was there upon him.

(d) That is, the spirit of prophecy, as in Eze 3:22,37:1 .

Eze 1:4

1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a {e} whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and from the midst of it as the colour of amber, from the midst of the fire.

(e) By this diversity of words he signifies the fearful judgment of God and the great afflictions that would come on Jerusalem.

Eze 1:5

1:5 Also from the midst of it [came] the likeness of {f} four living beings. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

(f) Which were the four Cherubims that represented the glory of God, as in Eze 11:22 .

Eze 1:9

1:9 Their wings [were] {g} joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

(g) The wing of the one touched the wing of the other.

Eze 1:10

1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had {h} the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

(h) Every cherubim had four faces, the face of a man, and of a lion on the right side, and the face of a bullock and of an eagle on the left side.

Eze 1:14

1:14 And the living beings ran and {i} returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

(i) That is, when they had executed God's will: for before they returned not till God had changed the state of things.

Eze 1:16

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like the colour of a {k} beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work [was] as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

(k) The Hebrew word is tarshish meaning that the colour was like the Cilician Sea, or a precious stone so called.

Eze 1:24

1:24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their {l} wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they {m} let down their wings.

(l) Which declared the swiftness and the fearfulness of God's judgments.
(m) Which signified that they had no power of themselves, but only waited to execute God's commandment.

Eze 1:27

1:27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire {n} around within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness on all sides.

(n) By which was signified a terrible judgment toward the earth.

Eze 1:28

1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness around. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell {o} upon my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking.

(o) Considering the majesty of God, and the weakness of flesh.

Eze 2:1

2:1 And {a} he said to me, {b} Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee.

(a) That is, the Lord.
(b) Meaning, man who is but earth and ashes, which was to humble him, and cause him to consider his own state, and God's grace.

Eze 2:2

2:2 {c} And the spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spoke to me.

(c) So that he could not abide God's presence, till God's Spirit entered into him.

Eze 2:5

2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that {d} there hath been a prophet among them.

(d) This declares on the one part God's great affection toward his people, that despite their rebellion, yet he will send his prophets among them, and admonishes his ministers on the other part that they cease not to do their duty, though the people are never so obstinate: for the word of God will be either to their salvation or greater condemnation.

Eze 2:6

2:6 And thou, son of man, {e} be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [are] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [are] a rebellious house.

(e) Read Jer 1:17 . He shows that for no afflictions they would cease to do their duties.

Eze 2:8

2:8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and {f} eat that which I give thee.

(f) He not only exhorts him to his duty but also gives him the means with which he may be able to execute it.

Eze 2:10

2:10 And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written in it {g} lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

(g) He shows what were the contents of this book: that is, God's judgments against the wicked.

Eze 3:1

3:1 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; {a} eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.

(a) By which is meant that no one is fit to be God's messenger before he has received the word of God in his heart, as in Eze 3:10 and has a zeal to it, and delight in it, as in Jer 15:16, Re 10:10 .

Eze 3:8

3:8 Behold, I have made thy {b} face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

(b) God promises his assistance to his ministers, and that he will give them boldness and constancy in their calling, Isa 50:7, Jer 1:18, Mic 3:8 .

Eze 3:10

3:10 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to thee {c} receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears.

(c) He shows what is meant by the eating of the book, which is that the ministers of God may speak nothing from themselves, but only that which they have received from the Lord.

Eze 3:12

3:12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [saying], {d} Blessed [be] the glory of the LORD from his place.

(d) By which he signifies that God's glory would not be diminished, although he departed out of his temple, for this declared that the city and temple would be destroyed.

Eze 3:14

3:14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I {e} went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

(e) This shows that there is always an infirmity of the flesh which can never be ready to render full obedience to God, and also God's grace who ever assists his, and overcomes their rebellious affections.

Eze 3:15

3:15 Then I came to them of the captivity at {f} Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there overwhelmed among them {g} seven days.

(f) Which was a place by Euphrates where the Jews were prisoners.
(g) Declaring here that God's ministers must with advisement and deliberation utter his judgments.

Eze 3:17

3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a {h} watchman to the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

(h) Of this read Eze 33:2 .

Eze 3:20

3:20 Again, When a {i} righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a {k} stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his {l} righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

(i) If he that has been instructed in the right way turn back.
(k) I will give him up to a reprobate mind, Ro 1:28 .
(l) Which seemed to have been done in faith, and was not.

Eze 3:22

3:22 And the {m} hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

(m) That is, the Spirit of prophecy.

Eze 3:23

3:23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the {n} glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

(n) Meaning, the vision of the cherubims and the wheels.

Eze 3:24

3:24 Then the spirit entered into me, and {o} set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said to me, Go, {p} shut thyself within thy house.

(o) Read Jer 2:2 .
(p) Signifying that not only would he not profit, but they would grievously trouble and afflict him.

Eze 3:26

3:26 And I will make thy tongue {q} cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they [are] a rebellious house.

(q) Which declares the terrible plague of the Lord, when God stops the mouths of his ministers and that all such are the rods of his vengeance that do it.

Eze 4:3

4:3 Moreover take thou to thee an {a} iron pan, and set it [for] a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This [shall be] a sign to the house of Israel.

(a) Which signified the stubbornness and hardness of their hearts.

Eze 4:4

4:4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the {b} house of Israel upon it: [according] to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.

(b) By this he represented the idolatry and sin of the ten tribes (for Samaria was on his left hand from Babylon) and how they had remained in it three hundred and ninety years.

Eze 4:6

4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy {c} right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

(c) Which declared Judah, who had now from the time of Josiah slept in their sins forty years.

Eze 4:7

4:7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thy {d} arm [shall be] uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

(d) In token of a speedy vengeance.

Eze 4:8

4:8 And, behold, I will lay {e} cords upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

(e) The people would so straightly be besieged that they would not be able to turn them.

Eze 4:9

4:9 Take thou also to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, {f} and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread of them, [according] to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, {g} three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat of it.

(f) Meaning that the famine would be so great that they would be glad to eat whatever they could get.
(g) Which were fourteen months that the city was besieged and this was as many days as Israel sinned years.

Eze 4:10

4:10 And thy food which thou shalt eat [shall be] by weight, {h} twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

(h) Which make a pound.

Eze 4:11

4:11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of {i} an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

(i) Read Geneva "Ex 29:40"

Eze 4:12

4:12 And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it {k} with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

(k) Signifying by this the great scarcity of fuel and matter to burn.

Eze 4:14

4:14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither hath {l} abominable flesh come into my mouth.

(l) Much less such vile corruption.

Eze 4:15

4:15 Then he said to me, Lo, I have given thee cow's {m} dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread with them.

(m) To be as fire to bake your bread with.

Eze 4:16

4:16 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, behold, I will break {n} the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and in horror:

(n) That is, the force and strength with which it would nourish, Isa 3:1, Eze 14:13 .

Eze 5:1

5:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause [it] {a} to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take to thee balances to weigh, and divide the [hair].

(a) To shave your head and your beard.

Eze 5:2

5:2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the {b} city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, [and] smite about it with a sword: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

(b) That is, of that city which he had portrayed on the brick, Eze 4:1 . By the fire and pestilence he means the famine, with which one part perished during the siege of Nebuchadnezzar. By the sword, those that were slain when Zedekiah fled and those that were carried away captive and by the scattering into the wind, those that fled into Egypt, and into other parts after the city was taken.

Eze 5:3

5:3 Thou shalt also take of them a few in number, and bind them in thy {c} skirts.

(c) Meaning, that a very few would be left, which the Lord would preserve among all these storms, but not without troubles and trial.

Eze 5:4

5:4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; {d} from which a fire shall come forth into all the house of Israel.

(d) Out of the fire which you kindled will come a fire which will signify the destruction of Israel.

Eze 5:6

5:6 And she hath changed my {e} judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that [are] around her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

(e) My word and law into idolatry and superstitions.

Eze 5:7

5:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye {f} multiplied more than the nations that [are] around you, [and] have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that [are] around you;

(f) Because your idols are in greater number, and your superstitions more than among the professed idolaters, read Isa 65:11 or he condemns their ingratitude in respect to his benefits.

Eze 5:13

5:13 Thus shall my anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be {g} comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken [it] in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

(g) That is, I will not be pacified till I am avenged, Isa 1:24 .

Eze 5:16

5:16 When I shall send upon them the evil {h} arrows of famine, which shall be for [their] destruction, [and] which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

(h) Which were the grasshoppers, mildew and whatever were opportunities for famine.

Eze 6:3

6:3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the {a} mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, [even] I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

(a) He speaks of all the places where the Israelites accustomed to commit their idolaters, threatening them with destruction.

Eze 6:4

6:4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your {b} images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain [men] before your idols.

(b) Read 2Ki 23:14 .

Eze 6:5

6:5 And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their {c} idols; and I will scatter your bones about your altars.

(c) In contempt of their power and force, which will neither be able to deliver you or themselves.

Eze 6:8

6:8 Yet will I leave a remnant, {d} that ye may have [some] that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.

(d) He shows that in all dangers God will preserve a few, which will be as the seed of his Church and call on his Name.

Eze 6:9

6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations to which they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their adulterous heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the harlot with their idols: and they {e} shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

(e) They will be ashamed to see that their hope in idols was in vain, and so will repent.

Eze 6:11

6:11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; {f} Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

(f) By these signs he would that the prophet would signify the great destruction to come.

Eze 6:13

6:13 Then shall {g} ye know that I [am] the LORD, when their slain [men] shall be among their idols all around their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they offered sweet savour to all their idols.

(g) That is, all nations when you will see my judgments.

Eze 6:14

6:14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, even, more desolate {h} than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

(h) Which was in Syria and bordered on Israel, or from the wilderness which was south, to Diblath which was north: meaning the while country.

Eze 7:3

7:3 Now [is] the end [come] upon thee, and I will send my anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all {a} thy abominations.

(a) I will punish you as you have deserved for your idolatry.

Eze 7:6

7:6 An end is come, the end is come: it {b} watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

(b) He shows that the judgments of God ever watch to destroy the sinners, who notwithstanding he delays till there is no more hope of repentance.

Eze 7:7

7:7 The {c} morning is come upon thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble [is] near, and not the joyful {d} shouting upon the mountains.

(c) The beginning of his punishments is already come.
(d) Which was a voice of joy and mirth.

Eze 7:10

7:10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the {e} rod hath blossomed, {f} pride hath budded.

(e) The scourge is ready.
(f) That is, the proud tyrant Nebuchadnezzar has gathered his force and is ready.

Eze 7:11

7:11 {g} Violence hath risen into a rod of wickedness: none of them [shall remain], nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither [shall there be] wailing for them.

(g) This cruel enemy will be a sharp scourge for their wickedness.

Eze 7:12

7:12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer {i} rejoice, nor the seller {k} mourn: for wrath [is] upon all its multitude.

(i) For the present profit.
(k) For he will lose nothing.

Eze 7:13

7:13 For the seller shall not {l} return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the {m} vision [is] concerning its whole multitude, [which] shall not return; {n} neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

(l) In the year of the Jubile, meaning that none would enjoy the privilege of the law, Le 25:13 for they would all be carried away captives.
(m) This vision signified that all would be carried away, and none would return for the Jubile.
(n) No man for all this endeavours himself or takes heart to repent for his evil life. Some read, for none will be strengthened in his iniquity of his life: meaning that they would gain nothing by flattering themselves in evil.

Eze 7:14

7:14 {o} They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath [is] upon all its multitude.

(o) The Israelites made a brag, but their hearts failed them.

Eze 7:20

7:20 As for the beauty of his {p} ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations [and] of their detestable things in it: therefore have I set it far from them.

(p) Meaning, the sanctuary.

Eze 7:21

7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the {q} strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.

(q) That is, of the Babylonians.

Eze 7:22

7:22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my {r} secret [place]: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.

(r) Which signifies the most holy place, into which none might enter but the high priest.

Eze 7:23

7:23 Make a {s} chain: for the land is full of {t} bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

(s) Signifying that they would be bound and led away captives.
(t) That is, of sins that deserve death.

Eze 7:24

7:24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their {u} holy places shall be defiled.

(u) Which was the temple that was divided into three parts.

Eze 8:1

8:1 And it came to pass in the {a} sixth year, in the {b} sixth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, [as] I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

(a) Of the captivity of Jeconiah.
(b) Which contained part of August and part of September.

Eze 8:2

8:2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of {c} fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

(c) As in Eze 1:27 .

Eze 8:3

8:3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the {d} visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner {e} gate that looketh toward the north; where [was] the seat of the image of {f} jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

(d) Meaning that he was thus carried in spirit, and not in body.
(e) Which was the porch or the court where the people assembled.
(f) So called, because it provoked God's indignation, which was the idol of Baal.

Eze 8:4

8:4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel [was] there, according to the vision that I saw {g} in the plain.

(g) Read Eze 3:22 .

Eze 8:5

8:5 Then said he to me, Son of man, lift up thy eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the {h} altar this image of jealousy in the entrance.

(h) That is, in the court where the people had made an altar to Baal.

Eze 8:6

8:6 He said furthermore to me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? [even] the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should withdraw from {i} my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, [and] thou shalt see greater abominations.

(i) For God will not be where the idols are.

Eze 8:10

8:10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping animals, and {k} abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around upon the wall.

(k) Which were forbidden in the law, Le 11:4 .

Eze 8:11

8:11 And there stood before them seventy {l} men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and {m} a thick cloud of incense went up.

(l) Thus they who would have kept all the rest in the fear and true service of God were the ringleaders of all abomination, and by their example pulled others from God.
(m) It was in such abundance.

Eze 8:12

8:12 Then said he to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel {n} do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

(n) For besides their common idolatry they had particular service, which they had in secret chambers.

Eze 8:14

8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which [was] toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for {o} Tammuz.

(o) The Jews write, that this was a prophet of the idols, who after his death was once a year mourned for in the night.

Eze 8:17

8:17 Then he said to me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the {p} branch to their nose.

(p) Declaring that the censings and service of the idolaters are but infections and villany before God.

Eze 9:1

9:1 He cried also in my ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over {a} the city to draw near, even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand.

(a) The time to take vengeance.

Eze 9:2

9:2 And, behold, six {b} men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the {c} north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them [was] clothed with linen, with a writer's {d} inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

(b) Which were angels in the appearance of men.
(c) Signifying that the Babylonians would come from the north to destroy the city and the temple.
(d) To mark them that would be saved.

Eze 9:3

9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel had {e} gone up from the cherub, on which he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, who [had] the writer's inkhorn by his side;

(e) Which declared that he was not bound to it, neither would remain any longer than there was hope that they would return from their wickedness and worship him correctly.

Eze 9:4

9:4 And the LORD said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that {f} sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of it.

(f) He shows what is the manner of God's children, whom he marks for salvation: that is, to mourn and cry out against the wickedness which they see committed against God's glory.

Eze 9:6

9:6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the {g} mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the {h} elders who [were] before the house.

(g) Thus in all his plagues the Lord preserves his small number, which he marks as in Ex 12:12, Re 7:3 but the chief mark is the spirit of adoption, with which the heart is sealed up to life everlasting.
(h) Which was the chief opportunity for all these evils, as in Eze 8:11 .

Eze 9:8

9:8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, {i} Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy the whole remnant of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

(i) This declares that the servants of God have a compassion when they see his judgments executed.

Eze 9:9

9:9 Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah [is] exceeding great, and the land is full of {k} blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

(k) That is, with all kinds of wickedness. See Geneva "Isa 1:15"

Eze 10:1

10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the {a} cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

(a) Which in Eze 1:5 he called the four beasts.

Eze 10:2

10:2 And he spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, [even] under the cherub, and fill thy hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter [them] over {b} the city. And he entered in my sight.

(b) This signified that the city would be burnt.

Eze 10:4

10:4 Then the glory of the LORD {c} went up from the cherub, [and stood] over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory.

(c) Meaning that the glory of God would depart from the temple.

Eze 10:5

10:5 And the {d} sound of the cherubim's wings was heard [even] to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

(d) Read Eze 1:24 .

Eze 10:9

10:9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels [was] as the colour of a {e} beryl stone.

(e) Read Eze 1:16 .

Eze 10:11

10:11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place where the head looked they followed it; they {f} turned not as they went.

(f) Until they had executed God's judgments.

Eze 10:17

10:17 When they stood, [these] stood; and when they were lifted up, [these] lifted up themselves [also]: for the {g} spirit of the living being [was] in them.

(g) There was one consent between the cherubims and the wheels.

Eze 10:18

10:18 {h} Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.

(h) Read Eze 9:3 .

Eze 10:20

10:20 This [is] the {i} living being that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they [were] the cherubim.

(i) That is, the whole body of the four beasts or cherubims.

Eze 11:3

11:3 Who say, {a} [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the {b} caldron, and we [are] the flesh.

(a) Thus the wicked derided the prophets as though they preached only errors, and therefore gave themselves still to their pleasures.
(b) We will not be pulled out of Jerusalem, till the hour of our death comes, as the flesh is not taken out of the caldron until it is boiled.

Eze 11:7

11:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they [are] {c} the flesh, and this [city is] the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

(c) Contrary to their vain confidence he shows in what sense the city is the caldron: that is, because of the dead bodies that have been murdered in it, and so lit as flesh in the caldron.

Eze 11:9

11:9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and deliver you into {d} the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

(d) That is, of the Chaldeans.

Eze 11:10

11:10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of {e} Israel; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

(e) That is, in Riblah, read 2Ki 25:6 .

Eze 11:13

11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of {f} Benaiah died. Then I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?

(f) It seems that this noble man died of some terrible death, and therefore the prophet feared some strange judgment of God toward the rest of the people.

Eze 11:15

11:15 Son of man, thy {g} brethren, [even] thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, [are] they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Retire far from the LORD: to us is this land given in possession.

(g) They that remained at Jerusalem thus reproached them that were gone into captivity as though they were cast off and forsaken by God.

Eze 11:16

11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little {h} sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

(h) They will be yet a little church: showing that the Lord will ever have some to call on his Name, whom he will preserve and restore, though they are for a time afflicted.

Eze 11:19

11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the {i} stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

(i) Meaning, the heart to which nothing can enter and regenerate them anew, so that their heart may be soft and ready to receive my graces.

Eze 11:25

11:25 Then I spoke to them of the {k} captivity all the things that the LORD had shown me.

(k) When Jeconiah was led away captive.

Eze 12:2

12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and see {a} not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house.

(a) That is, they receive not the fruit of that which they see and hear.

Eze 12:6

12:6 In their sight shalt thou bear [it] upon [thy] shoulders, [and] carry [it] forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou mayest not see the ground: for I have set thee [for] a {b} sign to the house of Israel.

(b) That as you do, so shall they do, and therefore in you they will see their own plague and punishment.

Eze 12:9

12:9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to thee, What {c} doest thou?

(c) Do they not deride your doings?

Eze 12:13

12:13 My net also will I spread upon {d} him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon [to] the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

(d) When the king will think to escape by fleeing, I will take him into my net, as in Eze 32:3 .

Eze 12:16

12:16 But I will leave a {e} few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

(e) Who would bear his Name, and would be his Church.

Eze 12:22

12:22 Son of man, what [is] that proverb [that] ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days {f} are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

(f) Because they did not immediately see the prophecies accomplished, they contemned them as though they would never be fulfilled.

Eze 12:27

12:27 Son of man, behold, [they of] the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth [is] for {g} many days [to come], and he prophesieth of the times [that are] distant.

(g) That is, it will not come to pass in our days, and therefore we care not for it: thus the wicked ever abuse God's patience and benignity.

Eze 13:2

13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou to them that prophesy out of their {a} own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

(a) After their own fantasy and not as having the revelation of the Lord, Jer 23:16 .

Eze 13:4

13:4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes {b} in the deserts.

(b) Watching to destroy the vineyard.

Eze 13:5

13:5 {c} Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

(c) He speaks to the governor and true ministers that would have resisted them.

Eze 13:7

13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, though {d} ye say, The LORD saith [it]; although I have not spoken?

(d) You promised peace to this people and now you see their destruction, so that it is revealed that you are false prophets.

Eze 13:9

13:9 And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the {e} writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.

(e) That is in the book of life, in which the true Israelites are written.

Eze 13:10

13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, {f} Peace; and [there was] no peace; and one built up a {g} wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [mortar]:

(f) Read Geneva "Jer 6:14"
(g) While the true prophets prophesied the destruction of the city to bring the people to repentance, the false prophets spoke the contrary, and flattered them in their vanities, so that what one false prophet said
which is here called the building of the wall) another false prophet would affirm, though he had neither opportunity nor good ground to hear him.

Eze 13:15

13:15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with {h} untempered [mortar], and will say to you, The wall [is] no [more], neither they that daubed it;

(h) By which is meant whatever man of himself sets forth under the authority of God's word.

Eze 13:18

13:18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the [women] that sew {i} [magic] charms upon all wrists, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive [that come] to you?

(i) These superstitious women for money would prophecy and tell every man his fortune giving them pillows to lean on, and kerchiefs to cover their heads, to the intent they might the more allure them and bewitch them.

Eze 13:19

13:19 And will ye profane me among my people for handfuls of {k} barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and {l} to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear [your] lies?

(k) Will you make my word serve your bellies?
(l) These sorcerers made the people believe that they could preserve life or destroy it and that it would come to everyone according as they prophesied.

Eze 13:20

13:20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against your [magic] charms, with which ye there hunt the {m} souls to make [them] fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, [even] the souls that ye hunt to make [them] fly.

(m) That is, to cause them to perish, and that they should depart from the body.

Eze 13:22

13:22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the {n} righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

(n) By threatening them that were godly, and upholding the wicked.

Eze 14:1

14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and {a} sat before me.

(a) He shows the hypocrisy of the idolaters, who will pretend to hear the prophets of God, though in their hearts they follow nothing less than their admonitions and also how by one means or another God discovers them.

Eze 14:3

14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their {b} heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

(b) They are not only idolaters in heart, but also worship their filthy idols openly which lead them in blindness, and cause them to stumble, so that he will not hear them when they call to him. See Geneva "Isa 1:15"

Eze 14:4

14:4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the {c} prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude {d} of his idols;

(c) To inquire of things which the Lord has appointed to come to pass.
(d) As his abomination has deserved: that is, he will be led with lies according as he delighted in it, 2Th 2:10 .

Eze 14:5

14:5 That {e} I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

(e) That is, convince them by their own conscience.

Eze 14:9

14:9 And if the prophet be {f} deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

(f) The prophet declares that God for man's ingratitude raises up false prophets to seduce them that delight in lies rather than in the truth of God, and thus he punishes sin with sin, 1Ki 22:20,22 and destroys those prophets as well as the people.

Eze 14:11

14:11 That the house of {g} Israel may no more go astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.

(g) Thus God's judgments against the wicked are admonitions to the godly to cleave to the Lord and not to defile themselves with the same abominations.

Eze 14:13

14:13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, {h} and will break the staff of its bread, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

(h) Read Eze 4:16,5:17, Isa 3:1 .

Eze 14:14

14:14 Though these three men, {i} Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver their own souls only by their {k} righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

(i) Though Noah and Job were now alive, which in their time were most godly men (for at this time Daniel was in captivity with Ezekiel) and so these three together would pray for this wicked people, yet I would not hear them, read Jer 15:1 .
(k) Meaning, that a very few (which he calls the remnant, Eze 14:22 ) would escape these plagues, whom God has sanctified and made righteous, so that this righteousness is a sign that they are the Church of God, whom he would preserve for his own sake.

Eze 14:22

14:22 Yet, behold, in it shall be left a {l} remnant that shall be brought forth, [both] sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth to you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, [even] concerning all that I have brought upon it.

(l) Read Geneva "Eze 5:3"

Eze 15:2

15:2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, [or than] a branch which is among the {a} trees of the forest?

(a) Which brings forth no fruit, no more than the other trees of the forest do: meaning that if Jerusalem, which bore the name of his Church, did not bring forth fruit it would be utterly destroyed.

Eze 15:7

15:7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from [one] {b} fire, and [another] fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I set my face against them.

(b) Though they escape one danger, yet another will take them.

Eze 16:3

16:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD to Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land {a} of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

(a) You boast to be of the seed of Abraham, but you are degenerate and follow the abominations of the wicked Canaanites as children do the manners of their fathers, Isa 1:4,57:3 .

Eze 16:4

16:4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast {b} born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

(b) When I first brought you out of Egypt and planted you in this land to be my Church.

Eze 16:6

16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thy {c} own blood, I said to thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live; yea, I said to thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live.

(c) Being thus in your filthiness and forsaken by all men, I took you and gave you life: by which is meant that before God wash his Church and give life, there is nothing but filthiness and death.

Eze 16:8

16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered {d} thy nakedness: yea, I swore to thee, and entered into a covenant with {e} thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

(d) These words as blood, pollution, nakedness and filthiness are often repeated to beat down their pride, and to cause them to consider what they were before God received them to mercy, favoured them and covered their shame.
(e) That you should be a chaste wife to me, and that I should maintain you and endue you with all graces.

Eze 16:9

16:9 Then I washed thee with {f} water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I {g} anointed thee with oil.

(f) I washed away your sins.
(g) I sanctified you with my Holy Spirit.

Eze 16:12

16:12 And I put a jewel in thy nose, and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful {h} crown upon thy head.

(h) By this he shows how he saved his Church, enriched it, and gave it power and dominion to reign.

Eze 16:14

16:14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my {i} comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

(i) He declares where the dignity of Jerusalem stood: that is, in that the Lord gave them of his beauty and excellency.

Eze 16:15

16:15 But thou didst {k} trust in thy own beauty, and didst play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out {l} thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was.

(k) In abusing my gifts and in putting your confidence in your own wisdom and dignity, which were the opportunities of your idolatry.
(l) There was no idolatry with which you did not pollute yourself.

Eze 16:16

16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and didst deck thy high places with various colours, {m} and didst play the harlot upon them: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].

(m) This declares how the idolaters put their chief delight in those things which please the eyes and outward senses.

Eze 16:17

16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and hast {n} made to thyself images of men, and hast committed harlotry with them,

(n) You have converted my vessels and instruments which I gave you to serve me with to the use of your idols.

Eze 16:20

16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me, and these hast thou sacrificed to them to {o} be devoured. [Is this] of thy harlotries a small matter,

(o) Meaning by fire, read Le 18:21, 2Ki 23:10 .

Eze 16:26

16:26 Thou hast also committed harlotry with the {p} Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy harlotry, to provoke me to anger.

(p) He notes the great impiety of this people, who first falling from God to seek help at strange nations also at length embraced their idolatry thinking by it to make their amity more strong.

Eze 16:31

16:31 In that thou buildest thy eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, {q} in that thou scornest hire;

(q) Meaning that some harlots contemn small rewards but no lovers gave a reward to Israel, but they gave to all others signifying that the idolaters bestow all their substance which they receive from God for his glory to serve their vile abominations.

Eze 16:37

16:37 Behold, therefore I will gather all {r} thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all [them] that thou hast loved, with all [them] that thou hast hated; I will even gather them on every side against thee, and will uncover thy nakedness to them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

(r) Egyptians, Assyrians and Chaldeans whom you took to be your lovers will come and destroy you, Eze 23:9 .

Eze 16:38

16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that {s} break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

(s) I will judge you to death as the adulterers and murderers.

Eze 16:42

16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my {t} jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

(t) I will utterly destroy you and so my jealousy will cease.

Eze 16:43

16:43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me in all these [things]; behold, therefore I also will {u} recompense thy way upon [thy] head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thy abominations.

(u) I have punished your faults but you would not repent.

Eze 16:44

16:44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use [this] proverb against thee, saying, As [is] the mother, {x} [so is] her daughter.

(x) As the Canaanites, the Hittites and others were your predecessors, so are you their successors.

Eze 16:45

16:45 Thou [art] thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou [art] the sister of thy {y} sisters, who lothed their husbands and their children: your mother [was] an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

(y) That is, of Samaria and Sodom.

Eze 16:46

16:46 And thy elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her {z} daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.

(z) That is, her cities.

Eze 16:47

16:47 Yet hast thou {a} not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as [if that were] a very little [thing], thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

(a) But done far worse.

Eze 16:49

16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, {b} pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

(b) He alleges these four vices, pride, excess, idleness and contempt of the poor as four principal causes of such abomination, wherefore they were so horribly punished, Ge 19:24 .

Eze 16:51

16:51 Neither {c} hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thy abominations more than they, and hast {d} justified thy sisters in all thy abominations which thou hast done.

(c) Which worshipped the calves in Bethel and Dan.
(d) You are so wicked that in respect to you Sodom and Samaria were just.

Eze 16:53

16:53 When I shall bring again {e} their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then [will I bring again] the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

(e) This he speaks in comparison seeing that he would restore Jerusalem when Sodom would be restored, that is, never: and this is meant of the greatest part of the Jews.

Eze 16:54

16:54 That thou mayest bear thy own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a {f} comfort to them.

(f) In that you have shown yourself worse than they and yet thought to escape punishment.

Eze 16:55

16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, {g} then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former state.

(g) Meaning that it would never come to pass.

Eze 16:56

16:56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned {h} by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

(h) You would not call her punishment to mind when you were aloft, to learn by her example to fear my judgments.

Eze 16:57

16:57 Before thy wickedness was {i} uncovered, as at the time of [thy] reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all [that are] around {k} her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee on every side.

(i) That is, till you were brought under by the Syrians and Philistines, 2Ch 28:19 .
(k) Which joined with the Syrians, or compassed about Jerusalem.

Eze 16:59

16:59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the {l} oath in breaking the covenant.

(l) When you broke the covenant which was made between you and me, as in Eze 16:8 .

Eze 16:60

16:60 Nevertheless I will {m} remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant.

(m) That is, out of mercy and love I will pity you and so stand by my covenant though you have deserved the contrary.

Eze 16:61

16:61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive {n} thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not {o} by thy covenant.

(n) By which he shows that among the most wicked, he always had some seed of his Church, which he would cause to bear fruit in due time: and here he declares how he will call the Gentiles.
(o) But of my free mercy.

Eze 16:63

16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be {p} confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.

(p) This declares what fruits God's mercies work in his, that is, sorrow and repentance for their former life.

Eze 17:3

17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great {a} eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had various colours, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

(a) That is, Nebuchadnezzar who had great power, riches and many countries under him, will come to Jerusalem and take away Jeconiah the king, as in Eze 17:12 .

Eze 17:4

17:4 He cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of {b} trade; he set it in a city of merchants.

(b) Meaning to Babylon.

Eze 17:5

17:5 He took also of the {c} seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed [it] by great waters, [and] set it [as] a willow tree.

(c) That is, Zedekiah who was of the king's blood and was left at Jerusalem and made king instead of Jeconiah, 2Ki 24:17, Jer 37:1 .

Eze 17:6

17:6 And it grew, and became {d} a spreading vine of {e} low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

(d) This was Zedekiah's kingdom.
(e) That is, might not have power to rebel against Babylon, as in Eze 17:14 .

Eze 17:7

17:7 There was also {f} another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.

(f) Meaning, the king of Egypt from whom Zedekiah sought comfort against Nebuchadnezzar.

Eze 17:8

17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great {g} waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a well favoured vine.

(g) They thought to be moistened by the waters of the Nile.

Eze 17:9

17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall {h} he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by its roots.

(h) Shall not Nebuchadnezzar destroy it?

Eze 17:10

17:10 Yea, behold, [being] planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, {i} when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

(i) By this dry wind he means the Babylonians.

Eze 17:12

17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these [things mean]? tell [them], Behold, the king of Babylon hath come to Jerusalem, and hath taken {k} its king, and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon;

(k) That is, Jeconiah, 2Ki 24:15 .

Eze 17:13

17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken {l} an oath from him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:

(l) For his subjection and obedience.

Eze 17:18

17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given {m} his hand, and hath done all these [things], he shall not escape.

(m) Because he took the name of God in vain, and broke his oath which he had confirmed by giving his hand: therefore the prophet declares that God would not permit such perjury and infidelity to escape punishment.

Eze 17:22

17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch {n} of the high cedar, and will set [it]; I will crop off from the {o} top of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant [it] upon an high mountain and eminent:

(n) This promise is made to the Church which will be as a small remnant, and as the top of a tree.
(o) I will trim it, and dress it.

Eze 17:23

17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a well favoured cedar: and under it shall dwell all {p} fowl of every wing; in the shadow of its branches shall they dwell.

(p) Both the Jews and Gentiles will be gathered into it.

Eze 17:24

17:24 And all the {q} trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done [it].

(q) All the world will know that I have plucked down the proud enemies, and set up my Church which was low and contemned.

Eze 18:2

18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, {a} The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

(a) The people murmured at the chastising of the Lord, and therefore used this proverb meaning that their fathers had sinned and their children were punished for their transgressions. See Geneva "Jer 31:29"

Eze 18:6

18:6 [And] hath not eaten {b} upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a polluted woman,

(b) If he has not eaten flesh that has been offered up to idols, to honour them by it.

Eze 18:13

18:13 Hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; {c} he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

(c) He shows how the son is punished for his father's sin: that is, if he is wicked as his father was and does not repent, he will be punished as his father was, or else not.

Eze 18:21

18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my {d} statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

(d) He joins the observation of the commandments with repentance; for none can repent indeed, unless he labour to keep the Law.

Eze 18:22

18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned to him: in his {e} righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

(e) That is, in the fruit of his faith which declares that God accepts him.

Eze 18:23

18:23 {f} Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: [and] not that he should return from his ways, and live?

(f) He speaks this to commend God's mercy to poor sinners, who rather is ready to pardon than to punish, as his long suffering declares, Eze 33:11 . Though God in his eternal counsel appointed the death and damnation of the reprobate, yet the end of his counsel was not their death only, but chiefly his own glory. Also because he does not approve sin, therefore it is here said that he would have them turn away from it that they might live.

Eze 18:24

18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his {g} righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

(g) That is, the false opinion that the hypocrites have of their righteousness.

Eze 18:25

18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not {h} equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

(h) In punishing the father with the children.

Eze 18:31

18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which ye have transgressed; and make {i} you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

(i) He shows that man cannot forsake his wickedness, till his heart is changed which is only the work of God.

Eze 19:1

19:1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the {a} princes of Israel,

(a) That is, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, Josiah's sons, who for their pride and cruelty are compared to lions.

Eze 19:2

19:2 And say, What [is] thy {b} mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

(b) That is Jehoahaz's mother, or Jerusalem.

Eze 19:4

19:4 The {c} nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.

(c) By Pharaoh Nebo king of Egypt, 2Ki 23:33 .

Eze 19:5

19:5 Now when she saw that she had waited, [and] her hope was lost, then she took another of her {d} whelps, [and] made him a young lion.

(d) Which was Jehoiakim.

Eze 19:6

19:6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, [and] devoured {e} men.

(e) He slew the prophets and them that feared God and ravished their wives.

Eze 19:8

19:8 Then the {f} nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

(f) Nebuchadnezzar with his great army which was gathered from various nations.

Eze 19:10

19:10 Thy {g} mother [is] like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

(g) He speaks this in the reproach of this wicked king, in whose blood, that is in the race of his predecessors, Jerusalem would have been blessed according to God's promise and flourished as a fruitful vine.

Eze 19:12

19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the {h} east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

(h) Meaning, that the Chaldeans would destroy them as the east wind does the fruit of the vine.

Eze 19:14

19:14 And fire hath gone out {i} of a rod of her branches, [which] hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod [to be] a sceptre to rule. This [is] a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

(i) Destruction is come by Zedekiah, who was the opportunity for this rebellion.

Eze 20:1

20:1 And it came to pass in the {a} seventh year, in the fifth [month], the tenth [day] of the month, [that] certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

(a) Of the captivity of Jeconiah.

Eze 20:4

20:4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge [them]? cause {b} them to know the abominations of their fathers:

(b) This declares the great leniency and patience of God who calls sinners to repentance before he condemns them.

Eze 20:5

20:5 And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and {c} lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I [am] the LORD your God;

(c) I swore that I would be their God, which manner of oath was observed from all antiquity, where they used to lift up their hands toward the heavens, acknowledging God to be the author of truth and the defender of it, and also the judge of the heart, wishing that he would take vengeance, if they concealed anything which they knew to be truth.

Eze 20:7

20:7 Then said I to them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, {d} and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.

(d) God had forbidden them to make mention of the idols, Ex 23:13, Ps 16:4 .

Eze 20:8

20:8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of {e} their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

(e) Which declares the wickedness of man's heart, who judge God's service by their eyes and outward senses.

Eze 20:9

20:9 But I wrought for my {f} name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the nations, among whom they [were], in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth from the land of Egypt.

(f) God had ever this respect to his glory, that he would not have evil spoken of his Name among the Gentiles for the punishment that his people deserved, in confidence of which the godly ever prayed, as in Ex 32:12, Nu 14:13 .

Eze 20:14

20:14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the {g} nations, in whose sight I brought them out.

(g) Who might by it take an opportunity to blaspheme my Name and to accuse me of lack of ability, or else that I had sought a means to destroy them more conveniently.

Eze 20:16

20:16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but profaned my {h} sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

(h) That is, my true religion, which I had commanded them, and gave themselves to serve me according to their own fantasies.

Eze 20:18

20:18 But I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your {i} fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

(i) By which the Holy Spirit confuses them that say that they will follow the religion and example of their fathers, and not measure their doings by God's word whether they are approved by it or not.

Eze 20:24

20:24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after {k} their fathers' idols.

(k) Meaning that they set their delight on them.

Eze 20:25

20:25 Wherefore I gave {l} them also statutes [that were] not good, and judgments by which they should not live;

(l) Because they would not obey my laws, I gave them up to themselves that they should obey their own fantasies, as in Eze 20:39, Ro 1:21,24 .

Eze 20:26

20:26 And I polluted them in their own {m} gifts, in that they caused to pass through [the fire] all the firstborn, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I [am] the LORD.

(m) I condemned those things, and counted them as abominable, which they thought had been excellent and to have declared most zeal, Lu 16:15 for that which God required as most excellent they gave to their idols.

Eze 20:28

20:28 {n} [For] when I had brought them into the land, [for] which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.

(n) Not only in the wilderness, when I brought them out of Egypt, but since I placed them in this land: which declares how prompt man's heart is to idolatry seeing that by no admonitions can he be drawn back.

Eze 20:29

20:29 Then I said to them, What [is] the high place to which ye go? And its name is called {o} Bamah to this day.

(o) Which signifies a high place, declaring that they vaunted themselves of their idolatry and were not ashamed of it, though God had commanded them expressly that they should have no altar lifted on high by stairs, Ex 20:26 .

Eze 20:31

20:31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, {p} I will not be enquired of by you.

(p) He shows that the ingratitude of the people deserves that God should cut them off, and that they should not have the comfort of his word.

Eze 20:32

20:32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and {q} stone.

(q) He declares that man by nature is wholly enemy to God, and to his own salvation, and therefore God calls him to the right way, partly by chastising but chiefly by his mercy in forgiving his rebellion and wickedness.

Eze 20:35

20:35 And I will bring you into the {r} wilderness of the people, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face.

(r) I will bring you among strange nations as into a wilderness and there will visit you, and so call you to repentance and then bring the godly home again, Isa 65:9 .

Eze 20:38

20:38 And I will {s} purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

(s) Signifying that he will not burn the corn with the chaff, but chose out the wicked to punish them when he will spare his.

Eze 20:39

20:39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; {t} Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and after this [also], if ye will not hearken to me: but profane ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

(t) This is spoken to the hypocrites.

Eze 20:43

20:43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, in which ye have been defiled; and ye {u} shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

(u) Your own consciences will convict you after you have felt my mercies.

Eze 20:46

20:46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [thy word] toward {x} the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

(x) For Judah stood south from Babylon.

Eze 20:47

20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every {y} green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned in it.

(y) Both strong and weak in Jerusalem.

Eze 20:49

20:49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak {z} parables?

(z) The people said that the prophet spoke darkly: therefore he desires the Lord to give them a plain declaration of it.

Eze 21:2

21:2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, {a} and drop [thy word] toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

(a) Speak sensibly, that all may understand.

Eze 21:3

21:3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I [am] against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the {b} righteous and the wicked.

(b) That is such which seem to have an outward show of righteousness by observation of the ceremonies of the law.

Eze 21:4

21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the {c} north:

(c) Meaning, through all the land.

Eze 21:6

21:6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with breaking {d} heart; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

(d) As though you were in extreme anguish.

Eze 21:7

21:7 And it shall be, when they say to thee, Why sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, {e} For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak [as] water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.

(e) Because of the great noise of the army of the Chaldeans.

Eze 21:10

21:10 It is sharpened to make a grievous slaughter; it is polished that it may {f} glitter: should we then make mirth? it despiseth the {g} rod of my son, {h} [as] every tree.

(f) And so cause fear.
(g) Meaning, the sceptre showing that it will not spare the king, who would be as the son of God, and in his place.
(h) That is, the rest of the people.

Eze 21:11

21:11 And he hath given it to be polished, that it may be handled: the sword is sharpened, and it is polished, to give it into the hand of the {i} slayer.

(i) That is, to the army of the Chaldeans.

Eze 21:12

21:12 Cry and wail, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it [shall be] upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: {k} smite therefore upon [thy] thigh.

(k) Read Eze 6:11 .

Eze 21:13

21:13 Because [it is] a trial, {l} and what if [the sword] despise even the rod? it shall be no [more], saith the Lord GOD.

(l) Ezekiel moved with compassion thus complains fearing the destruction of the kingdom which God had confirmed to David and his posterity by promise, which promise God performed although here it seemed to man's eye that it would utterly perish.

Eze 21:14

21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite {m} [thy] hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it [is] the sword of the great [men that are] slain, which entereth into their private chambers.

(m) That is, encourage the sword.

Eze 21:16

21:16 Go thee {n} one way or other, [either] on the right hand, [or] on the left, wherever thy face [is] set.

(n) Provide for yourself: for you will see God's plague of all parts on this country.

Eze 21:19

21:19 Also, thou son of man, mark {o} two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both [ways] shall come forth from one land: and choose thou a place, choose [it] at the head of the way to the city.

(o) This was spoken because when Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah his purpose was also to go against the Ammonites, but doubting in the way which enterprise to undertake first he consulted with his soothsayers and so went against Judah.

Eze 21:20

21:20 Mark a way, that the sword may come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and {p} to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.

(p) That is, to the tribe of Judah that kept themselves in Jerusalem.

Eze 21:21

21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made [his] arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in {r} the liver.

(r) He used conjuring and sorcery.

Eze 21:23

21:23 And it shall be to them {s} as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: {t} but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.

(s) Because there was a league between the Jews and the Babylonians, they of Jerusalem will think nothing less than that this thing would come to pass.
(t) That is, Nebuchadnezzar will remember the rebellion of Zedekiah, and so come on them.

Eze 21:25

21:25 And thou, profane wicked {u} prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity [shall have] an end,

(u) Meaning, Zedekiah who practised with the Egyptians to make himself high and able to resist the Babylonians.

Eze 21:26

21:26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the {x} diadem, and take off the crown: this [shall] not [be] the same: exalt [him that is] low, and abase [him that is] high.

(x) Some refer this to the priest's attire: for Jehozadak the priest went into captivity with the king.

Eze 21:27

21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no [more], until he {y} cometh whose right it is; and I will give it [him].

(y) That is, to the coming of Messiah: for though the Jews had some sign of government later under the Persians, Greeks and Romans, yet this restitution was not till Christ's coming and at length would be accomplished as was promised, Ge 49:10 .

Eze 21:29

21:29 While they see {z} vanity to thee, while they divine a lie to thee, to bring thee upon the necks of [them that are] slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity [shall have] an end.

(z) Though the Jews and Ammonites would not believe that you, that is the sword, would come upon them, and said that the prophets who threatened spoke lies, yet you will as surely come as though you were already on their necks.

Eze 22:2

22:2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou {a} judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations.

(a) Are you ready to execute your charge, which I commit to you against Jerusalem that murders the prophets and them that are godly?

Eze 22:3

22:3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her {b} time may come, and maketh idols against {c} herself to defile herself.

(b) That is, the time of her destruction.
(c) To her own undoing.

Eze 22:5

22:5 [Those that are] near, and [those that are] far from thee, shall mock thee, [who art] {d} infamous [and] much troubled.

(d) Whose very name all men hate.

Eze 22:7

22:7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee {e} have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they oppressed the fatherless and the widow.

(e) He means by this that there was no kind of wickedness which was not committed in Jerusalem and therefore the plagues of God would speedily come on her.

Eze 22:13

22:13 Behold, therefore I have {f} smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

(f) In token of my wrath and vengeance.

Eze 22:14

22:14 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands {g} be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken [it], and will do [it].

(g) That is, able to defend yourself.

Eze 22:15

22:15 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy {h} filthiness out of thee.

(h) I will thus take away the occasion of your wickedness.

Eze 22:16

22:16 And thou shalt take thy {i} inheritance in thyself in the sight of the nations, and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD.

(i) You will be no more the inheritance of the Lord, but forsaken.

Eze 22:18

22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become {k} dross: all they [are] brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are [even] the dross of silver.

(k) Which before was most precious.

Eze 22:20

22:20 [As] they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt [it]; so will I gather [you] in my anger and in my fury, and I will leave [you there], {l} and melt you.

(l) Meaning by this that the godly would be tried and the wicked destroye