King James Version
Ezekiel 6
14 verses with commentary
Judgment Against the Mountains of Israel
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,</strong> This prophetic formula (<em>vayehi devar-Yahweh elai lemor</em>, וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר) introduces divine revelation, emphasizing that what follows originates from God, not human invention. The phrase "word of the LORD came" indicates active divine communication—God initiates, the prophet receives. This formula appears ove...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. have ... done--**literally, "have been doing"; implying continuous action.
**only ... evil ... only provoked me--**They have been doing nothing else but evil; their sole aim seems to have been to provoke Me.
**their youth--**the time when they were in the wilderness, having just before come into national existence.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,</strong> God commands Ezekiel to "set thy face" (<em>sim panekha</em>, שִׂים פָּנֶיךָ) toward "the mountains of Israel"—a posture of confrontation and judgment. The title "Son of man" (<em>ben-adam</em>, בֶּן־אָדָם) appears over 90 times in Ezekiel, emphasizing the prophet's humanity in contrast to God's di...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Toward the mountains of Israel.**—It is not uncommon to address prophetic utterances to inanimate objects as a poetic way of representing the people. (Comp. Ezekiel 36:1; Micah 6:2, &c.) The mountains are especially mentioned as being the chosen places of idolatrous worship. (See Deuteronomy 12:2; 2Kings 17:10-11; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6; Hosea 4:13.) Baal, the sun-god, was the idol espe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. provocation of mine anger--**literally, "for mine anger." Calvin, therefore, connects these words with those at the end of the verse, "this city has been to me an object for mine anger (namely, by reason of the provocations mentioned, Jr 32:30, &c.), that I should remove it," &c. Thus, there will not be the repetition of the sentiment, Jr 32:30, as in English Version; the Hebrew also...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the 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.</strong> God addresses all topography—mountains, hills, rivers, valleys—comprehensively covering the entire land. The emphatic "I, even I" (<em>hine...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **To the rivers, and to the valleys.**—These words stand to each other in the same relation as “mountains and hills,” that is, they are specifications of the same general character. The word frequently occurring, and uniformly translated in Ezekiel *rivers, *would be better rendered *ravines. *It is a deep sort of valley, along which, at times, a stream might run. Such places were also favouri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. priests ... prophets--**(Ne 9:32, 34). Hence, learn, though ministers of God apostatize, we must remain faithful.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. images: or, sun images
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.</strong> The judgment targets both cultic objects and worshipers. "Altars shall be desolate" (<em>shamemu</em>, שָׁמֵמוּ) means laid waste, rendered useless. "Images" (<em>chammanim</em>, חַמָּנִים) likely refers to sun pillars or incense altars used in idol worship. G...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Your images.**—The original word indicates, as is shown in the margin, that these were images used in connection with the worship of the sun. The whole verse is taken from Leviticus 26:30. The same woes were there foretold by Moses in the contingency of the people’s disobedience; that contingency had now come to pass, the promised judgments had already begun, and Ezekiel declares that the fu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
33. (Jr 2:27; 7:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. lay: Heb. give
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.</strong> The Hebrew <em>peger</em> (פֶּגֶר, "carcase") emphasizes the degradation—not dignified burial but corpses left exposed, ultimate dishonor in ancient culture. Scattering bones "round about your altars" profanes the worship sites with ritual uncleanne...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
34. (Jr 7:30, 31; Eze 8:5-17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.</strong> Comprehensive destruction encompasses all inhabited places—cities and high places alike. The repetition of "desolate" (<em>sh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **May be abolished.**—The word *abolished *is a strong one, meaning utterly obliterated, wiped out. This was what Israel should have done to the nations who inhabited Canaan before them; they and their works should have been so utterly blotted out that no temptations from them should have remained. But Israel had failed to observe the Divine command, and now in turn their works, done in imitat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. cause ... pass through ... fire--**By way of purification, they passed through with bare feet (Le 18:21).
**Molech--**meaning "king"; the same as Milcom (1Ki 11:33).
**I commanded ... not--**This cuts off from the superstitious the plea of a good intention. All "will-worship" exposes to God's wrath (Col 2:18, 23).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.</strong> The purpose of judgment emerges clearly: "that ye shall know that I am the LORD" (<em>viydatem ki-ani Yahweh</em>, וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה). This recognition formula appears over 70 times in Ezekiel—God's ultimate goal is that His people acknowledge His identity, sovereignty, and exclusive de...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **And ye shall know.**—As this prophecy began in Ezekiel 6:2 with an address to the mountains, many consider that, by a strong poetic figure, they are still referred to by the pronoun *ye. *It is better, however, to consider that as the discourse has gone on, the figure has gradually been dropped, and the people are spoken to directly. In the same way, the change of the pronoun from the third ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. And now therefore--**rather, "But now, nevertheless." Notwithstanding that their guilt deserves lasting vengeance, God, for the elect's sake and for His covenant's sake, will, contrary to all that might have been expected, restore them.
**ye say, It shall be delivered into ... king of Babylon--**The reprobate pass from the extreme of self-confidence to that of despair of God's fulfilling H...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
The Divine judgments for idolatry. (Ezek 6:1-7) A remnant shall be saved. (Ezek 6:8-10) The calamities are to be lamented. (Ezek 6:11-14)
**Verses 1-7** . War desolates persons, places, and things esteemed most sacred. God ruins idolatries even by the hands of idolaters. It is just with God to make that a desolation, which we make an idol. The superstitions to which many trust for ...
Read full commentary →Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.</strong> Within comprehensive judgment, grace appears—"Yet will I leave a remnant" (<em>vehotarti</em>, וְהוֹתַרְתִּי). God sovereignly preserves some who "escape the sword" despite deserving death like their countrymen. This remnant theology pe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Yet will I leave a remnant.**—In Ezekiel 6:8-10 the general gloom of this prophecy of judgment is lightened for a moment by the mention of the remnant who shall be brought by their afflictions “to know that I am the Lord” in a far higher and better sense than those mentioned in Ezekiel 6:7. This Divine plan pursued from the beginning, as is shown by St. Paul in Romans 9:6-13, of purifying th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37. (See on Jr 16:15). The "all" countries implies a future restoration of Israel more universal than that from Babylon.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10** A remnant of Israel should be left; at length they should remember the Lord, their obligations to him, and rebellion against him. True penitents see sin to be that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Those who truly loathe sin, loathe themselves because of sin. They give glory to God by their repentance. Whatever brings men to remember Him, and their sins against him, should be ...
Read full commentary →And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises concerning the remnant: 'And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.' The phrase 'I am broken'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Because I am broken.**—The verb in the Hebrew is passive in form, but it is better to take it, with most modern commentators, as a middle, in a transitive sense, “Because I have broken their whorish heart . . . and their eyes,” the eyes being mentioned as the means by which their hearts had been enticed to evil. Here, as constantly in all parts of Scripture, apostacy from God is described un...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
38. (Jr 30:22; 24:7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10** A remnant of Israel should be left; at length they should remember the Lord, their obligations to him, and rebellion against him. True penitents see sin to be that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Those who truly loathe sin, loathe themselves because of sin. They give glory to God by their repentance. Whatever brings men to remember Him, and their sins against him, should be ...
Read full commentary →And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.</strong> The recognition formula reappears with addition: not only will they know God's identity but also His word's reliability—"I have not said in vain" (<em>lo-chinam dibarti</em>, לֹא־חִנָּם דִּבַּרְתִּי). Hebrew <em>chinam</em> means "for nothing, without cause, in vain." God'...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39. one heart--**all seeking the Lord with one accord, in contrast to their state when only scattered individuals sought Him (Eze 11:19, 20; Zep 3:9).
**for ... good of them--**(Psa 34:12-15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10** A remnant of Israel should be left; at length they should remember the Lord, their obligations to him, and rebellion against him. True penitents see sin to be that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Those who truly loathe sin, loathe themselves because of sin. They give glory to God by their repentance. Whatever brings men to remember Him, and their sins against him, should be ...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine 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.</strong> God commands Ezekiel to perform dramatic gestures—smiting hand and stamping foot—expressing grief and horror at Israel's abominations. The Hebrew <em>hach be-khapkha</em>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot.**—The prophecy returns again to its heavy tidings of woe. To clap the hands and stamp the feet, either singly (Numbers 24:10; Ezekiel 21:14; Ezekiel 21:17; Ezekiel 22:13) or together (Ezekiel 25:6), is a gesture of strong emotion or earnestness of purpose. The prophet is here directed to use it as indicating God’s unchangeable determination un...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
40. (Jr 31:31, 33; Is 55:3).
**not depart from me--**never yet fully realized as to the Israelites.
**I will not turn away from them ... good--**(Is 30:21). Jehovah compares Himself to a sedulous preceptor following his pupils everywhere to direct their words, gestures.
**put my fear in ... hearts ... not depart from me--**Both the conversion and perseverance of the saints are the work of Go...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** It is our duty to be affected, not only with our own sins and sufferings, but to look with compassion upon the miseries wicked people bring upon themselves. Sin is a desolating thing; therefore, stand in awe, and sin not. If we know the worth of souls, and the danger to which unbelievers are exposed, we shall deem every sinner who takes refuge in Jesus from the wrath to come, an a...
Read full commentary →He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.</strong> No location provides safety—those far from Jerusalem die by pestilence, those near fall by sword, those remaining under siege starve. The comprehensive geographical coverage (far, near,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **That is far off . . . that is near.**—That is, all, wherever they may be, shall be reached and overwhelmed by the coming judgments; yet not in such wise that we are to think of one kind of judgment as especially reserved for one class, and another kind for another. The different forms of punishment shall all fall upon the people; and they that escape one shall fall by another.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41. rejoice over them--**(De 30:9; Is 62:5; 65:19; Zep 3:17).
**plant ... assuredly--**rather, "in stability," that is, permanently, for ever (Jr 24:6; Am 9:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** It is our duty to be affected, not only with our own sins and sufferings, but to look with compassion upon the miseries wicked people bring upon themselves. Sin is a desolating thing; therefore, stand in awe, and sin not. If we know the worth of souls, and the danger to which unbelievers are exposed, we shall deem every sinner who takes refuge in Jesus from the wrath to come, an a...
Read full commentary →Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.</strong> The recognition formula returns, tied specifically to corpses surrounding idols at worship site...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Upon every high hill.**—The various localities especially selected for idolatrous rites are enumerated one after another, to give more vividness and graphic character to the whole judgment. The words “sweet savour” are constantly applied to the commanded sacrifices to the Lord, and are here used ironically of the idol sacrifices.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
42. (Jr 31:28). The restoration from Babylon was only a slight foretaste of the grace to be expected by Israel at last through Christ.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** It is our duty to be affected, not only with our own sins and sufferings, but to look with compassion upon the miseries wicked people bring upon themselves. Sin is a desolating thing; therefore, stand in awe, and sin not. If we know the worth of souls, and the danger to which unbelievers are exposed, we shall deem every sinner who takes refuge in Jesus from the wrath to come, an a...
Read full commentary →So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD. more: or, desolate from the wilderness
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.</strong> God's outstretched hand (<em>natiti et-yadi</em>, נָטִיתִי אֶת־יָדִי) symbolizes active intervention in judgment. The land will become "more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath" (<em>sh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **More desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath.**—The name *Diblath *does not occur elsewhere; but *Diblathaim, *the dual form, is mentioned in Numbers 33:46-47, Jeremiah 48:22, as a double city on the eastern border of Moab, beyond which lay the great desert which stretches thence eastward, nearly to the Euphrates. It was customary to call any wilderness by the name of the nearest town. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
43. (Jr 32:15).
**whereof ye say, It is desolate--**(Jr 33:10).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14** It is our duty to be affected, not only with our own sins and sufferings, but to look with compassion upon the miseries wicked people bring upon themselves. Sin is a desolating thing; therefore, stand in awe, and sin not. If we know the worth of souls, and the danger to which unbelievers are exposed, we shall deem every sinner who takes refuge in Jesus from the wrath to come, an a...
Read full commentary →