King James Version
Ezekiel 9
11 verses with commentary
The Slaughter of the Idolaters
He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.</strong> This begins Ezekiel's terrifying vision of Jerusalem's destruction. The loud divine cry summons executioners with "destroying weapons" (<em>keli mashchito</em>, כְּלִי מַשְׁחִתוֹ)—instruments of slaughter. These angeli...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **He cried also . . . with a loud voice.**—The pronoun refers to the same Being as throughout the previous chapter. His nature is sufficiently shown by the prophet’s address to Him in Ezekiel 9:8 : “Ah, Lord God!” The “loud voice” was to give emphasis to what is said; it is the natural expression of the fierceness of the Divine indignation and wrath.
**Them that have charge over the city.**—No...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. not ... proclaiming liberty--**Though the Jews had ostensibly emancipated their bond-servants, they virtually did not do so by revoking the liberty which they had granted. God looks not to outward appearances, but to the sincere intention.
**I proclaim a liberty--**retribution answering to the offense (Mt 7:2; 18:32, 33; Ga 6:7; Jas 2:13). The Jews who would not give liberty to their breth...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
A vision denoting the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the departure of the symbol of the Divine presence.
**Verses 1-4** It is a great comfort to believers, that in the midst of destroyers and destructions, there is a Mediator, a great High Priest, who has an interest in heaven, and in whom saints on earth have an interest. The representation of the Divine glory fr...
Read full commentary →And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. which lieth: Heb. which is turned a slaughter: Heb. a weapon of his breaking in pieces by his: Heb. upon his loins
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.</strong> This vision depicts divine judgment executioners sent to punish Jerusalem idolatry. The six men with weapons repr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **One man among them was clothed with linen.**—He was *among *them, but not of them. There were six with weapons, and this one without a weapon formed the seventh, thus making up the mystical number so often used in Scripture. He was “clothed in linen,” the ordinary priestly garment, and the special garment of the high priest at the ceremonies on the great Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16); yet ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. passed between the parts thereof--**The contracting parties in the "covenant" (not here the law in general, but their covenant made before God in His house to emancipate their slaves, Jr 34:8, 9) passed through the parts of the animal cut in two, implying that they prayed so to be cut in sunder (Mt 24:51; Greek, "cut in two") if they should break the covenant (Ge 15:10, 17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
A vision denoting the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the departure of the symbol of the Divine presence.
**Verses 1-4** It is a great comfort to believers, that in the midst of destroyers and destructions, there is a Mediator, a great High Priest, who has an interest in heaven, and in whom saints on earth have an interest. The representation of the Divine glory fr...
Read full commentary →And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house.</strong> This verse marks a crucial moment—God's glory begins departing from the temple. The glory (<em>kavod</em>, כָּבוֹד) previously rested on the cherubim above the ark in the holy of holies. Its movement to the threshold signals impending departure. God doesn't destroy His ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The glory . . . to the threshold.**—In Ezekiel 8:4 the prophet had seen the same vision as he has described in Ezekiel 1 standing at the entrance of the court of the priests, and there it still remained. The word *cherub *is here used collectively. Now that special glory above the cherubim, which represented the Divine Being Himself, was gone from its place to the threshold of the house, but...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
A vision denoting the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the departure of the symbol of the Divine presence.
**Verses 1-4** It is a great comfort to believers, that in the midst of destroyers and destructions, there is a Mediator, a great High Priest, who has an interest in heaven, and in whom saints on earth have an interest. The representation of the Divine glory fr...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. set a mark: Heb. mark a mark
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.</strong> Before judgment, God commands marking the righteous remnant. The Hebrew <em>tav</em> (תָּו, "mark") was the last letter of the alphabet, shaped like X or +, sign...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Set a mark upon the foreheads.**—The word for mark is literally a *Tau, *the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This, in many of the ancient alphabets, and especially in that in use among the Hebrews up to this time, and long retained upon their coins, was in the form of a cross—X or +. Much stress was laid upon this use of the sign of the cross as the mark for the Divine mercy by the older...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. I will even give--**resuming the sentence begun, but not completed (Jr 34:18), "I will give," &c.
**seek their life--**implacably: satisfied with nothing short of their blood; not content with booty.
**dead bodies--**The breakers of the covenant shall be cut in pieces, as the calf between whose parts they passed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
A vision denoting the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the departure of the symbol of the Divine presence.
**Verses 1-4** It is a great comfort to believers, that in the midst of destroyers and destructions, there is a Mediator, a great High Priest, who has an interest in heaven, and in whom saints on earth have an interest. The representation of the Divine glory fr...
Read full commentary →And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: mine hearing: Heb. mine ears
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KJV Study Commentary
God commands the executioners: <strong>"Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity."</strong> After marking the righteous, judgment proceeds without mercy on the unmarked. The command "let not your eye spare" repeats divine statements from 7:4, 9, emphasizing unmixed wrath. This selective judgment demonstrates both God's justice (punishing the guilty)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Go ye after him.—**No interval is allowed. Here, as in the corresponding visions in Revelation referred to above, judgment waits only until those whom mercy will spare have been protected. (Comp. the deliverance of Lot, Genesis 19:22-25.) The destruction was to be utter and complete, and was to begin at the sanctuary, where the gross sin of the people had culminated. This is one of those man...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. gone up--**that is, raised the siege in order to meet Pharaoh-hophra (Jr 37:7-10). The departure of the Chaldeans was a kind of manumission of the Jews; but as their manumission of their bond-servants was recalled, so God revoked His manumission of them from the Chaldeans.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. utterly: Heb. to destruction
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary."</strong> Comprehensive slaughter spares no age or gender except the marked. The command "begin at my sanctuary" demonstrates that judgment starts with God's house (1 Peter 4:17). Those with greatest privilege face first accountability. The te...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. I will command--**Nebuchadnezzar, impelled unconsciously by a divine instigation, returned on the withdrawal of the Egyptians.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth."</strong> God commands defiling His own temple with corpses—ultimate reversal. The temple meant to be holy becomes charnel house. This demonstrates that when people defile the sanctuary spiritually through idolatry, God completes the defilement physically through judgment. The permission to defile what should be sacred sho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Defile the house.**—The utmost possible pollution under the Mosaic economy was the touch of a dead body. (See Numbers 19:11; 1Kings 13:2; 2Kings 23:16.) It might be thought that the Temple would be spared this defilement; but not only must the execution of justice override all technicalities, as at the execution of Joab (1Kings 2:28-31), but in this case the very defilement itself was a part...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?"</strong> Ezekiel intercedes, horrified by judgment's scope. His cry "Ah Lord GOD!" (<em>ahah Adonai Yahweh</em>) expresses anguished protest. The question "wilt thou destro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **I was left.**—The words imply *left alone. *The prophet had just before seen the courts of the sanctuary thronged with idolaters in the full glory of their heaven-defying sin. Now it is a city of the dead, and he is left standing alone in the midst of the dead. He falls upon his face in consternation, and pleads that “the residue of Israel” may not be utterly destroyed. The sternness of the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. full of blood: Heb. filled with, etc perverseness: or, wresting of judgment
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.</strong> This verse provides God own assessment of Israel sin, explaining why such severe judgment is justified. The comprehensive corruption—violence, perversion, an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 35 Jr 35:1-19. Prophecy in the Reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans, in Conjunction with the Syrians and Moabites, Invaded Judea.
By the obedience of the Rechabites to their father, Jeremiah condemns the disobedience of the Jews to God their Father. The Holy Spirit has arranged Jeremiah's prophecies by the moral rather than the chronological connection. From the history of an event fif...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"As for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head."</strong> God responds to Ezekiel's intercession by affirming judgment's necessity. The repetition of "mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity" (cf. 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18) emphasizes settled determination. "Recompense their way upon their head" (<em>darkam be-rosham...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Jaazaniah--**the elder and chief of the clan.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. reported: Heb. returned the word
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me."</strong> The marking angel reports completion of his protective task. This demonstrates divine thoroughness—before destruction proceeds, God ensures every marked person is secured. The report "I have done as thou hast commanded" shows angelic obe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. man of God--**a prophet (De 33:1; 1Sa 2:27; 1Ki 12:22; 2Ki 4:7), also "a servant of God" in general (1Ti 6:11), one not his own, but God's; one who has parted with all right in himself to give himself wholly to God (2Ti 3:17). He was so reverenced that none would call in question what was transacted in his chamber.
**keeper of the door--**Hebrew, "of the vessel." Probably the office meant i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we...
Read full commentary →