1 Now it came to pass in the 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. thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of Which was a part of Euphrates so called. Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of That is, notable and excellent visions, so that it might be known, it was no natural dream but came from God. 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.
2 In the fift day of the moneth (which was the fift yere of King Ioiachins captiuitie)
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 That is, the spirit of prophecy, as in (Eze_3:22, Eze_37:1). hand of the LORD was there upon him.
4 And I looked, and, behold, a By this diversity of words he signifies the fearful judgment of God and the great afflictions that would come on Jerusalem. 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.
5 Also from the midst of it [came] the likeness of Which were the four Cherubims that represented the glory of God, as in (Eze_11:22). four living beings. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6 And euery one had foure faces, and euery one had foure wings.
7 And their feete were streight feete, and the sole of their feete was like the sole of a calues foote, and they sparkled like the appearance of bright brasse.
8 And the handes of a man came out from vnder their wings in the foure parts of them, & they foure had their faces, and their wings.
9 Their wings [were] The wing of the one touched the wing of the other. joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had 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. 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.
11 Thus were their faces: but their wings were spred out aboue: two wings of euery one were ioined one to another, & two couered their bodies.
12 And euery one went streight forward: they went whither their spirit led them, and they returned not when they went forth.
13 The similitude also of the beasts, and their appearance was like burning coles of fire, & like the appearance of lampes: for the fire ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning.
14 And the living beings ran and That is, when they had executed God's will: for before they returned not till God had changed the state of things. returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 Nowe as I behelde the beastes, beholde, a wheele appeared vpon the earth by the beastes, hauing foure faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like the colour of a The Hebrew word is tarshish meaning that the colour was like the Cilician Sea, or a precious stone so called. 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.
17 Whe they went, they went vpo their foure sides, and they returned not when they went.
18 They had also rings, and height, and were fearefull to beholde, and their rings were full of eyes, round about them foure.
19 And when the beastes went, the wheeles went with them: and when the beasts were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lift vp.
20 Whither the spirit led them, they went, & thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles.
21 When the beastes went, they went, & when they stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirite of the beastes was in the wheeles.
22 And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heads of the beasts was wonderfull, like vnto chrystall, spred ouer their heads aboue.
23 And vnder the firmament were their wings streight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which couered the, and euery one had two, which couered their bodies.
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their Which declared the swiftness and the fearfulness of God's judgments. 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 Which signified that they had no power of themselves, but only waited to execute God's commandment. let down their wings.
25 And there was a voyce fro the firmament, that was ouer their heads, when they stoode, and had let downe their wings.
26 And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heads, was the facion of a throne like vnto a saphir stone, and vpon the similitude of the throne was by appearance, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire By which was signified a terrible judgment toward the earth. 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.
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 Considering the majesty of God, and the weakness of flesh. upon my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking.
1 And That is, the Lord. he said to me, 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. Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee.
2 So that he could not abide God's presence, till God's Spirit entered into him.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.
3 And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: for they and their fathers haue rebelled against me, euen vnto this very day.
4 For they are impudent children, and stiffe hearted: I do send thee vnto them, & thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God.
5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that 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. there hath been a prophet among them.
6 And thou, son of man, Read (Jer_1:17). He shows that for no afflictions they would cease to do their duties. 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.
7 Therefore thou shalt speake my words vnto them: but surely they will not heare, neither will they in deede cease: for they are rebellious.
8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say to thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and He not only exhorts him to his duty but also gives him the means with which he may be able to execute it. eat that which I give thee.
9 And when I looked vp, beholde, an hande was sent vnto me, and loe, a roule of a booke was therein.
10 And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written in it He shows what were the contents of this book: that is, God's judgments against the wicked. lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
1 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; 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; Rev_10:10). eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gaue mee this roule to eate.
3 And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, cause thy belly to eate, and fill thy bowels with this roule that I giue thee. Then did I eate it, and it was in my mouth as sweete as honie.
4 And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, goe, and enter into the house of Israel, and declare them my wordes.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an hard language, but to the house of Israel,
6 Not to many people of an vnknowen tongue, or of an harde language, whose wordes thou canst not vnderstand: yet if I should sende thee to them, they would obey thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not obey thee: for they will not obey me: yea, all the house of Israel are impudent and stiffe hearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy 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). face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 I haue made thy forehead as the adamant, and harder then the flint: feare them not therefore, neither be afraid at their lookes: for they are a rebellious house.
10 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to thee 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. receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears.
11 And goe and enter to them that are led away captiues vnto the children of thy people, and speake vnto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God: but surely they will not heare, neither will they in deede cease.
12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [saying], 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. Blessed [be] the glory of the LORD from his place.
13 I heard also the noyse of the wings of the beasts, that touched one another, and the ratling of the wheeles that were by them, euen a noyse of a great russhing.
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I 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. went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Which was a place by Euphrates where the Jews were prisoners. Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there overwhelmed among them Declaring here that God's ministers must with advisement and deliberation utter his judgments. seven days.
16 And at the ende of seuen dayes, the worde of the Lorde came againe vnto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a Of this read (Eze_33:2). watchman to the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I shall say vnto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and thou giuest not him warning, nor speakest to admonish the wicked of his wicked way, that he may liue, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquitie: but his blood will I require at thine hande.
19 Yet if thou warne the wicked, and he turne not from his wickednesse, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquitie, but thou hast deliuered thy soule.
20 Again, When a If he that has been instructed in the right way turn back. righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a I will give him up to a reprobate mind, (Rom_1:28). stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his Which seemed to have been done in faith, and was not. righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
21 Neuerthelesse, if thou admonish that righteous man, that the righteous sinne not, and that he doeth not sinne, he shall liue because he is admonished: also thou hast deliuered thy soule.
22 And the That is, the Spirit of prophecy. 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.
23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the Meaning, the vision of the cherubims and the wheels. glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
24 Then the spirit entered into me, and Read (Jer_2:2). set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said to me, Go, Signifying that not only would he not profit, but they would grievously trouble and afflict him. shut thyself within thy house.
25 But thou, O sonne of man, beholde, they shall put bandes vpon thee, and shall binde thee with them, and thou shalt not goe out among them.
26 And I will make thy tongue 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. 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.
27 But when I shall haue spoken vnto thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord God, He that heareth, let him heare, and he that leaueth off, let him leaue: for they are a rebellious house.
1 Thou also sonne of man, take thee a bricke, and lay it before thee, and pourtray vpon it the citie, euen Ierusalem,
2 And lay siege against it, and builde a fort against it, and cast a mount against it: set the campe also against it, and lay engins of warre against it rounde about.
3 Moreover take thou to thee an Which signified the stubbornness and hardness of their hearts. 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.
4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the 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. house of Israel upon it: [according] to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5 For I haue layed vpon thee the yeeres of their iniquitie, according to the nomber of the dayes, euen three hundreth and ninetie dayes: so shalt thou beare the iniquitie of the house of Israel.
6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy Which declared Judah, who had now from the time of Josiah slept in their sins forty years. right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thy In token of a speedy vengeance. arm [shall be] uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8 And, behold, I will lay The people would so straightly be besieged that they would not be able to turn them. cords upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9 Take thou also to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, Meaning that the famine would be so great that they would be glad to eat whatever they could get. 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, Which were fourteen months that the city was besieged and this was as many days as Israel sinned years. three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat of it.
10 And thy food which thou shalt eat [shall be] by weight, Which make a pound. twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of {{See Exo_29:40}} an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12 And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it Signifying by this the great scarcity of fuel and matter to burn. with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13 And the Lord said, So shall the children of Israel eate their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will cast them.
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 Much less such vile corruption. abominable flesh come into my mouth.
15 Then he said to me, Lo, I have given thee cow's To be as fire to bake your bread with. dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread with them.
16 Moreover he said to me, Son of man, behold, I will break That is, the force and strength with which it would nourish, (Isa_3:1; Eze_14:13). 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:
17 Because that bread and water shall faile, they shalbe astonied one with another, and shall consume away for their iniquitie.
1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause [it] To shave your head and your beard. to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take to thee balances to weigh, and divide the [hair].
2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the 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. 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.
3 Thou shalt also take of them a few in number, and bind them in thy Meaning, that a very few would be left, which the Lord would preserve among all these storms, but not without troubles and trial. skirts.
4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; Out of the fire which you kindled will come a fire which will signify the destruction of Israel. from which a fire shall come forth into all the house of Israel.
5 Thus saith the Lorde God, This is Ierusalem: I haue set it in the middes of the nations and countreyes, that are rounde about her.
6 And she hath changed my My word and law into idolatry and superstitions. 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.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye 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. 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;
8 Therefore thus saith the Lorde God, Beholde, I, euen I come against thee, and will execute iudgement in the middes of thee, euen in the sight of the nations.
9 And I will doe in thee, that I neuer did before, neither will do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
10 For in the middes of thee, the fathers shall eate their sonnes, and the sonnes shall eate their fathers, and I will execute iudgement in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the windes.
11 Wherefore, as I liue, saith the Lorde God, Surely because thou hast defiled my Sanctuarie with all thy filthinesse, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also destroy thee, neither shall mine eye spare thee, neither will I haue any pitie.
12 The third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they bee consumed in the middes of thee: and another third part shall fall by the sword round about thee: and I will scatter the last third part into all windes, and I will drawe out a sword after them.
13 Thus shall my anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be That is, I will not be pacified till I am avenged, (Isa_1:24). comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken [it] in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
14 Moreouer, I will make thee waste, and abhorred among the nations, that are round about thee, and in the sight of all that passe by.
15 So thou shalt bee a reproche and shame, a chastisement and an astonishment vnto the nations, that are rounde about thee, when I shall execute iudgements in thee, in anger and in wrath, and in sharpe rebukes: I the Lorde haue spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil Which were the grasshoppers, mildew and whatever were opportunities for famine. 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:
17 So will I send vpon you famine, and euill beastes, and they shall spoyle thee, and pestilence and blood shall passe through thee, and I will bring the sworde vpon thee: I the Lorde haue spoken it.
1 Againe the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, Set thy face towardes the mountaines of Israel, and prophecie against them,
3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the He speaks of all the places where the Israelites accustomed to commit their idolaters, threatening them with destruction. 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.
4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your Read (2Ki_23:14). images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain [men] before your idols.
5 And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their In contempt of their power and force, which will neither be able to deliver you or themselves. idols; and I will scatter your bones about your altars.
6 In all your dwelling places the cities shalbe desolate, and the hie places shalbe laide waste, so that your altars shalbe made waste and desolate, and your idoles shalbe broken, and cease, & your images of the sunne shalbe cut in pieces, & your workes shalbe abolished.
7 And the slaine shall fall in the middes of you, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, 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. that ye may have [some] that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
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 They will be ashamed to see that their hope in idols was in vain, and so will repent. shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10 And they shall knowe that I am the Lord, and that I haue not saide in vaine, that I woulde doe this euill vnto them.
11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; By these signs he would that the prophet would signify the great destruction to come. 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.
12 He that is farre off, shal dye of the pestilence, and he that is neere, shal fall by the sword, and hee that remaineth and is besieged, shal dye by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath vpon them.
13 Then shall That is, all nations when you will see my judgments. 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.
14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, even, more desolate Which was in Syria and bordered on Israel, or from the wilderness which was south, to Diblath which was north: meaning the while country. than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
1 Moreouer the word of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Also thou sonne of man, thus saith the Lord God, An ende is come vnto the lande of Israel: the ende is come vpon the foure corners of the lande.
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 I will punish you as you have deserved for your idolatry. thy abominations.
4 Neither shall mine eye spare thee, neither will I haue pitie: but I will laye thy waies vpon thee: and thine abomination shall bee in the middes of thee, and yee shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
5 Thus saith the Lorde God, Beholde, one euil, euen one euill is come.
6 An end is come, the end is come: it 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. watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.
7 The The beginning of his punishments is already come. 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 Which was a voice of joy and mirth. shouting upon the mountains.
8 Now I will shortly powre out my wrath vpon thee, and fulfil mine anger vpon thee: I will iudge thee according to thy wayes, and will lay vpon thee all thine abominations.
9 Neither shall mine eie spare thee, neither will I haue pitie, but I will laye vpon thee according to thy wayes, and thine abominations shalbe in the middes of thee, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde that smiteth.
10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the The scourge is ready. rod hath blossomed, That is, the proud tyrant Nebuchadnezzar has gathered his force and is ready. pride hath budded.
11 This cruel enemy will be a sharp scourge for their wickedness.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.
12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer For the present profit. rejoice, nor the seller For he will lose nothing. mourn: for wrath [is] upon all its multitude.
13 For the seller shall not In the year of the Jubile, meaning that none would enjoy the privilege of the law, (Lev_25:13) for they would all be carried away captives. return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the This vision signified that all would be carried away, and none would return for the Jubile. vision [is] concerning its whole multitude, [which] shall not return; 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. neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.
14 The Israelites made a brag, but their hearts failed them.They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath [is] upon all its multitude.
15 The sword is without, and the pestilence, and the famine within: he that is in the field, shall dye with the sword, and he that is in the citie, famine and pestilence shall deuoure him.
16 But they that flee away from them, shall escape, and shalbe in the mountaines, like the doues of the valleis: all they shall mourne, euery one for his iniquitie.
17 All handes shalbe weake, and all knees shall fall away as water.
18 They shall also girde them selues with sackecloth, and feare shall couer them, and shame shalbe vpon all faces, & baldnes vpon their heads.
19 They shall cast their siluer in the streetes, and their golde shalbe cast farre off: their siluer and their gold can not deliuer them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfie their soules, neither fill their bowels: for this ruine is for their iniquitie.
20 As for the beauty of his Meaning, the sanctuary. 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.
21 And I will give it into the hands of the That is, of the Babylonians. strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my Which signifies the most holy place, into which none might enter but the high priest. secret [place]: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
23 Make a Signifying that they would be bound and led away captives. chain: for the land is full of That is, of sins that deserve death. bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
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 Which was the temple that was divided into three parts. holy places shall be defiled.
25 When destruction commeth, they shall seeke peace, and shall not haue it.
26 Calamitie shall come vpon calamitie, and rumour shall bee vpon rumour: then shall they seeke a vision of the Prophet: but the Lawe shal perish from the Priest, and counsel from the Ancient.
27 The King shall mourne, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the handes of the people in the land shall be troubled: I wil doe vnto them according to their waies, and according to their iudgements will I iudge them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
1 And it came to pass in the Of the captivity of Jeconiah. sixth year, in the Which contained part of August and part of September. 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.
2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of As in (Eze_1:27). 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.
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 Meaning that he was thus carried in spirit, and not in body. visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner Which was the porch or the court where the people assembled. gate that looketh toward the north; where [was] the seat of the image of So called, because it provoked God's indignation, which was the idol of Baal. jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel [was] there, according to the vision that I saw Read (Eze_3:22). in the plain.
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 That is, in the court where the people had made an altar to Baal. altar this image of jealousy in the entrance.
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 For God will not be where the idols are. my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, [and] thou shalt see greater abominations.
7 And he caused me to enter at the gate of the court: and when I looked, beholde, an hole was in the wall.
8 Then said he vnto me, Sonne of man, digge nowe in the wall; when I had digged in the wall, beholde, there was a doore.
9 And he said vnto mee, Go in, and beholde the wicked abominations that they doe here.
10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping animals, and Which were forbidden in the law, (Lev_11:4). abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around upon the wall.
11 And there stood before them seventy 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. 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 It was in such abundance. a thick cloud of incense went up.
12 Then said he to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel For besides their common idolatry they had particular service, which they had in secret chambers. 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.
13 Againe he saide also vnto me, Turne thee againe, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they doe.
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 The Jews write, that this was a prophet of the idols, who after his death was once a year mourned for in the night. Tammuz.
15 Then saide hee vnto me, Hast thou seene this, O sonne of man? Turne thee againe, and thou shalt see greater abominations then these.
16 And he caused me to enter into the inner court of the Lordes house, and beholde, at the doore of the Temple of the Lord, betweene the porche and the altar were about fiue and twentie men with their backs toward the Temple of the Lord, and their faces towarde the East, and they worshipped the sunne, towarde the East.
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 Declaring that the censings and service of the idolaters are but infections and villany before God. branch to their nose.
18 Therefore will I also execute my wrath: mine eye shall not spare them, neither will I haue pitie, and though they crie in mine eares with a loude voyce, yet will I not heare them.
1 He cried also in my ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over The time to take vengeance. the city to draw near, even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand.
2 And, behold, six Which were angels in the appearance of men. men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the Signifying that the Babylonians would come from the north to destroy the city and the temple. north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them [was] clothed with linen, with a writer's To mark them that would be saved. inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel had 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. 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;
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 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. sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of it.
5 And to the other he said, that I might heare, Goe ye after him through the citie, and smite: let your eye spare none, neither haue pitie.
6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the Thus in all his plagues the Lord preserves his small number, which he marks as in (Exo_12:12; Rev_7:3) but the chief mark is the spirit of adoption, with which the heart is sealed up to life everlasting. mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the Which was the chief opportunity for all these evils, as in (Eze_8:11). elders who [were] before the house.
7 And he sayde vnto them, Defile the house, and fill the courtes with the slaine, then goe foorth: and they went out, and slewe them in the citie.
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, This declares that the servants of God have a compassion when they see his judgments executed. Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy the whole remnant of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
9 Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah [is] exceeding great, and the land is full of That is, with all kinds of wickedness. {{See Isa_1:15}} blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
10 As touching me also, mine eye shall not spare them, neither will I haue pitie, but will recompence their wayes vpon their heades.
11 And beholde, the man clothed with linen which had the ynkhorne by his side, made report, and saide, Lorde, I haue done as thou hast commanded me.
1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the Which in (Eze_1:5) he called the four beasts. cherubim there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
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 This signified that the city would be burnt. the city. And he entered in my sight.
3 Now the Cherubims stood vpon the right side of the house, when the man went in, and the cloude filled the inner court.
4 Then the glory of the LORD Meaning that the glory of God would depart from the temple. 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.
5 And the Read (Eze_1:24). sound of the cherubim's wings was heard [even] to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
6 And when he had commaunded the man clothed with linnen, saying, Take fire from betweene the wheeles, & from betweene ye Cherubims, then he went in and stood beside ye wheele.
7 And one Cherub stretched forth his hand from betweene the Cherubims vnto the fire, that was betweene the Cherubims, and tooke thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linnen: who tooke it and went out.
8 And there appeared in the Cherubims, the likenesse of a mans hande vnder their wings.
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 Read (Eze_1:16). beryl stone.
10 And their appearance (for they were all foure of one facion) was as if one wheele had bene in another wheele.
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 Until they had executed God's judgments. turned not as they went.
12 And their whole bodie, and their rings, and their hands, and their wings, & the wheeles were full of eyes round about, euen in the same foure wheeles.
13 And the Cherub cryed to these wheeles in mine hearing, saying, O wheele.
14 And euery beast had foure faces: the first face was the face of a Cherub, & the second face was the face of a man, and the thirde the face of a lyon, and the fourth the face of an Egle.
15 And the Cherubims were lifted vp: this is the beast that I sawe at the riuer Chebar.
16 And when ye Cherubims went, the wheeles went by them: and when the Cherubims lift vp their wings to mount vp from the earth, the same wheeles also turned not from beside them.
17 When they stood, [these] stood; and when they were lifted up, [these] lifted up themselves [also]: for the There was one consent between the cherubims and the wheels. spirit of the living being [was] in them.
18 Read (Eze_9:3).Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
19 And the Cherubims lift vp their wings, and mounted vp from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheeles also were besides them: and euery one stoode at the entrie of the gate of the Lordes House at the East side, and the glorie of the God of Israel was vpo them on hie.
20 This [is] the That is, the whole body of the four beasts or cherubims. living being that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they [were] the cherubim.
21 Euery one had foure faces, and euery one foure wings, and the likenesse of mans hands was vnder their wings.
22 And the likenes of their faces was the selfe same faces, which I sawe by the riuer Chebar, and the appearance of the Cherubims was ye selfe same, and they went euery one straight forwarde.
1 Moreouer, the Spirite lift me vp, and brought me vnto the East gate of the Lordes house, which lyeth Eastwarde, and beholde, at the entrie of the gate were fiue and twentie men: among whome I sawe Iaazaniah the sonne of Azur, and Pelatiah the sonne of Benaiah, the princes of the people.
2 Then said he vnto me, Sonne of man, these are the men that imagine mischiefe, and deuise wicked counsell in this citie.
3 Who say, Thus the wicked derided the prophets as though they preached only errors, and therefore gave themselves still to their pleasures. [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the 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. caldron, and we [are] the flesh.
4 Therefore prophesie against them, sonne of man, prophesie.
5 And the Spirite of the Lord fell vpon me, and said vnto me, Speake, Thus saith the Lorde, O ye house of Israel, this haue ye said, and I know that which riseth vp of your mindes.
6 Many haue ye murthered in this citie, and ye haue filled the streets thereof with the slaine.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they [are] 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. the flesh, and this [city is] the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
8 Ye haue feared the sworde, and I wil bring a sworde vpon you, saith the Lorde God.
9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and deliver you into That is, of the Chaldeans. the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of That is, in Riblah, read (2Ki_25:6). Israel; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
11 This citie shall not be your caldron, neyther shall ye be the flesh in the middes thereof, but I will iudge you in the border of Israel.
12 And ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde: for ye haue not walked in my statutes, neither executed my iudgements, but haue done after the maners of the heathen, that are round about you.
13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of 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. 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?
14 Againe the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
15 Son of man, thy They that remained at Jerusalem thus reproached them that were gone into captivity as though they were cast off and forsaken by God. 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.
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 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. sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God, I will gather you againe from the people, and assemble you out of the countreis where ye haue bene scattered, & I will giue you ye land of Israel.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shal take away all the idoles thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence.
19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the 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. stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
20 That they may walke in my statutes, and keepe my iudgements, and execute them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
21 But vpon them, whose heart is towarde their idoles, and whose affection goeth after their abominations, I will lay their way vpon their owne heades, saith the Lorde God.
22 Then did the Cherubims lift vp their wings, and the wheeles besides them, and the glorie of the God of Israel was vpon them on hie.
23 And the glorie of the Lord went vp from the middes of the citie, & stoode vpon the moutaine which is towarde the East side of the citie.
24 Afterwarde the Spirite tooke me vp, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Caldea to them that were led away captiues: so the vision that I had seene, went vp from me.
25 Then I spoke to them of the When Jeconiah was led away captive. captivity all the things that the LORD had shown me.
1 The worde of the Lorde also came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and see That is, they receive not the fruit of that which they see and hear. not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house.
3 Therefore thou sonne of man, prepare thy stuffe to goe into captiuitie, and goe foorth by day in their sight: and thou shalt passe from thy place to another place in their sight, if it be possible that they may consider it: for they are a rebellious house.
4 Then shalt thou bring foorth thy stuffe by day in their sight as the stuffe of him that goeth into captiuitie: and thou shalt go forth at euen in their sight, as they that go foorth into captiuitie.
5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and cary out thereby.
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 That as you do, so shall they do, and therefore in you they will see their own plague and punishment. sign to the house of Israel.
7 And as I was commaunded, so I brought forth my stuffe by day, as ye stuffe of one that goeth into captiuitie: and by night I digged through the wall with mine hand, & brought it forth in ye darke, & I bare it vpo my shoulder in their sight.
8 And in the morning came the word of the Lord vnto me, saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to thee, What Do they not deride your doings? doest thou?
10 But say thou vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God, This burden concerneth the chiefe in Ierusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them.
11 Say, I am your signe: like as I haue done, so shall it be done vnto them: they shall goe into bondage and captiuitie.
12 And the chiefest that is among them, shall beare vpon his shoulder in the darke, and shall goe forth: they shall digge through the wall, to cary out thereby: he shall couer his face, that he see not the ground with his eies.
13 My net also will I spread upon When the king will think to escape by fleeing, I will take him into my net, as in (Eze_32:3). 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.
14 And I will scatter toward euerie winde all that are about him to helpe him, and all his garisons, and I will drawe out the sworde after them.
15 And they shall knowe that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations, & disperse them in the countreis.
16 But I will leave a Who would bear his Name, and would be his Church. 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.
17 Moreouer, the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
18 Sonne of man, eate thy bread with trembling and drinke thy water with trouble, & with carefulnesse,
19 And say vnto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lorde God of the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and of the lande of Israel, They shall eate their bread with carefulnes, and drinke their water with desolation: for the lande shall bee desolate from her abundance because of the crueltie of them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited, shal be left voyde, and the land shall be desolate, and yee shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
21 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
22 Son of man, what [is] that proverb [that] ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days Because they did not immediately see the prophecies accomplished, they contemned them as though they would never be fulfilled. are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
23 Tell them therefore, Thus sayeth the Lord God, I wil make this prouerbe to cease, and they shall no more vse it as a prouerbe in Israel: but say vnto them, The daies are at hand and the effect of euery vision.
24 For no vision shall be any more in vaine, neither shall there bee any flattering diuination within the house of Israel.
25 For I am the Lorde: I wil speake, and that thing that I shall speake, shall come to passe: it shall be no more prolonged: for in your dayes, O rebellious house, will I saye the thing, and will performe it, sayeth the Lord God.
26 Againe the word of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
27 Son of man, behold, [they of] the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth [is] for 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. many days [to come], and he prophesieth of the times [that are] distant.
28 Therefore say vnto them, Thus sayth the Lorde God, All my wordes shall no longer be delayed, but that thing which I haue spoken, shall be done, saith the Lord God.
1 And ye word of ye Lord came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou to them that prophesy out of their After their own fantasy and not as having the revelation of the Lord, (Jer_23:16). own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
3 Thus sayth the Lorde God, Woe vnto the foolish Prophets that followe their owne spirit, and haue seene nothing.
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes Watching to destroy the vineyard. in the deserts.
5 He speaks to the governor and true ministers that would have resisted them.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.
6 They haue seene vanitie, and lying diuination, saying, The Lord sayth it, and the Lorde hath not sent them: & they haue made others to hope that they would cofirme the word of their prophecie.
7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, though You promised peace to this people and now you see their destruction, so that it is revealed that you are false prophets. ye say, The LORD saith [it]; although I have not spoken?
8 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God, Because ye haue spoken vanytie & haue seene lyes, therefore beholde, I am agaynst you, sayth the Lorde God,
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 That is in the book of life, in which the true Israelites are written. 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.
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, {{See Jer_6:14}} Peace; and [there was] no peace; and one built up a 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. wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [mortar]:
11 Say vnto them which daube it with vntempered morter, that it shall fall: for there shall come a great showre, and I wil sende haylestones, which shall cause it to fall, and a stormie winde shall breake it.
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not bee sayd vnto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye haue daubed it?
13 Therefore thus sayth the Lord God, I will cause a stormie winde to breake foorth in my wrath, & a great showre shall bee in mine anger, & hailestones in mine indignation to consume it.
14 So I wil destroy the wall that ye haue daubed with vntempered morter, and bring it downe to the ground, so that the fundation thereof shalbe discouered, and it shall fal, and ye shalbe consumed in the middes thereof, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with By which is meant whatever man of himself sets forth under the authority of God's word. untempered [mortar], and will say to you, The wall [is] no [more], neither they that daubed it;
16 To wit, the Prophets of Israel, which prophesie vpon Ierusalem, and see visions of peace for it, and there is no peace, sayth the Lord God.
17 Likewise thou sonne of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesie out of their owne heart: and prophesie thou against them, and say,
18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the [women] that sew 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. [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?
19 And will ye profane me among my people for handfuls of Will you make my word serve your bellies? barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and 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. to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear [your] lies?
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against your [magic] charms, with which ye there hunt the That is, to cause them to perish, and that they should depart from the body. 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.
21 Your vailes also will I teare, and deliuer my people out of your hande, and they shalbe no more in your hands to be hunted, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the By threatening them that were godly, and upholding the wicked. 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:
23 Therefore ye shal see no more vanitie, nor diuine diuinatios: for I wil deliuer my people out of your hand, & ye shall know that I am ye Lord.
1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and 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. sat before me.
2 And the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their 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 Isa_1:15}} heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
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 To inquire of things which the Lord has appointed to come to pass. prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude As his abomination has deserved: that is, he will be led with lies according as he delighted in it, (2Th_2:10). of his idols;
5 That That is, convince them by their own conscience. I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therfore say vnto the house of Israel, Thus sayth the Lord God, Returne, and withdraw your selues, and turne your faces from your idoles, and turne your faces from all your abominations.
7 For euery one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that soiourneth in Israel, which departeth from mee, and setteth vp his idoles in his heart, and putteth the stumbling blocke of his iniquitie before his face, and commeth to a Prophet, for to inquire of him for me, I the Lord will answere him for my selfe,
8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him an example and prouerbe, and I will cut him off from the middes of my people, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lorde.
9 And if the prophet be 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, 1Ki_22:22) and destroys those prophets as well as the people. 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.
10 And they shall beare their punishment: the punishment of the Prophet shall bee euen as the punishment of him that asketh,
11 That the house of 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. 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.
12 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, Read (Eze_4:16, Eze_5:17; Isa_3:1). and will break the staff of its bread, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14 Though these three men, 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). Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver their own souls only by their 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. righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
15 If I bring noysome beastes into the lande and they spoyle it, so that it bee desolate, that no man may passe through, because of beastes,
16 Though these three men were in the mids thereof, As I liue, sayth the Lord God, they shall saue neither sonnes nor daughters: they onely shalbe deliuered, but the land shall be waste.
17 Or if I bring a sworde vpon this land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I destroy man and beast out of it,
18 Though these three men were in the mids thereof, As I liue, sayth the Lorde God, they shal deliuer neither sonnes nor daughters, but they onely shall be deliuered themselues.
19 Or if I send a pestilence into this land, and powre out my wrath vpon it in blood, to destroy out of it man and beast,
20 And though Noah, Daniel and Iob were in the middes of it, As I liue, sayth the Lorde God, they shal deliuer neither sonne nor daughter: they shall but deliuer their owne soules by their righteousnes.
21 For thus saith the Lord God, Howe much more when I sende my foure sore iudgements vpon Ierusalem, euen the sworde, and famine, and the noysome beast & pestilence, to destroy man and beast out of it?
22 Yet, behold, in it shall be left a {{See Eze_5:3}} 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.
23 And they shal comfort you, when yee see their way and their enterprises: & ye shal know, that I haue not done without cause all that I haue done in it, saith the Lorde God.
1 And ye word of ye Lord came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, [or than] a branch which is among the 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. trees of the forest?
3 Shall wood bee taken thereof to doe any worke? or wil men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
4 Behold, it is cast in the fire to be consumed: the fire consumeth both the endes of it, and the middes of it is burnt. Is it meete for any worke?
5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meete for no worke: how much lesse shall it bee meete for any worke, when the fire hath consumed it, and it is burnt?
6 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God, As the vine tree, that is among the trees of the forest, which I haue giuen to the fire to be consumed, so will I giue the inhabitants of Ierusalem.
7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from [one] Though they escape one danger, yet another will take them. fire, and [another] fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I set my face against them.
8 And when I make the lande waste, because they haue greatly offended, saith the Lord God.
1 Againe, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, cause Ierusalem to knowe her abominations,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD to Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land 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, Isa_57:3). of Canaan; thy father [was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast When I first brought you out of Egypt and planted you in this land to be my Church. 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.
5 None eye pitied thee to do any of these vnto thee, for to haue compassion vpon thee, but thou wast cast out in the open fielde to the contempt of thy person in ye day that thou wast borne.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thy 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. 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.
7 I haue caused thee to multiplie as the bud of the fielde, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou hast gotten excellent ornaments: thy breastes are facioned, thine heare is growen, where as thou wast naked and bare.
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 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. thy nakedness: yea, I swore to thee, and entered into a covenant with That you should be a chaste wife to me, and that I should maintain you and endue you with all graces. thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
9 Then I washed thee with I washed away your sins. water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I I sanctified you with my Holy Spirit. anointed thee with oil.
10 I clothed thee also with broydred worke, and shod thee with badgers skin: and I girded thee about with fine linen, & I couered thee with silke.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets vpon thine handes, and a chaine on thy necke.
12 And I put a jewel in thy nose, and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful By this he shows how he saved his Church, enriched it, and gave it power and dominion to reign. crown upon thy head.
13 Thus wast thou deckt with gold and siluer, and thy rayment was of fine linen, and silke, and broydred worke: thou didest eate fine floure, and honie and oyle, and thou wast very beautifull, and thou didest grow vp into a kingdome.
14 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my He declares where the dignity of Jerusalem stood: that is, in that the Lord gave them of his beauty and excellency. comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
15 But thou didst In abusing my gifts and in putting your confidence in your own wisdom and dignity, which were the opportunities of your idolatry. trust in thy own beauty, and didst play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out There was no idolatry with which you did not pollute yourself. thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and didst deck thy high places with various colours, This declares how the idolaters put their chief delight in those things which please the eyes and outward senses. and didst play the harlot upon them: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and hast You have converted my vessels and instruments which I gave you to serve me with to the use of your idols. made to thyself images of men, and hast committed harlotry with them,
18 And tookest thy broydred garments, and coueredst them: and thou hast set mine oyle and my perfume before them.
19 My meate also, which I gaue thee, as fine floure, oyle, and honie, wherewith I fedde thee, thou hast euen set it before them for a sweete sauour: thus it was, saith the Lord God.
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne to me, and these hast thou sacrificed to them to Meaning by fire, read (Lev_18:21; 2Ki_23:10). be devoured. [Is this] of thy harlotries a small matter,
21 That thou hast slaine my children, and deliuered them to cause them to passe through fire for them?
22 And in all thine abominations and whoredomes thou hast not remembred the dayes of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
23 And beside all thy wickednes (wo, wo vnto thee, saith the Lord God)
24 Thou hast also built vnto thee an hie place, and hast made thee an hie place in euery streete.
25 Thou hast built thine hie place at euery corner of the way, and hast made thy beautie to be abhorred: thou hast opened thy feete to euery one that passed by, & multiplied thy whoredome.
26 Thou hast also committed harlotry with the 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. Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy harlotry, to provoke me to anger.
27 Beholde, therefore I did stretche out mine hand ouer thee, and will diminish thine ordinarie, and deliuer thee vnto the will of them that hate thee, euen to the daughters of the Philistims, which are ashamed of thy wicked way.
28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insaciable: yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreouer multiplied thy fornication from the land of Canaan vnto Caldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
30 Howe weake is thine heart, saith the Lorde God, seeing thou doest all these thinges, euen the worke of a presumptuous whorish woman?
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, 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. in that thou scornest hire;
32 But as a wife that playeth the harlot, and taketh others for her husband:
33 They giue giftes to all other whores, but thou giuest giftes vnto all thy louers, and rewardest them, that they may come vnto thee on euery side for thy fornication.
34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy fornications, neither the like fornication shall be after thee: for in that thou giuest a rewarde, and no reward is giuen vnto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, heare the worde of the Lord.
36 Thus sayeth the Lorde God, Because thy shame was powred out, and thy filthinesse discouered through thy fornications with thy louers, and with all the idoles of thine abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didest offer vnto them,
37 Behold, therefore I will gather all Egyptians, Assyrians and Chaldeans whom you took to be your lovers will come and destroy you, (Eze_23:9). 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.
38 And I will judge thee, as women that I will judge you to death as the adulterers and murderers. break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39 I will also giue thee into their handes, and they shal destroy thine hie place, and shall breake downe thine hie places. They shall strippe thee also out of thy clothes, and shall take thy faire iewels, and leaue thee naked and bare.
40 They shall also bring vp a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swordes.
41 And they shall burne vp thine houses with fire, and execute iudgements vpon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt giue no reward any more.
42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my I will utterly destroy you and so my jealousy will cease. jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast provoked me in all these [things]; behold, therefore I also will I have punished your faults but you would not repent. recompense thy way upon [thy] head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thy abominations.
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use [this] proverb against thee, saying, As [is] the mother, As the Canaanites, the Hittites and others were your predecessors, so are you their successors. [so is] her daughter.
45 Thou [art] thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou [art] the sister of thy That is, of Samaria and Sodom. sisters, who lothed their husbands and their children: your mother [was] an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 And thy elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her That is, her cities. daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters.
47 Yet hast thou But done far worse. 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.
48 As I liue, saith the Lorde God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, neither shee nor her daughters, as thou hast done and thy daughters.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, 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, (Gen_19:24). 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.
50 But they were hautie, and committed abomination before mee: therefore I tooke them away, as pleased me.
51 Neither Which worshipped the calves in Bethel and Dan. hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thy abominations more than they, and hast You are so wicked that in respect to you Sodom and Samaria were just. justified thy sisters in all thy abominations which thou hast done.
52 Therefore thou which hast iustified thy sisters, beare thine owne shame for thy sinnes, that thou hast committed more abominable then they which are more righteous then thou art: be thou therefore confounded also, and beare thy shame, seeing that thou hast iustified thy sisters.
53 When I shall bring again 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. 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:
54 That thou mayest bear thy own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a In that you have shown yourself worse than they and yet thought to escape punishment. comfort to them.
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, Meaning that it would never come to pass. then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former state.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned You would not call her punishment to mind when you were aloft, to learn by her example to fear my judgments. by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57 Before thy wickedness was That is, till you were brought under by the Syrians and Philistines, (2Ch_28:19). uncovered, as at the time of [thy] reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all [that are] around Which joined with the Syrians, or compassed about Jerusalem. her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee on every side.
58 Thou hast borne therefore thy wickednesse and thine abomination, saith the Lord.
59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the When you broke the covenant which was made between you and me, as in (Eze_16:8). oath in breaking the covenant.
60 Nevertheless I will That is, out of mercy and love I will pity you and so stand by my covenant though you have deserved the contrary. remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant.
61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive 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. thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not But of my free mercy. by thy covenant.
62 And I wil establish my couenant with thee, and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord,
63 That thou mayest remember, and be This declares what fruits God's mercies work in his, that is, sorrow and repentance for their former life. 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.
1 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto mee, saying,
2 Sonne of man, put foorth a parable and speake a prouerbe vnto the house of Israel,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great 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). eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had various colours, came to Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4 He cropped off the top of its young twigs, and carried it into a land of Meaning to Babylon. trade; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the 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). seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed [it] by great waters, [and] set it [as] a willow tree.
6 And it grew, and became This was Zedekiah's kingdom. a spreading vine of That is, might not have power to rebel against Babylon, as in (Eze_17:14). 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.
7 There was also Meaning, the king of Egypt from whom Zedekiah sought comfort against Nebuchadnezzar. 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.
8 It was planted in a good soil by great They thought to be moistened by the waters of the Nile. waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a well favoured vine.
9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall Shall not Nebuchadnezzar destroy it? 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.
10 Yea, behold, [being] planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, By this dry wind he means the Babylonians. when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
11 Moreouer, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
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 That is, Jeconiah, (2Ki_24:15). its king, and its princes, and led them with him to Babylon;
13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken For his subjection and obedience. an oath from him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:
14 That the kingdome might be in subiection, and not lift it selfe vp, but keepe their couenant, and stand to it.
15 But he rebelled against him, and sent his ambassadours into Egypt, that they might giue him horses, and much people: shall hee prosper? shall he escape, that doeth such things? or shal he breake the couenant, and be deliuered?
16 As I liue, saith the Lord God, he shall die in the middes of Babel, in the place of the King, that had made him King, whose othe he despised, and whose couenant made with him, he brake.
17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mightie hoste, and great multitude of people, mainteine him in the warre, when they haue cast vp mounts, and builded ramparts to destroy many persons.
18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given 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. his hand, and hath done all these [things], he shall not escape.
19 Therefore, thus sayth the Lord God, As I liue, I wil surely bring mine othe that he hath despised, and my couenant that he hath broken vpon his owne head.
20 And I wil spread my net vpon him, & he shalbe taken in my net, & I wil bring him to Babel, and will enter into iudgement with him there for his trespas that he hath committed against me.
21 And all that flee from him with all his hoste, shal fall by the sword, & they that remaine, shalbe scattered towarde all the windes: and ye shall know that I the Lord haue spoken it.
22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch This promise is made to the Church which will be as a small remnant, and as the top of a tree. of the high cedar, and will set [it]; I will crop off from the I will trim it, and dress it. top of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant [it] upon an high mountain and eminent:
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 Both the Jews and Gentiles will be gathered into it. fowl of every wing; in the shadow of its branches shall they dwell.
24 And all the All the world will know that I have plucked down the proud enemies, and set up my Church which was low and contemned. 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].
1 The worde of the Lord came vnto me againe, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, 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 Jer_31:29}} The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
3 As I liue, sayth the Lord God, ye shall vse this prouerbe no more in Israel.
4 Beholde, all soules are mine, both the soule of the father, and also the soule of the sonne are mine: the soule that sinneth, it shall die.
5 But if a man be iust, and doe that which is lawfull, and right,
6 [And] hath not eaten If he has not eaten flesh that has been offered up to idols, to honour them by it. 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,
7 Neither hath oppressed any, but hath restored the pledge to his dettour: he that hath spoyled none by violence, but hath giuen his bread to the hungry, and hath couered the naked with a garment,
8 And hath not giuen foorth vpon vsurie, neither hath taken any increase, but hath withdrawen his hand from iniquitie, and hath executed true iudgement betweene man and man,
9 And hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my iudgements to deale truely, he is iust, he shall surely liue, sayth the Lord God.
10 If he beget a sonne, that is a thiefe, or a sheader of blood, if he do any one of these things,
11 Though he doe not all these things, but either hath eaten vpon the mountaines, or defiled his neighbours wife,
12 Or hath oppressed the poore and needy, or hath spoyled by violence, or hath not restored the pledge, or hath lift vp his eyes vnto the idoles, or hath committed abomination,
13 Hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; 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. he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14 But if he beget a sonne, that seeth all his fathers sinnes, which he hath done, and feareth, neither doeth such like,
15 That hath not eaten vpon the mountaines, neither hath lift vp his eyes to the idols of ye house of Israel, nor hath defiled his neighbours wife,
16 Neither hath oppressed any, nor hath withholden the pledge, neither hath spoyled by violence, but hath giuen his bread to the hungry, and hath couered the naked with a garment,
17 Neither hath withdrawen his hand from the afflicted, nor receiued vsurie nor increase, but hath executed my iudgements, and hath walked in my statutes, he shall not die in the iniquitie of his father, but he shal surely liue.
18 His father, because he cruelly oppressed and spoyled his brother by violence, and hath not done good among his people, loe, euen he dyeth in his iniquitie.
19 Yet say ye, Wherefore shall not the sonne beare the iniquitie of the father? because ye sonne hath executed iudgement & iustice, and hath kept all my statutes, and done them, he shal surely liue,
20 The same soule that sinneth, shal die: the sonne shall not beare the iniquitie of the father, neither shall the father beare the iniquitie of the sonne, but the righteousnes of the righteous shall be vpon him, and the wickednesse of the wicked shall be vpon him selfe.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my He joins the observation of the commandments with repentance; for none can repent indeed, unless he labour to keep the Law. statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned to him: in his That is, in the fruit of his faith which declares that God accepts him. righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 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.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?
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 That is, the false opinion that the hypocrites have of their righteousness. 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.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not In punishing the father with the children. equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 For when a righteous man turneth away from his righteousnes, and committeth iniquitie, he shall euen die for the same, he shal euen die for his iniquitie, that he hath done.
27 Againe when the wicked turneth away from his wickednes that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawfull and right, he shal saue his soule aliue.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that hee hath committed, he shall surely liue and shall not die.
29 Yet saith ye house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equall. O house of Israel, are not my wayes equall? or are not your wayes vnequall?
30 Therefore I will iudge you, O house of Israel, euery one according to his wayes, sayth the Lord God: returne therefore and cause others to turne away from all your transgressions: so iniquitie shall not be your destruction.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which ye have transgressed; and make He shows that man cannot forsake his wickedness, till his heart is changed which is only the work of God. you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I desire not the death of him that dyeth, sayth the Lord God: cause therefore one another to returne, and liue ye.
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the That is, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, Josiah's sons, who for their pride and cruelty are compared to lions. princes of Israel,
2 And say, What [is] thy That is Jehoahaz's mother, or Jerusalem. mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought vp one of her whelps, and it became a lyon, and it learned to catch the praye, and it deuoured men.
4 The By Pharaoh Nebo king of Egypt, (2Ki_23:33). nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that she had waited, [and] her hope was lost, then she took another of her Which was Jehoiakim. whelps, [and] made him a young lion.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, [and] devoured He slew the prophets and them that feared God and ravished their wives. men.
7 And he knew their widowes, & he destroyed their cities, and the land was wasted, and all that was therein by the noyse of his roaring.
8 Then the Nebuchadnezzar with his great army which was gathered from various nations. nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.
9 And they put him in prison and in chaines, and brought him to the King of Babel, and they put him in holdes, that his voyce should no more be heard vpon the mountaines of Israel.
10 Thy 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. mother [is] like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that beare rule, and her stature was exalted among the branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the Meaning, that the Chaldeans would destroy them as the east wind does the fruit of the vine. east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now she is planted in the wildernes in a drie and thirstie ground.
14 And fire hath gone out Destruction is come by Zedekiah, who was the opportunity for this rebellion. 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.
1 And it came to pass in the Of the captivity of Jeconiah. 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.
2 Then came the worde of the Lorde vnto me, saying,
3 Sonne of man, speake vnto the Elders of Israel, and say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Are ye come to enquire of me? As I liue, sayth the Lord God, when I am asked, I wil not answer you.
4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge [them]? cause This declares the great leniency and patience of God who calls sinners to repentance before he condemns them. them to know the abominations of their fathers:
5 And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and 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. 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;
6 In the day that I lift vp mine hand vnto them to bring them forth of the land of Egypt, into a land that I had prouided for them, flowing with milke & hony which is pleasant among all lands,
7 Then said I to them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, God had forbidden them to make mention of the idols, (Exo_23:13; Psa_16:4). and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.
8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of Which declares the wickedness of man's heart, who judge God's service by their eyes and outward senses. 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.
9 But I wrought for my 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 (Exo_32:12; Num_14:13). 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.
10 Nowe I caried them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wildernes.
11 And I gaue them my statutes, and declared my iudgements vnto them, which if a man doe, he shall liue in them.
12 Moreouer I gaue them also my Sabbaths to be a signe betwene me & them, that they might knowe that I am the Lord, that sanctifie them.
13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wildernes: they walked not in my statutes, and they cast away my iudgements, which if a man doe, he shall liue in them, and my Sabbaths haue they greatly polluted: then I thought to powre out mine indignation vpon them in the wildernes to consume them,
14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the 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. nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
15 Yet neuerthelesse, I lift vp mine hande vnto them in the wildernes that I would not bring them into the lande, which I had giuen them, flowing with milke and hony, which was pleasant aboue all landes,
16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but profaned my That is, my true religion, which I had commanded them, and gave themselves to serve me according to their own fantasies. sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
17 Neuerthelesse, mine eye spared them, that I would not destroye them, neither would I consume them in the wildernes.
18 But I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your 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. fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
19 I am the Lord your God: walke in my statutes, and keepe my iudgements and doe them,
20 And sanctifie my Sabbaths, and they shall bee a signe betweene mee and you, that ye may knowe that I am the Lord your God.
21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against mee: they walked not in my statutes, nor kept my iudgements to doe them, which if a man doe, hee shall liue in them, but they polluted my Sabbaths: then I thought to powre out mine indignation vpo them, and to accomplish my wrath against them in the wildernes.
22 Neuerthelesse I withdrew mine hand & had respect to my Name that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them foorth.
23 Yet I lift vp mine hande vnto them in the wildernes, that I would scatter them among the heathen, & disperse them through the countreys,
24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after Meaning that they set their delight on them. their fathers' idols.
25 Wherefore I gave 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; Rom_1:21, Rom_1:24). them also statutes [that were] not good, and judgments by which they should not live;
26 And I polluted them in their own I condemned those things, and counted them as abominable, which they thought had been excellent and to have declared most zeal, (Luk_16:15) for that which God required as most excellent they gave to their idols. 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.
27 Therefore, sonne of man, speake vnto the house of Israel, and say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God, Yet in this your fathers haue blasphemed me, though they had before grieuously transgressed against me.
28 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.[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.
29 Then I said to them, What [is] the high place to which ye go? And its name is called 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, (Exo_20:26). Bamah to this day.
30 Wherefore, say vnto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Are ye not polluted after the maner of your fathers? and commit ye not whoredome after their abominations?
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, 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. I will not be enquired of by you.
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 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. stone.
33 As I liue, saith the Lorde God, I will surely rule you with a mightie hand, and with a stretched out arme, and in my wrath powred out,
34 And will bring you from the people, and will gather you out of the countreys, wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arme, and in my wrath powred out,
35 And I will bring you into the 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). wilderness of the people, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face.
36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wildernes of the lande of Egypt, so will I pleade with you, saith the Lord God.
37 And I wil cause you to passe vnder the rod, and wil bring you into the bond of the couenant.
38 And I will Signifying that he will not burn the corn with the chaff, but chose out the wicked to punish them when he will spare his. 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.
39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; This is spoken to the hypocrites. 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.
40 For in mine holy mountaine, euen in the hie mountaine of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, and all in the lande, serue me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offrings and the first fruites of your oblations, with all your holy things.
41 I will accept your sweete sauour, when I bring you from the people, and gather you out of the countreys, wherein ye haue bene scattered, that I may be sanctified in you before ye heathen.
42 And ye shall knowe, that I am the Lorde, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the land, for the which I lifted vp mine hande to giue it to your fathers.
43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, in which ye have been defiled; and ye Your own consciences will convict you after you have felt my mercies. shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
44 And ye shall knowe, that I am the Lorde, when I haue respect vnto you for my Names sake, and not after your wicked wayes, nor according to your corrupt workes, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
45 Moreouer, the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [thy word] toward For Judah stood south from Babylon. the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
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 Both strong and weak in Jerusalem. 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.
48 And all flesh shall see, that I the Lord haue kindled it, and it shall not bee quenched.
49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak The people said that the prophet spoke darkly: therefore he desires the Lord to give them a plain declaration of it. parables?
1 The word of ye Lord came to me againe, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, Speak sensibly, that all may understand. and drop [thy word] toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
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 That is such which seem to have an outward show of righteousness by observation of the ceremonies of the law. righteous and the wicked.
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 Meaning, through all the land. north:
5 That all flesh may knowe that I the Lorde haue drawen my sworde out of his sheath, and it shall not returne any more.
6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with breaking As though you were in extreme anguish. heart; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7 And it shall be, when they say to thee, Why sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, Because of the great noise of the army of the Chaldeans. 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.
8 Againe, the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
9 Sonne of man, prophecie, and say, Thus saith the Lorde God, say, A sworde, a sworde both sharpe, and fourbished.
10 It is sharpened to make a grievous slaughter; it is polished that it may And so cause fear. glitter: should we then make mirth? it despiseth the Meaning, the sceptre showing that it will not spare the king, who would be as the son of God, and in his place. rod of my son, That is, the rest of the people. [as] every tree.
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 That is, to the army of the Chaldeans. slayer.
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: Read (Eze_6:11). smite therefore upon [thy] thigh.
13 Because [it is] a trial, 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. and what if [the sword] despise even the rod? it shall be no [more], saith the Lord GOD.
14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite That is, encourage the sword. [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.
15 I haue brought the feare of the sword into all their gates to make their heart to faint, and to multiplie their ruines. Ah it is made bright, and it is dressed for the slaughter.
16 Go thee Provide for yourself: for you will see God's plague of all parts on this country. one way or other, [either] on the right hand, [or] on the left, wherever thy face [is] set.
17 I wil also smite mine hands together, & wil cause my wrath to cease. I the Lord haue said it.
18 The worde of the Lorde came vnto mee againe, saying,
19 Also, thou son of man, mark 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. 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.
20 Mark a way, that the sword may come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and That is, to the tribe of Judah that kept themselves in Jerusalem. to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
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 He used conjuring and sorcery. the liver.
22 At his right hand was the diuination for Ierusalem to appoint captaines, to open their mouth in the slaughter, and to lift vp their voyce with shouting, to laye engines of warre against the gates, to cast a mount, and to builde a fortresse.
23 And it shall be to them 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. as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: That is, Nebuchadnezzar will remember the rebellion of Zedekiah, and so come on them. but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Because ye haue made your iniquitie to bee remembred, in discouering your rebellion, that in al your workes your sinnes might appeare: because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
25 And thou, profane wicked Meaning, Zedekiah who practised with the Egyptians to make himself high and able to resist the Babylonians. prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity [shall have] an end,
26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the Some refer this to the priest's attire: for Jehozadak the priest went into captivity with the king. diadem, and take off the crown: this [shall] not [be] the same: exalt [him that is] low, and abase [him that is] high.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no [more], until he 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, (Gen_49:10). cometh whose right it is; and I will give it [him].
28 And thou, sonne of man, prophecie, and say, Thus saith the Lorde God to the children of Ammon, and to their blasphemie: say thou, I say, The sword, the sword is drawen foorth, and fourbished to the slaughter, to consume, because of the glittering:
29 While they see 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. 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.
30 Shall I cause it to returne into his sheath? I will iudge thee in the place where thou wast created, euen in the land of thine habitation.
31 And I wil powre out mine indignation vpon thee, and will blowe against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliuer thee into the hand of beastly men, and skilfull to destroy.
32 Thou shalt bee in the fire to be deuoured: thy blood shall be in the middes of the lande, and thou shalt be no more remembred: for I the Lord haue spoken it.
1 Moreouer, the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou Are you ready to execute your charge, which I commit to you against Jerusalem that murders the prophets and them that are godly? judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations.
3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her That is, the time of her destruction. time may come, and maketh idols against To her own undoing. herself to defile herself.
4 Thou hast offended in thy blood, that thou hast shed, & hast polluted thy selfe in thine idols, which thou hast made, and thou hast caused thy dayes to draw neere, & art come vnto thy terme: therefore haue I made thee a reproch to the heathen, and a mocking to all countreys.
5 [Those that are] near, and [those that are] far from thee, shall mock thee, [who art] Whose very name all men hate. infamous [and] much troubled.
6 Beholde, the princes of Israel euery one in thee was ready to his power, to shed blood.
7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee 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. have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they oppressed the fatherless and the widow.
8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast polluted my Sabbaths.
9 In thee are men that cary tales to shed blood: in thee are they that eate vpon the mountaines: in ye mids of thee they comit abomination.
10 In thee haue they discouered their fathers shame: in thee haue they vexed her that was polluted in her floures.
11 And euery one hath committed abomination with his neighbours wife, and euery one hath wickedly defiled his daughter in lawe, and in thee hath euery man forced his owne sister, euen his fathers daughter.
12 In thee haue they taken giftes to shed blood: thou hast taken vsurie and the encrease, and thou hast defrauded thy neighbours by extortion, & hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.
13 Behold, therefore I have In token of my wrath and vengeance. smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
14 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands That is, able to defend yourself. be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken [it], and will do [it].
15 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy I will thus take away the occasion of your wickedness. filthiness out of thee.
16 And thou shalt take thy You will be no more the inheritance of the Lord, but forsaken. inheritance in thyself in the sight of the nations, and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD.
17 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become Which before was most precious. dross: all they [are] brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are [even] the dross of silver.
19 Therefore, thus sayth the Lorde God, Because ye are all as drosse, beholde, therefore I will gather you in the middes of Ierusalem.
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], Meaning by this that the godly would be tried and the wicked destroyed. and melt you.
21 I wil gather you, I say, and blowe the fire of my wrath vpon you, and you shalbe melted in the mids thereof.
22 As siluer is melted in the mids of the fornace, so shal ye be melted in the mids thereof, and ye shall knowe, that I the Lord haue powred out my wrath vpon you.
23 And the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
24 Son of man, say to her, Thou [art] the land that is not cleansed, You are like a barren land which the Lord plagues with drought. nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 [There is] a conspiracy The false prophets have conspired together to make their doctrine more probable. of her prophets in the midst of her, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst of her.
26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown [difference] between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their They have neglected my service. eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes in the mids thereof are like wolues, rauening the praye to shed blood, and to destroy soules for their owne couetous lucre.
28 And her They who would have reproved them, flattered them in their vices and covered their doings with lies. {{See Eze_13:10}} prophets have daubed them with untempered [mortar], seeing vanity, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
29 The people of the land haue violently oppressed by spoyling and robbing, and haue vexed the poore and the needy: yea, they haue oppressed the stranger against right.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should Who would show himself zealous in my cause by resisting vice, (Isa_59:16) also pray to me to withhold my plagues, (Psa_106:23). make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore haue I powred out mine indignation vpon them, and consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their owne wayes haue I rendred vpon their heads, sayth the Lord God.
1 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one Meaning, Israel and Judah who both came out of one family. mother:
3 And they committed harlotries in They became idolaters after the manner of the Egyptians. Egypt; they committed harlotries in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 And the names of Aholah signifies a mansion or dwelling in herself, meaning Samaria, which was the royal city of Israel and Aholibah signifies my mansion in her, by which is meant Jerusalem, where God's temple was. them [were] Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. Thus [were] their names; Samaria [is] Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when When the Israelites were named the people of God, they became idolaters and forsook God, and put their trust in the Assyrians. she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians [her] neighbours,
6 Which were clothed with blewe silke, both captaines and princes: they were all pleasant yong men, and horsemen riding vpon horses.
7 Thus she committed her whoredome with them, euen with all them that were the chosen men of Asshur, and with all on whome she doted, and defiled her selfe with all their idoles.
8 Neither left she her harlotries [brought] from Egypt: for in her youth they The Holy Spirit uses these terms which seem strange to chaste ears, to cause this wicked vice of idolatry to be so abhorred that no one could stand to hear the name of it. lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their immorality upon her.
9 Wherefore I deliuered her into the hands of her louers, euen into the hands of the Assyrians, vpon whome she doted.
10 These uncovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for Meaning the Assyrians. they had executed judgment upon her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah sawe this, she marred her selfe with inordinate loue, more then she, and with her fornications more then her sister with her fornications.
12 She doted vpon the Assyrians her neighbours, both captaines and princes clothed with diuers sutes, horsemen ryding vpon horses: they were all pleasant yong men.
13 Then I sawe that she was defiled, and that they were both after one sort,
14 And [that] she increased her harlotries: for when she saw men This declares that no words are able to sufficiently express the rage of idolaters and therefore the Holy Spirit here compares them to those who in their raging love and filthy lusts dote on the images and paintings of them after whom they lust. portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
15 And girded with girdles vpon their loynes, and with dyed attyre vpon their heads (looking all like princes after the maner of the Babylonians in Caldea, the land of their natiuitie)
16 Assoone, I say, as she sawe them, she doted vpon them, and sent messengers vnto them into Caldea.
17 Nowe when the Babylonians came to her into the bed of loue, they defiled her with their fornication, and she was polluted with them, and her lust departed from them.
18 So she discouered her fornication, and disclosed her shame: then mine heart forsooke her, like as mine heart had forsaken her sister.
19 Yet she encreased her whoredome more, and called to remembrance ye dayes of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20 For she doted vpon their seruants whose members are as the members of asses, and whose yssue is like the yssue of horses.
21 Thou calledst to remembrance the wickednes of thy youth, when thy teates were bruised by ye Egyptians: therefore ye paps of thy youth are thus.
22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus sayeth the Lord God, Beholde, I will raise vp thy louers against thee, from whome thine heart is departed, and I will bring them against thee on euery side,
23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, These were the names of certain princes and captains under Nebuchadnezzar. Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, [and] all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
24 Euen these shal come against thee with charets, waggons, and wheeles, and with a multitude of people, which shall set against thee, buckler and shield, and helmet round about: and I will leaue the punishment vnto them, and they shall iudge thee according to their iudgements.
25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy They will destroy your princes and priests with the rest of your people. nose and thy ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy remnant shall be devoured by the fire.
26 They shal also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fayre iewels.
27 Thus wil I make thy wickednes to cease from thee and thy fornication out of the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift vp thine eyes vnto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
28 For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I wil deliuer thee into the hand of them, whome thou hatest: euen into the hands of them from whome thine heart is departed.
29 And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy All your treasures and riches which you have gotten by labour. labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy harlotries All the world will see your shameful forsaking of God to serve idols. shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy harlotries.
30 I wil doe these things vnto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idoles.
31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her I will execute the same judgments and vengeance against you and that with greater severity. cup into thy hand.
32 Thus saith ye Lord God, Thou shalt drinke of thy sisters cup, deepe and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorne and had in derision, because it containeth much.
33 Thou shalt be filled with Meaning that it's afflictions would be so great that they would cause them to lose their senses and reason. drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of horror and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
34 Thou shalt euen drinke it, and wring it out to the dregges, and thou shalt breake the sheards thereof, and teare thine owne breasts: for I haue spoken it, sayth the Lord God.
35 Therefore thus saith the Lorde God, Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behinde thy backe, therefore thou shalt also beare thy wickednes and thy whoredome.
36 The Lord sayd moreouer vnto me, Sonne of man, wilt thou iudge Aholah & Aholibah? and wilt thou declare to them their abominations?
37 That they have committed adultery, and blood [is] in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass for them through [the fire], to That is, to be sacrifices to their idols, read (Eze_16:20). devour [them].
38 Moreouer, thus haue they done vnto me: they haue defiled my Sanctuarie in the same day, and haue prophaned my Sabbaths.
39 For when they had slaine their children to their idoles, they came the same day into my Sanctuarie to defile it: and loe, thus haue they done in the middes of mine house.
40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from They sent into other countries to have such as would teach the service of their idols. far, to whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, didst paint thy eyes, and didst deck thyself with ornaments,
41 And satest He means the altar that was prepared for the idols. upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, upon which thou hast set my incense and my oil.
42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease [was] with her: and with the men of the common sort [were] brought Who would teach the manner of worshipping their gods. Sabeans from the wilderness, who put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43 Then I sayd vnto her, that was olde in adulteries, Now shall she and her fornications come to an end.
44 And they went in vnto her as they goe to a common harlot: so went they to Aholah and Aholibah the wicked women.
45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of That is worthy of death, (Eze_16:38). adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they [are] adulteresses, and blood [is] in their hands.
46 Wherefore thus sayth the Lord God, I will bring a multitude vpon them, and will giue them vnto the tumult, and to the spoyle,
47 And the multitude shall stone them with stones, and cut them with their swordes: they shal slay their sonnes, and their daughters, and burne vp their houses with fire.
48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all Meaning, all other cities and countries. women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
49 And they shall laye your wickednesse vpon you, and ye shall beare the sinnes of your idoles, and ye shall knowe that I am the Lord God.
1 Again in the Of Jeconiah's captivity and of the reign of Zedekiah, (2Ki_25:1). ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth [day] of the Called Tebeth, which contains part of December and part of January: in which month and day Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem. month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, write thee the name of the day, euen of this same day: for the King of Babel set himselfe against Ierusalem this same day.
3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a By which was meant Jerusalem. pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it:
4 Gather its That is the citizens and the chief men of it. pieces into it, [even] every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the Meaning, of the innocents whom they had slain, who were the cause of the kindling of God's wrath against them. bones under it, [and] make it boil well, and let them boil its bones in it.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot Whose iniquities and wicked citizens there yet remain. whose scum [is] in it, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out Signifying that they should not be destroyed all at once, but little by little. piece by piece; let no Spare no estate or condition. lot fall upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a The city showed her cruelty to all the world, and was not ashamed of it, neither yet hid it. rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
8 That it might cause wrath to arise, & take vengeance: euen I haue set her blood vpon an high rocke that it should not be couered.
9 Therefore thus saith ye Lord God, Woe to the bloody citie, for I will make ye burning great.
10 Heap on wood, Meaning that the city would be utterly destroyed and that he would give the enemies an appetite for it. kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it emptie vpon the coles thereof, that the brasse of it may be hot, and may burne, and that the filthinesse of it may be molten in it, and that the skomme of it may be consumed.
12 The city has flattered herself in vain.She hath wearied [herself] with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum [shall be] in the fire.
13 In thy filthiness [is] lewdness: because I I laboured by sending my prophets to call you to repentance but you would not. have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14 I the LORD have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do [it]; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall That is, the Babylonians. they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
15 Also the worde of ye Lord came vnto me, saying,
16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the Meaning his wife in whom he delighted, as in (Eze_24:18). desire of thy eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind thy turban upon thee, For in mourning they went bare headed and barefooted and also covered their lips. and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not [thy] lips, and eat That is, which the neighbours sent to them that mourned. not the bread of men.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning: and at evening my wife died; and I did Meaning the morning following. in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people said vnto me, Wilt thou not tell vs what these things meane towarde vs that thou doest so?
20 Then I answered them, The worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will By sending the Chaldeans to destroy it, as in {{See Eze_7:22}}. profane my sanctuary, the In which you boast and delight. excellence of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall doe as I haue done: ye shall not couer your lippes, neither shall ye eate the bread of men.
23 And your tyre shalbe vpon your heads, and your shooes vpon your feete: ye shall not mourne nor weepe, but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourne one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is vnto you a signe: according to all that he hath done, ye shall do: and when this commeth, ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
25 Also, thou sonne of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their power, ye ioy of their honor, ye pleasure of their eyes, & the desire of their heart, their sonnes & their daughters?
26 That he that escapeth in that day, shal come vnto thee to tell thee that which hee hath heard with his eares?
27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speake, and be no more dumme, & thou shalt be a signe vnto them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.
1 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophecie against them,
3 And say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Because you rejoiced when the enemy destroyed my city and temple. Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the That is, to the Babylonians. men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their They will chase you away, and take your gorgeous houses to dwell in. palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
5 And I will make Called also Philadelphin, which was the chief city of the Ammonites and full of conveniences, (2Sa_12:27). Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
6 For thus saith the Lord God, Because thou hast clapped the hands, and stamped with the feete, and reioyced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel,
7 Beholde, therefore I will stretche out mine hand vpon thee, and will deliuer thee to be spoyled of the heathen, and I will roote thee out from the people, and I will cause thee to be destroyed out of the countreys, and I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
8 Thus saith the Lord God, Because that Moab and Seir doe say, Beholde, the house of Iudah is like vnto all the heathen,
9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, So that no power or strength should be able to resist the Babylonians. from his cities [which are] on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,
10 I will call the men of the East against the Ammonites, and will giue them in possession, so that the Ammonites shal no more be remembred among the nations,
11 And I will execute iudgements vpon Moab, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.
12 Thus sayth the Lorde God, Because that Edom hath done euill by taking vengeance vpon the house of Iudah, and hath committed great offence, and reuenged himselfe vpon them,
13 Therefore thus saith the Lorde God, I will also stretch out mine hand vpon Edom, and destroy man and beast out of it, and I will make it desolate from Teman, and they of Dedan shall fall by the sworde.
14 And I will execute my vengeance vpon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall doe in Edom according to mine anger, and according to mine indignation, & they shall know my vengeance, sayth the Lord God.
15 Thus sayth the Lord God, Because the Philistims haue executed vengeance, and reuenged themselues with a despitefull heart, to destroy it for the olde hatred,
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Which were certain garrisons of Philistines by which they often molested the Jews, of the Cherethims David also had a guard, (2Sa_8:18). Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
17 And I will execute great vengeance vpon them with rebukes of mine indignation, and they shall knowe that I am the Lorde, when I shall lay my vengeance vpon them.
1 And it came to pass in the Either of the captivity of Jeconiah or of the reign of Zedekiah. eleventh year, in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the That is, the famous city Jerusalem to which all people resorted. gates of the people: she is turned to me: I shall be My riches and fame will increase: thus the wicked rejoice at their fall by whom they may have any profit or advantage. replenished, [now] she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God, Beholde, I come against thee, O Tyrus, and I will bring vp many nations against thee, as the sea mounteth vp with his waues.
4 And they shall destroy the walles of Tyrus and breake downe her towres: I will also scrape her dust from her, & make her like the top of a rocke.
5 Thou shalt be for the spreading of nettes in the middes of the sea: for I haue spoken it, sayth the Lord God, and it shalbe a spoile to ye nations.
6 And her The towns that belonged to her. daughters who [are] in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
7 For thus sayth the Lord God, Behold, I will bring vpon Tyrus Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, a King of Kings from the North, with horses and with charets, and with horsemen, with a multitude and much people.
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the fielde, and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift vp the buckler against thee.
9 He shall set engins of warre before him against thy walles, and with his weapons breake downe thy towres.
10 The dust of his horses shall couer thee, for their multitude: thy walles shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheeles, and of the charets, when he shall enter into thy gates as into the entrie of a citie that is broken downe.
11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong For Tyre was built by art and by labour of men was won out of the sea. Some refer this to the image of the noble men which they had erected for their glory and renown. garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12 And they shall robbe thy riches, and spoyle thy marchandise, and they shall breake downe thy walles, and destroy thy pleasant houses, and they shall cast thy stones and thy timber and thy dust into the middes of the water.
13 Thus will I cause the sounde of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thine harpes shall be no more heard.
14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: I will make you so bare that you will have nothing to cover you. thou shalt be [a place] to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
15 Thus sayth the Lorde God to Tyrus, Shall not the yles tremble at the sounde of thy fall? and at the crie of the wounded, when they shall be slaine and murthered in the middes of thee?
16 Then all the princes of the The governors and rulers of other countries that dwell by the sea: by which he signifies that her destruction would be so horrible that all the world would hear of it and be afraid. sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their embroidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at [every] moment, and be astonished at thee.
17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, [that wast] inhabited Meaning, merchants who by their traffic enriched her wonderfully and increased her power. by seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who cause their terror [to be] on all that dwelt in it!
18 Nowe shall the yles be astonished in the day of thy fall: yea, the yles that are in the sea, shall be troubled at thy departure.
19 For thus saith the Lord God, When I shall make thee a desolate citie, like ye cities that are not inhabited, and when I shall bring the deepe vpon thee, and great waters shall couer thee,
20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people Who were dead long ago. of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the Meaning in Judea when it will be restored. living;
21 I will bring thee to nothing, & thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou neuer be found againe, sayth the Lord God.
1 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
2 Sonne of ma, take vp a lametation for Tyrus,
3 And say to Tyre, O thou that dwelleth at the entrance of the sea, [which art] a merchant Which serves all the world with your merchandise. of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyre, thou hast said, I [am] of perfect beauty.
4 Thy borders are in the middes of the sea, and thy builders haue made thee of perfit beauty.
5 They have made all thy [ship] planks of fir trees of This mountain was called Hermon but the Amorites called it Shenir, (Deu_3:9). Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.
6 [Of] the oaks of Bashan have they made thy oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches [of] ivory, [brought] out of the isles of Which is taken for Greece and Italy. Chittim.
7 Fine linen with broydered woorke, brought from Egypt, was spread ouer thee to be thy sayle, blue silke and purple, brought from the yles of Elishah, was thy couering.
8 The inhabitants of Zidon, and Aruad were thy mariners, O Tyrus: thy wise men that were in thee, they were thy pilots.
9 The ancients of Gebal and its wise [men] were in thee thy Meaning, that they built the walls of the city, which is here meant by the ship: and of these were the builders of Solomon's temple, (1Ki_5:18). calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to exchange thy merchandise.
10 They of Persia, and of Lud & of Phut were in thine armie: thy men of warre they hanged the shielde and helmet in thee: they set foorth thy beautie.
11 The men of Arvad with thy army [were] upon thy walls on all sides, and the That is they of Cappadocia, or pygmies and dwarfs which were called because from the high towers they seemed little. Gammadims were in thy towers: they hung their shields upon thy walls on every side; they have made thy beauty perfect.
12 They of Tarshish were thy marchantes for the multitude of all riches, for siluer, yron, tynne, and leade, which they brought to thy faires.
13 Of Greece, Italy and Cappadocia.Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they [were] thy merchants: they traded By selling slaves. in the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
14 They of the house of Which are taken for a people of Asia minor. Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
15 The men of Dedan [were] thy merchants; many isles [were] the merchandise of thy hand: they brought thee [for] a present Meaning, unicorn's horns and elephant's teeth. horns of ivory and ebony.
16 They of Aram were thy marchants for the multitude of thy wares: they occupied in thy faires with emerauds, purple, & broidred worke, and fine linen, and corall, and pearle.
17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they [were] thy merchants: they traded in thy market in wheat of Where the best wheat grew. Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
18 They of Damascus were thy marchants in ye multitude of thy wares, for the multitude of all riches, as in the wine of Helbon and white wooll.
19 They of Dan also and of Iauan, going to and fro, occupied in thy faires: yron woorke, cassia and calamus were among thy marchandise.
20 They of Dedan were thy marchants in precious clothes for the charets.
21 They of Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar occupied with thee, in lambes, and rammes and goates: in these were they thy marchants.
22 The marchats of Sheba, and Raamah were thy marchantes: they occupied in thy faires with the chiefe of all spices, and with al precious stones and golde.
23 They of Haram and Canneh and Eden, the marchants of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad were thy marchants.
24 These were thy marchants in all sortes of things, in raiment of blewe silke, and of broydred woorke, and in coffers for the rich apparell, which were bound with cordes: chaines also were among thy marchandise.
25 The shippes of Tarshish were thy chiefe in thy marchandise, and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the middes of the sea.
26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the That is, Nebuchadnezzar. east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
27 Thy riches and thy faires, thy marchandise, thy mariners and pilotes, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy marchandise & al thy men of warre that are in thee, and all thy multitude which is in the middes of thee, shall fall in the middes of the sea in the day of thy ruine.
28 The That is, the cities near you, as Zidon, Arund and others. common lands shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.
29 And all that handle the ore, the mariners and al the pilots of the sea shal come downe from their shippes, and shall stand vpon the land,
30 And shall cause their voyce to be heard against thee, and shal cry bitterly, and shal cast dust vpon their heads, & wallow theselues in the ashes.
31 They shal plucke off their heare for thee & gird them with a sackecloth, and they shal weepe for thee with sorow of heart & bitter mourning.
32 And in their mourning, they shal take vp a lametation for thee, saying, What citie is like Tyrus, so destroied in the middes of the sea!
33 When thy wares went foorth of the seas, thou filledst many people, & thou diddest enrich the Kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy marchandise.
34 When thou shalt be broken by ye seas in the depths of the waters, thy marchandise and all thy multitude, which was in the mids of thee, shal fal.
35 All the inhabitantes of the yles shall be astonished at thee, and all their Kings shall be sore afraide and troubled in their countenance.
36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt be] By which is meant a long time: for it was prophesied to be destroyed but seventy years, (Isa_23:15). any more.
1 The woorde of the Lorde came againe vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I am safe as God is safe in the heavens and no one can hurt me. I [am] a god, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou settest thy heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou [art] wiser than Thus he speaks by derision: for Daniel had declared notable signs of his wisdom in Babylon, when Ezekiel wrote this. Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisedome and thine vnderstanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten golde and siluer into thy treasures.
5 By thy great wisedome and by thine occupying hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted vp because of thy riches.
6 Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Because thou didest thinke in thine heart, that thou wast equall with God,
7 Behold, therefore I wil bring strangers vpon thee, euen the terrible nations: and they shall drawe their swordes against the beautie of thy wisedome, and they shall defile thy brightnes.
8 They shall cast thee downe to the pit, and thou shalt die the death of them, that are slaine in the middes of the sea.
9 Wilt thou say then before him, that slayeth thee, I am a god? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hands of him that slayeth thee.
10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the Like the rest of the heathen and infidels who are God's enemies. uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
11 Moreouer the word of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of He derides the vain opinion and confidence that the Tyrians had in their riches, strength and pleasures. wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast ben in Eden the garden of God: euery precious stone was in thy garment, the rubie, the topaze and the diamonde, the chrysolite, the onix, and the iasper, the saphir, emeraude, and the carbuncle and golde: the woorkemanship of thy timbrels, & of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou [art] He means the royal state of Tyre, which for the excellency and glory of it he compares to the cherubim which covered the Ark, and by «anointed» he signifies the same. the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee I did you this honour to make you one of the builders of my temple, which was when Hiram sent to Solomon things necessary for the work. [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the That is, among my people Israel, which shined as precious stones. stones of fire.
15 Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast Which was when I first called you to this dignity. created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the You will have no part among my people. mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted vp because of thy beautie, and thou hast corrupted thy wisedome by reason of thy brightnes: I wil cast thee to ye grounde: I will lay thee before Kinges that they may beholde thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy That is, the honour to which I called them. sanctuaries by the multitude of thy iniquities, by the iniquity of thy merchandise; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that knowe thee among the people, shalbe astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terrour, and neuer shalt thou be any more.
20 Againe, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
21 Sonne of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesie against it,
22 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Zidon; and I will be By executing my judgments against your wickedness. glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her That is Nebuchadnezzar. by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
24 And they shalbe no more a pricking thorne vnto the house of Israel, nor any grieuous thorne of all that are round about them, and despised them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lorde God.
25 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be He shows why God will assemble his Church and preserve it, though he destroy his enemies: that is, that they should praise him, and give thanks for his great mercies. sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
26 And they shal dwell safely therein, & shall builde houses, and plant vineyards: yea, they shall dwell safely, when I haue executed iudgements vpon al round about them that despise them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord their God.
1 In the That is, of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the reign of Zedekiah. Of the order of these prophecies, and how the former sometimes stands after the latter. {{See Jer_27:1}} tenth year, in the tenth [month], in the twelfth [day] of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, set thy face against Pharaoh the King of Egypt, and prophecie against him, and against all Egypt.
3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great He compares Pharaoh to a dragon which hides himself in the Nile river, as in (Isa_51:9). dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river [is] my own, and I have made [it] for myself.
4 But I will put I will send enemies against you who will pluck you and your people which trust in you out of your sure places. hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick to thy scales, and I will bring thee out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick to thy scales.
5 And I will leaue thee in the wildernes, both thee & al the fish of thy riuers: thou shalt fal vpon ye open field: thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: for I haue giue thee for meat to the beasts of the field, and to the foules of heauen.
6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I [am] the LORD, because they have been a staff of Read (2Ki_18:21; Isa_36:6). reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and tear all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and make all their inward parts to When you felt their hurt, they would stay no more on you, but stood on their feet and put their trust in others. shake.
8 Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Beholde, I will bring a sworde vpon thee, and destroy man and beast out of thee,
9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD: because he hath said, Thus God cannot permit man to attribute anything to himself or put his trust in anything save in him alone. The river [is] mine, and I have made [it].
10 Behold, therefore I come vpon thee, and vpon thy riuers, & I will make the land of Egypt vtterly waste and desolate from the towre of Seueneh, euen vnto the borders of the blacke Mores.
11 No foote of man shall passe by it, nor foote of beast shall passe by it, neither shall it be inhabited fourtie yeeres.
12 And I wil make the land of Egypt desolate in the middes of the countries, that are desolate, and her cities shall be desolate among the cities that are desolate, for fourtie yeeres: and I wil scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and wil disperse them through the countreis.
13 Yet thus saieth the Lord God, At the end of fourtie yeeres will I gather the Egyptians from the people, where they were scattered,
14 And I will bring again the captives of Egypt, and will cause them to return [into] the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a Meaning, that they would not have full dominion but be under the Persians, Greeks and Romans, and the reason is that the Israelites would no more put their trust in them, but learn to depend on God. base kingdom.
15 It shall be the smallest of the kingdomes, neither shall it exalt it selfe any more aboue the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule the nations.
16 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth [their] Lest I should by this means punish their sins. iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I [am] the Lord GOD.
17 And it came to pass in the Counting from the captivity of Jeconiah. seven and twentieth year, in the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great He took great pains at the siege of Tyre and his army was sore handled. service against Tyre: every head [was] made bald, and every shoulder [was] rubbed raw: yet had he no wages, Signifying that Nebuchadnezzar had more pains than profit by the taking of Tyre. nor his army, for Tyre, for the service that he had served against it:
19 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God, Beholde, I will giue the land of Egypt vnto Nebuchad-nezzar the King of Babel, and he shall take her multitude, and spoyle her spoyle, and take her pray, and it shall be the wages for his armie.
20 I haue giuen him the land of Egypt for his labour, that he serued against it, because they wrought for me, sayth the Lord God.
21 In that day will I cause the horne of the house of Israel to growe, and I will giue thee an open mouth in the middes of them, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.
1 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
2 Sonne of man, prophesie, and say, Thus sayth the Lord God, Howle and cry, Wo be vnto this day.
3 For the day is neere, & the day of the Lord is at hand, a cloudie day, and it shall be the time of the heathen.
4 And the sword shall come vpon Egypt, and feare shall be in Ethiopia, when the slaine shall fall in Egypt, when they shall take away her multitude, and when her foundations shall be broken downe.
5 By Phut and Lud are meant Africa and Libya.Cush, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Which was a strong city of Egypt, (Eze_29:10). Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolate in the middes of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the middes of the cities that are wasted.
8 And they shall knowe that I am the Lord, when I haue set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
9 In that day shall there messengers go forth from me in shippes, to make the carelesse Mores aftaide, and feare shall come vpon them, as in the day of Egypt: for loe, it commeth.
10 Thus sayth the Lord God, I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel.
11 For he and his people with him, euen the terrible nations shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall drawe their swordes against Egypt, and fill the land with the slaine.
12 And I will make the riuers drye, and fell the land into the hands of the wicked, and I will make the land waste, and all that therein is by the hands of strangers: I the Lord haue spoken it.
13 Thus saith the Lord God, I will also destroy the idoles, and I will cause their idoles to cease out of Noph, and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt, and I will send a feare in the land of Egypt.
14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and I will execute iudgement in No.
15 And I will powre my wrath vpon Sin, which is the strength of Egypt: and I will destroy the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall haue great sorowe and No shalbe destroyed, and Noph shall haue sorowes dayly.
17 The yong men of Auen, and of Phibeseth shall fall by the sworde: and these cities shall goe into captiuitie.
18 At Tehaphnehes also the day Meaning that there will be great sorrow and affliction. shall be darkened, when I shall break there the That is, the strength and force. yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus will I execute iudgements in Egypt, and they shall knowe that I am the Lord.
20 And it came to pass in the Of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of Zedekiah's reign. eleventh year, in the first [month], in the seventh [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21 Son of man, For Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Pharaoh Nebo at Carchemish, (Jer_46:26). I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a bandage to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break His force and power. his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countreys.
24 And I will strengthen the arme of the King of Babel, and put my sworde in his hand, but I will breake Pharaohs armes, and he shall cast out sighings, as the sighings of him, that is wounded before him.
25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, By which we see that tyrants have no power of themselves, neither can do any more harm than God appoints and when he wills they must cease. when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, & disperse them among ye countreys, and they shall knowe, that I am the Lord.
1 And it came to pass in the Of Zedekiah's reign, or of Jeconiah's captivity. eleventh year, in the third [month], in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou Meaning that he was not the same in strength to the king of the Assyrians whom the Babylonians overcame. like in thy greatness?
3 Beholde, Asshur was like a cedar in Lebanon with faire branches, & with thicke shadowing boughes, and shot vp very hye, and his toppe was among the thicke boughes.
4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round his plants, and sent out her Many other nations were under their dominion. little rivers to all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore his height was exalted aboue all the trees of the fielde, and his boughes were multiplied, and his branches were long, because of the multitude of the waters, which the deepe sent out.
6 All the foules of the heauen made their nestes in his boughes, and vnder his branches did all the beastes of the fielde bring foorth their yong, and vnder his shadowe dwelt all mightie nations.
7 Thus was he faire in his greatnesse, and in the length of his branches: for his roote was neere great waters.
8 The cedars in the garden Signifying that there was no greater power in the world than his was. of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; not any tree in the garden of God was like him in his beauty.
9 I made him faire by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, enuied him.
10 Therefore thus sayeth the Lorde God, Because he is lift vp on high, and hath shot vp his toppe among the thicke boughes, and his heart is lift vp in his height,
11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the That is, of Nebuchadnezzar, who was the monarch and only ruler of the world. mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are By this is signified the destruction of the power of the Assyrians by the Babylonians. broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 Vpon his ruine shall all the foules of the heauen remaine, and all the beastes of the fielde shall be vpon his branches,
14 So that none of all the trees by the waters shalbe exalted by their height, neither shall shoote vp their toppe among the thicke boughes, neither shall their leaues stand vp in their height, which drinke so much water: for they are all deliuered vnto death in the nether partes of the earth in the middes of the children of men among them that goe downe to the pit.
15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I The deep waters that caused him to mount so high (meaning his great abundance and pomp) will now lament as though they were covered with sackcloth. covered the deep for him, and I restrained its floods, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to the grave with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall To cause this destruction of the king of Assyria to seem more horrible, he sets forth other kings and princes who are dead, as though they rejoiced at the fall of such a tyrant. be comforted in the lower parts of the earth.
17 They also went downe to hell with him vnto them that be slaine with the sworde, and his arme, and they that dwelt vnder his shadowe in the middes of the heathen.
18 To whom Meaning that Pharaoh's power was nothing so great as his was. art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the Read (Eze_28:10). uncircumcised with [them that are] slain by the sword. This [is] Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
1 And it came to pass in the Which was the first year of the general captivity under Zedekiah. twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, Thou art like a young Thus the scriptures compare tyrants to cruel and huge beasts which devour all that are weaker than they and such as they may overcome. lion of the nations, and thou [art] as a whale in the seas: and thou didst come forth with thy rivers, and didst You prepared great armies. trouble the waters with thy feet, and didst foul their rivers.
3 Thus sayth the Lord God, I will therefore spread my net ouer thee with a great multitude of people, and they shall make thee come vp into my net.
4 Then will I leaue thee vpon the land, and I will cast thee vpon the open field, and I wil cause all the foules of the heauen to remaine vpon thee, and I will fill all the beastes of the field with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys With heaps of the carcass of your army. with thy height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land in which thou As the Nile overflows in Egypt, so will I make the blood of your host overflow it. swimmest, [even] to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall The word signifies to be put out as a candle is put out. put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set By this manner of speech is meant the great sorrow that will be for the slaughter of the king and his people. darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9 I will also trouble the heartes of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations and vpon the countries which thou hast not knowen.
10 Yea, I will make many people amased at thee, and their Kings shalbe astonished with feare for thee, when I shall make my sworde to glitter against their faces, and they shall be afraide at euery moment: euery man for his owne life in the day of thy fall.
11 For thus sayth the Lorde God, The sworde of the King of Babel shall come vpon thee.
12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall lay waste the This came to pass in less than four years after this prophecy. pomp of Egypt, and all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13 I will destroy also all the beastes thereof from the great watersides, neither shall the foote of man trouble them any more, nor the hooues of beast trouble them.
14 Then will I make That is, of the Chaldeans your enemies, who will quietly enjoy all your conveniences. their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the countrey with all that is therein, shall be laid waste: when I shall smite all them which dwell therein, then shall they know that I am ye Lord.
16 This is the mourning wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for Egypt, and for all her multitude, sayeth the Lord God.
17 In the twelfth yeere also in the fifteenth day of the moneth, came the worde of the Lorde vnto me, saying,
18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and That is, prophecy that they will be cast down: thus the Lord gives his prophets power both to plant and to destroy by his word, read (Jer_1:10). cast them down, [even] her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom dost thou pass Have not other kingdoms more beautiful than you perished? in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20 They shall fall in the midst of [them that are] slain by the sword: That is, Egypt. she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to To make the matter more sensible, he brings in Pharaoh whom the dead will meet and marvel at him, read (Isa_14:9). him out of the midst of the grave with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
22 Asshur is there and all his companie: their graues are about him: all they are slaine and fallen by the sworde.
23 Whose graues are made in the side of the pit, and his multitude are rounde about his graue: all they are slaine and fallen by the sworde, which caused feare to be in the land of the liuing.
24 There [is] Meaning the Persians. Elam and all her multitude around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the Whom in his life all the world feared. living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25 They haue made his bed in the mids of the slaine with al his multitude: their graues are round about him: all these vncircucised are slaine by the sworde: though they haue caused their feare in the land of ye liuing, yet haue they borne their shame with them that goe downe to the pitte: they are laide in the middes of them, that be slaine.
26 There [is] That is, the Capadocians and Italians or Spaniards, as Josephus writes. Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves [are] around him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 And they shall not lie with the mighty [that are] fallen Who died not by cruel death but by the course of nature, and are honourably buried with their coat of armour and signs of honour. of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to the grave with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the middes of the vncircumcised, and lie with them that are slaine by the sworde.
29 There is Edom, his Kings, and all his princes, which with their strength are laied by them that were slaine by the sworde: they shall sleepe with the vncircumcised, and with them that goe downe to the pit.
30 There [are] the princes of the The kings of Babylon. north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, who are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with [them that are] slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be As the wicked rejoice when they see others partakers of their miseries. comforted over all his multitude, [even] Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
32 For I have caused my I will make the Egyptians afraid of me, as they caused others to fear them. terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with [them that are] slain with the sword, [even] Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Againe, the woorde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say to them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their territory, and set him for their He shows that the people ought to continually have governors and teachers who may have a care over them, and to warn them ever of the dangers which are at hand. watchman:
3 If when hee seeth the sworde come vpon ye land, he blow the trumpet, & warne the people,
4 Then hee that heareth the sounde of the trumpet, and will not bee warned, if the sworde come, and take him away, his blood shall be vpon his owne head.
5 For he heard the sound of the trumpet, and woulde not bee admonished: therefore his blood shall be vpon him: but he that receiueth warning, shall saue his life.
6 But if the watchman shall see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword shall come, and take [any] person from among them, he is taken away in his Signifying that the wicked will not escape punishment though the watchman is negligent: but if the watchman blows the trumpet, and then he will not obey, he will deserve double punishment. iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my Which teaches that he that receives not his charge at the Lord's mouth is a spy and not a true watchman. mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I The watchman must answer for the blood of all that perish through his negligence. require at thy hand.
9 Neuerthelesse, If thou warne the wicked of his way, to turne from it, if he doe not turne from his way, he shall die for his iniquitie, but thou hast deliuered thy soule.
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak to the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins [are] upon us, and we pine away in them, Thus the wicked when they hear God's judgments for their sins, despair of his mercies and murmur. how should we then live?
11 Say to them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, {{See Eze_18:23}} I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked should turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say to the children of thy people, The Read of this righteousness, (Eze_18:21, Eze_18:24). righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his [righteousness] in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shal say vnto the righteous, that he shall surely liue, if he trust to his owne righteousnes, and commit iniquitie, all his righteousnes shal be no more remembred, but for his iniquitie that he hath committed, he shall die for the same.
14 Again, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he shall turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and By this he condemns them all of hypocrisy, who pretend to forsake wickedness and yet do not declare themselves such by their fruits, that is, in obeying God's commandments and by godly life. right;
15 To wit, if the wicked restore the pledge, and giue againe that he had robbed, and walke in the statutes of life, without committing iniquitie, he shall surely liue, and not die.
16 None of his sinnes that he hath comitted, shal be mentioned vnto him: because he hath done that, which is lawful, and right, he shal surely liue.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equall: but their owne way is vnequall.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousnesse, and committeth iniquitie, he shall euen die thereby.
19 But if the wicked returne from his wickednesse, and doe that which is lawfull and right, hee shall liue thereby.
20 Yet yee say, The way of the Lord is not equall. O ye house of Israel, I will iudge you euery one after his waies.
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our When the prophet was led away captive with Jeconiah. captivity, in the tenth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, [that] one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten.
22 Now the I was endued with the Spirit of prophecy, (Eze_3:22). hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, before he that had escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my By which is signified that the ministers of God cannot give them courage and open their mouths, (Eze_24:27, Eze_29:21; Eph_6:19). mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
23 Againe the worde of the Lord came vnto me, and saide,
24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Thus the wicked think themselves more worthy to enjoy God's promises than the saints of God, to whom they were made: and would bind God to be subject to them, though they would not be bound to him. Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we [are] many; the land is given to us for inheritance.
25 Wherefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the Contrary to the law, (Lev_17:14). blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
26 Ye stand upon your As they that are ready still to shed blood. sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
27 Say thus vnto them, Thus saieth the Lorde God, As I liue, so surely they that are in the desolate places, shall fall by the sword: and him that is in the open field, will I giue vnto the beasts to be deuoured: and they that be in the forts and in the caues, shall die of the pestilence.
28 For I will lay the land desolate and waste, and the pompe of her strength shall cease: and the moutaines of Israel shalbe desolate, and none shall passe through.
29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I haue laid ye land desolate & wast, because of al their abominations, that they haue committed.
30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are In derision. talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
31 And they come to thee as the people come, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they This declares that we ought to hear God's word with such zeal and affection that we should in all points obey it, else we abuse the word to our own condemnation and make of its ministers as though they were jesters to serve men's foolish fantasies. show much love, [but] their heart goeth after their covetousness.
32 And loe, thou art vnto them, as a iesting song of one that hath a pleasant voyce, and can sing well: for they heare thy woordes, but they doe them not.
33 And when this commeth to passe (for loe, it will come) then shall they know, that a Prophet hath bene among them.
1 And the woorde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD to the shepherds; Woe [be] to the By the shepherds he means the king, the magistrates, priests and prophets. shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the You seek to enrich yourselves by their conveniences and to spoil their riches and substance. fat, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: [but] ye feed not the flock.
4 The He describes the office and duty of a good pastor who ought to love and comfort his flock and not be cruel toward them. diseased ye have not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up [that which was] broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because [there is] no shepherd: and they For lack of good government and doctrine they perished. became food to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheepe wandred through all the mountaines, and vpon euery hie hill: yea, my flocke was scattered through al the earth, and none did seeke or search after them.
7 Therefore ye shepherds, heare the woorde of the Lord.
8 As I liue, sayeth the Lorde God, surely because my flocke was spoyled, and my sheepe were deuoured of all the beasts of the fielde, hauing no shepherde, neither did my shepherdes seeke my sheepe, but the shepherdes fedde them selues, and fedde not my sheepe,
9 Therefore, heare ye the word of the Lorde, O ye shepherds.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from By destroying the covetous hirelings and restoring true shepherds of which we have a sign so often as God sends true preachers, who both by doctrine and life labour to feed his sheep in the pleasant pastures of his word. their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
11 For thus sayeth the Lorde God, Beholde, I will search my sheepe, and seeke them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep [that are] scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in In the day of their affliction and misery: and this promise is to comfort the Church in all dangers. the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countreis, and will bring them to their owne lande, and feede them vpon the mountaines of Israel, by the riuers, and in all the inhabited places of the countrey.
14 I will feede them in a good pasture, and vpon the hie mountaines of Israel shal their folde be: there shall they lie in a good folde and in fat pasture shall they feede vpon the mountaines of Israel.
15 I will feede my sheepe, and bring them to their rest, sayth the Lord God.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up [that which was] broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the Meaning such as lift up themselves above their brethren and think they have no need to be governed by me. strong; I will feed them with That is, by putting difference between the good and the bad, and so give to either as they deserve. judgment.
17 Also you my sheepe, Thus saieth the Lorde God, behold, I iudge betweene sheepe, & sheepe, betweene the rammes and the goates.
18 [Seemeth it] a small thing to you to have eaten up the good By good pasture and deep waters is meant the pure word of God and the administration of justice which they did not distribute to the poor till they had corrupted it. pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? and to have drank of the deep waters, but ye must foul the rest with your feet?
19 And my sheepe eate that which yee haue troden with your feete, and drinke that which ye haue troubled with your feete.
20 Therefore thus sayth the Lorde God vnto them, behold, I, euen I wil iudge betweene the fat sheepe and the leane sheepe.
21 Because ye haue thrust with side and with shoulder, & pusht al the weake with your hornes, till ye haue scattered them abroade,
22 Therefore wil I helpe my sheepe, and they shal no more be spoyled, & I wil iudge betweene sheepe and sheepe.
23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, [even] my servant Meaning Christ, of whom David was a figure, {{See Jer_30:9}} David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my seruant Dauid shalbe the prince amog them. I the Lord haue spoken it.
25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall This declares that under Christ the flock would be truly delivered from sin and hell, and so be safely preserved in the Church where they would never perish. dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26 And I wil set them, as a blessing, euen roud about my mountaine: and I will cause rayne to come downe in due season, & there shalbe raine of blessing.
27 And the The fruit of God's grace will appear in great abundance in his Church. tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that subjected them to service.
28 And they shall no more be spoyled of the heathen, neither shall the beastes of the land deuoure them, but they shal dwell safely and none shal make them afrayd.
29 And I will raise up for them a That is, the rod that will come out of the root of Jesse, (Isa_11:1). plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.
30 Thus shall they vnderstande, that I the Lorde their God am with them, and that they, euen the house of Israel, are my people, sayth the Lord God.
31 And yee my sheepe, the sheepe of my pasture are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
1 Moreouer the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Where the Idumeans dwelt. Seir, and prophesy against it,
3 And say vnto it, Thus sayth the Lord God, Behold, O mount Seir, I come against thee, and I wil stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee desolate and waste.
4 I wil lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, & thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed [the blood of] the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time [that their] When by their punishment I called them from their iniquity. iniquity [had] an end:
6 Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee to blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not Except you repent your former cruelty. hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
7 Thus will I make mount Seir desolate and waste, and cut off from it him that passeth out & him that returneth.
8 And I will fill his mountaines with his slayne men: in thine hilles, and in thy valleys and in all thy riuers shal they fall, that are slayne with the sworde.
9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not That is, to their former estate. return: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
10 Because thou hast said, Meaning, Israel and Judah. These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; though the LORD was And so by fighting against God's people they should go about to put him out of his own possession. there:
11 Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thy As you have done cruelly, so will you be cruelly handled. anger, and according to thy envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among Showing that when God punishes the enemies, the godly ought to consider that he has a care over them and so praise his name: and also that the wicked rage as though there were no God, till they feel his hand to their destruction. them, when I have judged thee.
12 And thou shalt know, that I the Lord haue heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountaines of Israel, saying, They lye waste, they are giuen vs to be deuoured.
13 Thus with your mouthes ye haue boasted against me, & haue multiplied your words against me: I haue heard them.
14 Thus sayth the Lorde God, So shall all the world reioyce when I shal make thee desolate.
15 As thou diddest reioyce at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I doe vnto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea wholly, & they shall know, that I am the Lord.
1 Also thou sonne of man, prophesie vnto the mountaines of Israel, & say, Ye mountaines of Israel, heare the word of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the That is, the Idumean. enemy had said against you, Aha, even the ancient That is Jerusalem, which for God's promises was the chief of all the world. high places are ours in possession:
3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made [you] desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession to the rest of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of You are made a matter of talk and derision to all the world. talkers, and [are] an infamy of the people:
4 Therefore ye mountaines of Israel, heare the worde of the Lord God, Thus sayth the Lord God to the mountaines & to the hilles, to the riuers, and to the valleys, and to the waste, and desolate places, and to the cities that are forsaken: which are spoyled & had in derision of the residue of the heathen that are round about.
5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who have They appointed with themselves to have it, and therefore came with Nebuchadnezzar against Jerusalem for this purpose. appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all [their] heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the Because you have been a laughing stock to them. shame of the nations:
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have By making a solemn oath. {{See Eze_20:5}} lifted up my hand, Surely the nations that [are] about you, they shall bear their shame.
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall God declares his mercies and goodness toward his Church, who still preserves his, even when he destroys his enemies. shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are soon to come.
9 For behold, I come vnto you, & I wil turne vnto you, and ye shalbe tilled and sowen.
10 And I wil multiply the men vpon you, euen all the house of Israel wholly, & the cities shalbe inhabited, & the desolate places shalbe builded.
11 And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you according to your old estates, and will do better [to you] than Which was accomplished under Christ, to whom all these temporal deliverances directed them. at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
12 Yea, I will cause men to walk That is, on the mountains of Jerusalem. upon you, [even] my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them [of men].
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say to you, Thou This the enemies imputed as the reproach of the land, which God did for the sins of the people according to his just judgments. [land] devourest men, and hast bereaved thy nations;
14 Therefore thou shalt deuoure men no more, neither waste thy people henceforth, sayth the Lord God,
15 Neither will I cause men to heare in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou beare the reproche of the people any more, neither shalt cause thy folke to fal any more, saith the Lord God.
16 Moreouer the word of the Lorde came vnto me, saying,
17 Sonne of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their owne lande, they defiled it by their owne wayes, & by their deedes: their way was before me as the filthinesse of the menstruous.
18 Wherfore I powred my wrath vpon them, for the blood that they had shed in the land, and for their idoles, wherewith they had polluted it.
19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries for according to their wayes, and according to their deedes, I iudged them.
20 And when they entred vnto the heathen, whither they went, they polluted mine holy Name, when they sayd of them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone out of his land.
21 But I had pity for my holy And therefore would not permit my Name to be had in contempt, as the heathen would have reproached me, if I had allowed my Church to perish. name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, to which they went.
22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not [this] for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my This excludes from man all dignity and means to deserve anything by, seeing that God refers the whole to himself and that only for the glory of his holy Name. holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the nations, to which ye went.
23 And I wil sanctifie my great Name, which was polluted among the heathen, among whome you haue polluted it, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, sayth the Lorde God, when I shalbe sanctified in you before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your owne land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean That is, his spirit by which he reforms the heart and regenerates his. {{See Isa_44:3}} water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A newe heart also will I giue you, and a new spirit wil I put within you, and I will take away the stonie heart out of your body, and I will giue you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirite within you, and cause you to walke in my statutes, and ye shall keepe my iudgements and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land, that I gaue to your fathers, and ye shalbe my people, & I will be your God.
29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the Under the abundance of temporal benefits he concludes the spiritual graces. grain, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
30 For I will multiplie the fruite of the trees, & the increase of the fielde, that ye shal beare no more the reproch of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that [were] not good, and shall You will come to true repentance and think yourselves unworthy to be of the number of God's creatures, for your ingratitude against him. lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
32 Be it knowen vnto you that I do not this for your sakes, sayth the Lord God: therefore, O ye house of Israel, be ashamed, and confounded for your owne wayes.
33 Thus sayth the Lord God, What time as I shall haue clensed you from all your iniquities, I will cause you to dwel in the cities, & the desolate places shalbe builded.
34 And the desolate land shalbe tilled, whereas it lay waste in the sight of all that passed by.
35 For they sayd, This waste land was like the garden of Eden, and these waste & desolate and ruinous cities were strong, and were inhabited.
36 Then the nations that are left around you shall He declares that it ought not to be referred to the soil or plentifulness of the earth that any country is rich and abundant, but only to God's mercies, as his plagues and curses declare, when he makes it barren. know that I the LORD build the ruined [places, and] plant that which was desolate: I the LORD have spoken [it], and I will do [it].
37 Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be sought of ye house of Israel, to performe it vnto them: I wil encrease them with men like a flocke.
38 As the holy flocke, as the flocke of Ierusalem in their solemne feastes, so shall the desolate cities be filled with flockes of men, and they shal know, that I am the Lord.
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which [was] full of He shows by a great miracle that God has power and will deliver his people from their captivity, in as much as he is able to give life to the dead bones and bodies and raise them up again. bones,
2 And he led me round about by them, and beholde, they were very many in the open fielde, and lo, they were very drie.
3 And he sayde vnto me, Sonne of man, can these bones liue? And I answered, O Lorde God, thou knowest.
4 Againe he sayde vnto me, Prophecie vpon these bones and say vnto them, O ye dry bones, heare the word of the Lord.
5 Thus saith the Lord God vnto these bones, Behold, I wil cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall liue.
6 And I will lay sinewes vpon you, & make flesh growe vpon you, & couer you with skinne, and put breath in you, that ye may liue, and yee shal know that I am the Lord.
7 So I prophecied, as I was commanded: and as I prophecied, there was a noyse, and beholde, there was a shaking, & the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, loe, the sinewes, & the flesh grewe vpon them, and aboue, the skinne couered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four Signifying all places where the Israelites were scattered that is, the faithful will be brought to the same unity of spirit and doctrine wherever they are scattered through the world. winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophecied as hee had commaunded me: and the breath came into them, and they liued, and stood vp vpon their feete, an exceeding great armie.
11 Then he sayd vnto me, Sonne of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is gone, and we are cleane cut off.
12 Therefore prophecie, and say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God, Beholde, my people, I will open your graues, and cause you to come vp out of your sepulchres, and bring you into the lande of Israel,
13 And ye shall know that I [am] the LORD, That is, when I have brought you out of those places and towns where you are captives. when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you out of your graves,
14 And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall liue, and I shal place you in your owne land: then yee shall knowe that I the Lorde haue spoken it, and performed it, sayth the Lord.
15 The word of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take Which signifies the joining together of the two houses of Israel and Judah. another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And thou shalt ioyne the one to another into one tree, & they shalbe as one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speake vnto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shewe vs what thou meanest by these?
19 Say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick That is, the house of Israel. of Joseph, which [is] in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, [even] with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.
20 And the pieces of wood, whereon thou writest, shalbe in thine hand, in their sight.
21 And say vnto them, Thus saith the Lorde God, Beholde, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and wil gather them on euery side, & bring them into their owne land.
22 And I will make them one people in the lande, vpon the mountaines of Israel, and one king shalbe king to them all: and they shalbe no more two peoples, neither bee deuided any more henceforth into two kingdomes.
23 Neither shall they bee polluted any more with their idoles, nor with their abominatios, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will saue them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they haue sinned, and will clense them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And Dauid my seruant shalbe king ouer them, and they all shall haue one shepheard: they shall also walke in my iudgements, and obserue my statutes, and doe them.
25 And they shall dwell in the Meaning that the elect by Christ will dwell in heaven by Jerusalem, which is meant by the land of Canaan. land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell in it, [even] they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever.
26 Moreouer, I will make a couenant of peace with them: it shall be an euerlasting couenant with them, and I wil place them, and multiply them, and wil set my Sanctuarie among them for euermore.
27 My tabernacle also shalbe with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shalbe my people.
28 Thus the heathen shall knowe, that I the Lord do sanctifie Israel, when my Sanctuarie shall be among them for euermore.
1 And the worde of the Lorde came vnto mee, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Who were a people that came from Magog the son of Japheth, (Gen_10:2). Magog also here signifies a certain country so that by these two countries which had the government of Greece and Italy he means the principal enemies of the Church, (Rev_20:8). Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus sayth the Lord God, Behold, I come against thee, O Gog the chiefe prince of Meshech and Tubal.
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thy army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them He shows that the enemy would bend themselves against the Church but it would be to their own destruction. handling swords:
5 The Persians, Ethiopians and men of Africa.Persia, Cush, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer was Japheth's son, and Togarmah the son of Gomer, and are thought to be they that inhabited Asia Minor.Gomer, and all his troops; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his troops: [and] many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and Signifying that all the people of the world would assemble themselves against the Church and Christ their head. prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled to thee, and be thou a guard to them.
8 After many dayes thou shalt bee visited: for in the latter yeres thou shalt come into the land, that hath bene destroyed with the sworde, and is gathered out of many people vpon the mountaines of Israel, which haue long lien waste: yet they haue bene brought out of the people, and they shall dwell all safe.
9 Thou shalt ascende and come vp like a tempest, and shalt be like a cloude to couer the land, both thou, and all thy bandes, and many people with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, [that] at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an That is, to molest and destroy the Church. evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; Meaning Israel, which had now been destroyed and was not yet built again: declaring by this the simplicity of the godly, who seek not so much to fortify themselves by outward force, as to depend on the providence and goodness of God. I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 Thinking to spoyle the pray, and to take a bootie, to turne thine hande vpon the desolate places that are nowe inhabited, and vpon the people, that are gathered out of the nations which haue gotten cattell and goods, and dwell in the middes of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all its young lions, shall say to thee, One enemy will envy another because everyone will think to have the spoil of the Church. Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel Will you not spy your opportunity to come against my Church when they suspect nothing? dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know [it]?
15 And come fro thy place out of the North partes, thou and much people with thee? All shall ride vpon horses, euen a great multitude and a mightie armie.
16 And thou shalt come against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the Meaning in the last age, and from the coming of Christ to the end of the world. latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I Signifying that God will be sanctified by maintaining his church, and destroying his enemies, as in (Eze_36:23, Eze_37:28). shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; [Art] thou he of whom I have spoken of old By this he declares that no affliction can come to the Church of which they have not been advertised before to teach them to endure all things with more patience when they know that God has so ordained. by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days [many] years that I would bring thee against them?
18 At the same time also whe Gog shal come against the land of Israel, sayth the Lord God, my wrath shall arise in mine anger.
19 For in mine indignation and in the fire of my wrath haue I spoken it: surely at that time there shalbe a great shaking in the land of Israel,
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping animals that creep upon the earth, and all the men that [are] upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be overturned, and the All means by which man would think to save himself will fail, the affliction in those days will be so great, and the enemies destruction will be so terrible. steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him Against the people of God and Magog. throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will pleade against him with pestilence, and with blood, and I will cause to raine vpon him and vpon his bands, and vpon the great people, that are with him, a sore raine, and hailestones, fire, and brimstone.
23 Thus will I be magnified, and sanctified, and knowen in the eyes of many nations, & they shall knowe, that I am the Lord.
1 Therefore, thou sonne of man, prophecie against Gog, and say, Thus sayeth the Lorde God, Behold, I come against thee, O Gog, ye chiefe prince of Meshech and Tubal.
2 And I will turn thee back, Or, destroy you with six plagues, as in (Eze_38:22). and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bowe out of thy left hand, and I will cause thine arrowes to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou Meaning that by the virtue of God's word the enemy will be destroyed wherever he assails his Church. shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy troops, and the people that [are] with thee: I will give thee to the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall vpon the open fielde: for I haue spoken it, sayth the Lord God.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell securely in the That is, among all nations where the enemies of my people dwell, no matter how separate they seem. isles: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
7 So will I make mine holy Name knowen in the middes of my people Israel, and I will not suffer them to pollute mine holy Name any more, and the heathen shal knowe that I am the Lord, the holy one of Israel.
8 Behold, That is, this plague is fully determined in my counsel and cannot be changed. it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day of which I have spoken.
9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall After this destruction the Church will have great peace and tranquillity and burn all their weapons because they will no more fear the enemies. This chiefly refers to the accomplishment of Christ's kingdom when by their head Christ all enemies will be overcome. go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the javelins, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10 So that they shall bring no wood out of the fielde, neither cut downe any out of the forestes: for they shall burne the weapons with fire, and they shall robbe those that robbed them, and spoyle those that spoyled them, sayeth the Lorde God.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give to Gog Which declares that the enemies will have a horrible fall. a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the travellers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the For the stink of the carcasses. [noses] of the travellers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamongog.
12 Meaning a long time.And seven months shall the house of Israel be in burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
13 Yea, all the people of the lande shall burie them, and they shall haue a name when I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.
14 And they shall set apart men for [the] continual task of passing through the Partly that the holy land should not be polluted and partly for the compassion that the children of God have even on their enemies. land to bury with the travellers those that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the trauailers that passe through the land, if any see a mans bone, then shall he set vp a signe by it, till the buriers haue buried it, in the valley of Hamon-Gog.
16 And also the name of the citie shalbe Hamonah: thus shall they clense the land.
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak to every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; By which he signifies the horrible destruction that would come on the enemies of his Church. gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18 Ye shall eate the flesh of the valiant, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of the weathers, of the lambes, and of the goates, and of bullockes, euen of all fat beastes of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eate fat till you be full, and drinke blood, till ye be drunken of my sacrifice, which I haue sacrificed for you.
20 Thus you shalbe filled at my table with horses and chariots, with valiant men, and with al men of warre, sayth the Lord God.
21 And I wil set my glory among the heathe, and all the heathen shall see my iudgement, that I haue executed, and mine hand, which I haue layed vpon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall knowe, that I am the Lord their God fro that day and so forth.
23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for The heathen will know that they did not overcome my people by their strength, neither yet by the weakness of my arm, but that this was for my people's sins. their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore I hid my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so they all fell by the sword.
24 According to their vncleannes, and according to their transgressions haue I done vnto the, and hid my face from them.
25 Therefore thus sayth the Lord God, Nowe will I bring againe the captiuitie of Iaakob, and haue compassion vpon the whole house of Israel, and wil be ielous for mine holy Name,
26 After that they haue borne their shame, & all their transgression, whereby they haue transgressed against me, whe they dwelt safely in their land, and without feare of any.
27 When I haue brought them againe from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies landes, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations,
28 Then shal they know, that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captiuitie among the heathen: but I haue gathered them vnto their owne land, and haue left none of them any more there,
29 Neither wil I hide my face any more from them: for I haue powred out my Spirit vpon the house of Israel, sayth the Lord God.
1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the The Jews counted the beginning of the year after two sorts: for their feasts they began to count in March and for their other affairs in September: so that this is to be understood of September. beginning of the year, in the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was smitten, in the same day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me there.
2 Into the lande of Israel brought he me by a diuine vision, & set me vpon a very hie mountaine, whereupon was as the building of a citie, toward the South.
3 And he brought me there, and, behold, [there was] a Which was an angel in the form of a man, that came to measure out this building. man, whose appearance [was] like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
4 And the man said vnto me, Sonne of man, beholde with thine eyes, and heare with thine eares, and set thine heart vpon all that I shal shew thee: for to the intent, that they might be shewed thee, art thou brought hither: declare al that thou seest, vnto the house of Israel.
5 And beholde, I sawe a wall on the outside of the house round about: and in the mans hand was a reede to measure with, of sixe cubites long, by the cubite, and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the buylding with one reede, and the height with one reede.
6 Then came he vnto the gate, which looketh towarde the East, and went vp the stayres thereof, and measured the poste of the gate, which was one reede broade, and the other poste of the gate, which was one reede broade.
7 And euery chamber was one reede long, & one reede broad, & betweene the chambers were fiue cubites: & the post of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reede.
8 He measured also the porche of the gate within with one reede.
9 Then measured he the porch of the gate of eight cubites, and the postes thereof, of two cubites, and the porch of the gate was inward.
10 And the chambers of the gate Eastwarde, were three on this side, and three on that side: they three were of one measure, and the postes had one measure on this side, and one on that side.
11 And he measured the breadth of the entrie of the gate ten cubites, and the height of the gate thirteene cubites.
12 The space also before the chambers was one cubite on this side, and the space was one cubite on that side, and the chambers were sixe cubites on this side and sixe cubites on that side.
13 He measured then the gate from the roufe of a chamber to the toppe of the gate: the breadth was fiue and twentie cubites, doore against doore.
14 He made also postes of threescore cubites, and the postes of the court, and of the gate had one measure round about.
15 And vpon the forefront of the entry of the gate vnto the forefront of the porch of the gate within were fiftie cubites.
16 And there were narrowe windowes in the chambers, & in their postes within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and the windowes went rounde about within: and vpon the postes were palme trees.
17 Then brought he me into the outwarde court, and lo, there were chambers, & a pauement made for the court round about, & thirtie chambers were vpon the pauement.
18 And the pauement was by the side of the gates ouer against the length of the gates, and the pauement was beneath.
19 Then hee measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate without, vnto the forefront of the court within, an hundreth cubits Eastward and Northward.
20 And the gate of the outwarde court, that looked toward the North, measured he after the length and breadth thereof.
21 And the chambers thereof were, three on this side, and three on that side, and the postes thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fiftie cubites, and the breadth fiue and twentie cubites.
22 And their windowes, and their arches with their palme trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the East, and the going vp vnto it had seuen steppes, and the arches therof were before them.
23 And the gate of the inner court stoode ouer against the gate towarde the North, and towarde the East, and hee measured from gate to gate an hundreth cubites.
24 After that, he brought mee towarde the South, and loe, there was a gate towarde the South, and hee measured the postes thereof, and the arches thereof according to these measures.
25 And there were windowes in it, and in the arches thereof round about, like those windowes: the height was fiftie cubites, and the breadth fiue and twentie cubites.
26 And there were seuen steps to go vp to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palme trees, one on this side, and another on that side vpon the post thereof.
27 And there was a gate in the inner court towarde the South, and he measured from gate to gate towarde the South an hundreth cubites.
28 And he brought me into the inner court by the South gate, and he measured the South gate according to these measures,
29 And the chambers thereof, and the postes thereof, and the arches thereof according to these measures, and there were windowes in it, and in the arches thereof rounde about, it was fiftie cubites long and fiue and twentie cubites broade.
30 And the arches round about were fiue and twenty cubites long, and fiue cubites broad.
31 And the arches thereof were towarde the vtter court, and palme trees were vpon the postes thereof, and the going vp to it had eight steppes.
32 Againe he brought me into ye inner court toward the East, and he measured the gate according to these measures.
33 And the chambers thereof, and the postes thereof, and the arches thereof were according to these measures, and there were windowes therein, and in the arches thereof round about, it was fiftie cubites long, and fiue and twentie cubites broade.
34 And the arches thereof were towarde the vtter court, and palme trees were vpon the postes thereof, on this side and on that side, & the going vp to it had eight steppes.
35 After he brought mee to the North gate, and measured it, according to these measures,
36 The chambers thereof, the postes thereof, and the arches thereof, and there were windowes therein round about: the height was fiftie cubits, and the breadth fiue and twentie cubites.
37 And the postes thereof were towarde the vtter court, and palme trees were vpon the postes thereof on this side, and on that side, & the going vp to it had eight steps.
38 And euery chamber, and the entrie thereof was vnder the postes of the gates: there they washed the burnt offring.
39 And in the porch of the gate stoode two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, vpon the which they slew the burnt offring, and the sinne offring, and the trespas offring.
40 And at the side beyond the steppes, at the entry of the North gate stoode two tables, and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate were two tables.
41 Foure tables were on this side, and foure tables on that side by the side of the gate, euen eight tables whereupon they slew their sacrifice.
42 And the foure tables were of hewen stone for the burnt offering, of a cubite and an halfe long, and a cubite and an halfe broade, and one cubite hie: whereupon also they layde the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offring and the sacrifice.
43 And within were borders an hand broade, fastened round about, and vpon the tables lay the flesh of the offring.
44 And without the inner gate were ye chambers of the singers in the inner Court, which was at the side of the North gate: and their prospect was towarde the South, and one was at the side of the East gate, hauing the prospect towarde the North.
45 And he said vnto me, This chamber whose prospect is towarde the South, is for the Priestes that haue the charge to keepe the house.
46 And the chamber whose prospect is toward the North, is for the Priestes that haue the charge to keepe the altar: these are the sonnes of Zadok among ye sonnes of Leui which may come neere to the Lord to minister vnto him.
47 So he measured the court, an hundreth cubites long, & an hundreth cubits broad, eue foure square: likewise the altar that was before ye house.
48 And hee brought mee to the porch of the house, and measured the postes of the porch, fiue cubites on this side, and fiue cubites on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubites on this side, and three cubites on that side.
49 The length of the porch was twentie cubites, and ye breadth eleuen cubites, & he brought me by the steps whereby they went vp to it, and there were pillars by the postes, one on this side, and another on that side.
1 Afterwarde, hee brought mee to the Temple, and measured the postes, sixe cubites broade on the one side, and sixe cubites broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the Tabernacle.
2 And the breadth of the entrie was tenne cubites, and the sides of the entrie were fiue cubites on the one side, and fiue cubites on the other side, and hee measured the length thereof fourtie cubites, and the breadth twentie cubites.
3 Then went hee in, and measured the postes of the entrie two cubites, and the entrie sixe cubites, and the breadth of the entrie seuen cubites.
4 So he measured the length thereof twentie cubites, and the breadth twentie cubites before the Temple; he sayde vnto mee, This is the most holy place.
5 After, he measured the wall of the house, sixe cubites, and the breadth of euery chamber foure cubites rounde about the house, on euery side.
6 And the chambers were chamber vpon chaber, three and thirtie foote high, and they entred into the wall made for the chambers which was round about the house, that the postes might bee fastened therein, and not be fastened in the wall of the house.
7 And it was large and went rounde mounting vpwarde to the chambers: for the staire of the house was mounting vpwarde, rounde about the house: therefore the house was larger vpward: so they went vp from the lowest chamber to the hiest by the middes.
8 I sawe also the house hie rounde about: the foundations of the chambers were a full reede of fixe great cubites.
9 The thickenesse of the wall which was for the chamber without, was fiue cubites, and that which remained, was the place of the chambers that were within.
10 And betwene the chambers was the widenes of twentie cubites round about the House on euery side.
11 And the doores of the chambers were toward the place that remained, one doore toward the North, and another doore toward the South, and the breadth of the place that remained, was fiue cubites round about.
12 Nowe the building that was before the separate place toward the West corner, was seuentie cubites broad, and the wall of the building was fiue cubites thick, round about, and ye length ninetie cubites.
13 So he measured the house an hundreth cubites long, and the separate place and the building with the walles thereof were an hundreth cubites long.
14 Also the breadth of the forefront of the house and of the separate place towarde the East, was an hundreth cubites.
15 And hee measured the length of the building, ouer against the separate place, which was behinde it, and the chambers on the one side and on the other side an hundreth cubites with the Temple within, and the arches of the court.
16 The postes and the narowe windowes, and the chambers round about, on three sides ouer against the postes, sieled with cedar wood rounde about, and from the ground vp to the windowes, and the windowes were sieled.
17 And from aboue the doore vnto the inner house and without, and by all the wall rounde about within and without it was sieled according to the measure.
18 And it was made with Cherubims and palme trees, so that a palme tree was betweene a Cherub and a Cherub: and euery Cherub had two faces.
19 So that the face of a man was towarde the palme tree on the one side, and the face of a lyon toward the palme tree on the other side: thus was it made through all the house round about.
20 From the grounde vnto aboue the doore were Cherubims and palme trees made as in the wall of the Temple.
21 The postes of the Temple were squared, & thus to looke vnto was the similitude and forme of the Sanctuarie.
22 The altar of wood was three cubites hie, and the length thereof two cubites, and the corners thereof and the length thereof and the sides thereof were of wood; he sayd vnto me, This is the table that shalbe before the Lord.
23 And the Temple and the Sanctuarie had two doores.
24 And the doores had two wickets, euen two turning wickets, two wickets for one doore, and two wickets for another doore.
25 And vpon the doores of the Temple there were made Cherubims and palmetrees, like as was made vpon the walles, and there were thicke plankes vpon the forefront of the porch without.
26 And there were narow windowes & palme trees on the one side, and on the other side, by the sides of the porch, and vpon ye sides of the house, and thicke plankes.
1 Then brought hee me into the vtter court by the way towarde the North, and he brought me into the chamber that was ouer against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the North.
2 Before ye length of an hundreth cubites, was the North doore, and it was fiftie cubites broad.
3 Ouer against the twentie cubites which were for the inner court, and ouer against the pauement, which was for the vtter court, was chamber against chamber in three rowes.
4 And before the chambers was a gallery of ten cubites wide, and within was a way of one cubite, and their doores towarde the North.
5 Nowe the chambers aboue were narower: for those chambers seemed to eate vp these, to wit, the lower, and those that were in the middes of the building.
6 For they were in three rowes, but had not pillars as the pillars of the court: therefore there was a difference from them beneath and from the middlemost, euen from the ground.
7 And the wall that was without ouer against the chambers, toward the vtter court on the forefront of the chambers, was fiftie cubites long.
8 For the length of the chambers that were in the vtter court, was fiftie cubites: and loe, before the Temple were an hundreth cubites.
9 And vnder these chambers was the entrie, on the East side, as one goeth into them from the outward court.
10 The chambers were in the thicknesse of the wall of the court towarde the East, ouer against the separate place, and ouer against the building.
11 And the way before them was after ye maner of the chambers, which were toward ye North, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their entries were like, both according to their facions, and according to their doores.
12 And according to ye doores of ye chambers that were towarde the South, was a doore in the corner of the way, euen the way directly before the wall toward the East, as one entreth.
13 The said he vnto me, The North chambers and ye South chambers which are before ye separate place, they be holy chambers, wherein the Priests that approch vnto ye Lord, shal eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meate offering, and the sinne offering, and the trespasse offring: for the place is holy.
14 When the Priestes enter therein, they shall not go out of the holy place into the vtter court, but there they shall lay their garmentes wherein they minister: for they are holy, and shall put on other garmentes, and so shall approch to those things, which are for the people.
15 Nowe when he had made an ende of measuring the inner house, he brought mee forth toward the gate whose prospect is towarde the East, and measured it round about.
16 He measured the East side with the measuring rod, fiue hundreth reedes, euen with the measuring reede round about.
17 He measured also the Northside, fiue hundreth reedes, euen with the measuring reede rounde about.
18 And he measured the South side fiue hundreth reedes with the measuring reede.
19 He turned about also to the West side, and measured fiue hundreth reedes with the measuring reede.
20 He measured it by the foure sides: it had a wall round about, fiue hundreth reedes long, and fiue hundreth broade to make a separation betweene the Sanctuarie, and the prophane place.
1 Afterwarde he brought me to the gate, euen the gate that turneth towarde the East.
2 And beholde, the glorie of the God of Israel came from out of the East, whose voyce was like a noyse of great waters, and the earth was made light with his glorie.
3 And [it was] according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, [even] according to the vision that I saw When I prophesied the destruction of the city of the Chaldeans. when I came to destroy the city: and the visions [were] like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4 And the Which was departed before, (Eze_10:4, Eze_12:22). glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east.
5 So the Spirite tooke me vp and brought me into the inner court, and beholde, the glorie of the Lorde filled the house.
6 And I heard one speaking vnto me out of the house: and there stoode a man by me,
7 And he said to me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more By their idolatries. defile, [neither] they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, nor by the carcases of He alludes to Amon and Manasseh, who were buried in their gardens near the Temple and there had erected monuments to their idols. their kings in their high places.
8 Albeit they set their thresholdes by my thresholdes, and their postes by my postes (for there was but a wall betweene me and them) yet haue they defiled mine holy Name with their abominations, that they haue committed: wherfore I haue consumed them in my wrath.
9 Now therefore let them put away their fornication, and the carkeises of their Kings farre from me, and I will dwell among them for euer.
10 Thou sonne of man, shew this House to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their wickednes, & let them measure ye paterne.
11 And if they be ashamed of all that they haue done, shew them the forme of the House, & ye paterne thereof, & the going out thereof, & the coming in thereof, & the whole fashion thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the figures thereof, and all the lawes thereof: & write it in their sight, that they may keepe the whole fashio thereof, & all the ordinances thereof, & do them.
12 This is the description of the house, It shalbe vpon the toppe of the mount: all the limites thereof round about shalbe most holy. Beholde, this is the description of the house.
13 And these are the measures of the Altar, after the cubites, the cubite is a cubite, & an had breadth, euen the bottome shalbe a cubite, and the breadth a cubite, and the border thereof by the edge thereof rounde about shalbe a spanne: and this shalbe the height of the altar.
14 And from the bottome which toucheth the ground to the lower piece shalbe two cubites: and the breadth one cubite, and from the litle piece to the great piece shalbe foure cubites, and the breadth one cubite.
15 So the altar shalbe foure cubites, and from the altar vpward shalbe foure hornes.
16 And the altar shalbe twelue cubites long, and twelue broade, and fouresquare in the foure corners thereof.
17 And ye frame shalbe foureteene cubites log, and fourteene broade in the fouresquare corners thereof, & the border about it shalbe halfe a cubite, & the bottome therof shalbe a cubite about, & the steps thereof shalbe turned towarde ye East.
18 And he said vnto me, Sone of man, thus saith ye Lord God, These are ye ordinaces of ye altar in the day when they shall make it to offer the burnt offring theron, & to sprinkle blood theron.
19 And thou shalt giue to the Priestes, and to the Leuites, that be of the seede of Zadok, which approch vnto me, to minister vnto me, saith the Lord God, a yong bullocke for a sinne offring.
20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, & put it on the foure hornes of it, & on the foure corners of the frame, and vpon the border round about: thus shalt thou clense it, and reconcile it.
21 Thou shalt take the bullocke also of the sinne offring, and burne it in the appointed place of the house without the Sanctuarie.
22 But the second day thou shalt offer an hee goat wtout blemish for a sinne offring, & they shal clense ye altar, as they did clense it with the bullocke.
23 When thou hast made an ende of clensing it, thou shalt offer a yong bullocke without blemish, & a ram out of the flocke without blemish.
24 And thou shalt offer them before ye Lord, and the Priestes shall cast salt vpon them, & they shall offer them for a burnt offring vnto ye Lord.
25 Seuen dayes shalt thou prepare euery day an hee goate for a sinne offring: they shall also prepare a yong bullocke and a ramme out of the flocke, without blemish.
26 Thus shall they seuen dayes purifie the altar, and clense it, and consecrate it.
27 And when these dayes are expired, vpon the eight day and so forth, the Priests shall make your burnt offrings vpon the altar, & your peace offrings, & I will accept you, saith the Lord God.
1 Then he brought me towarde the gate of the outwarde Sanctuarie, which turneth towarde the East, and it was shut.
2 Then said the LORD to me; This gate shall be Meaning, from the common people, but not from the priests nor the prince, read (Eze_46:8-9). shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
3 It appertaineth to the Prince: the Prince himselfe shall sit in it to eate bread before the Lorde: he shall enter by the way of the porche of that gate, & shal go out by the way of the same.
4 Then brought he mee toward the North gate before the House: and when I looked, beholde, the glorie of the Lorde filled the house of the Lorde, and I fell vpon my face.
5 And the Lord sayd vnto me, Sonne of man, marke wel, & behold with thine eyes, & heare with thine eares, all that I say vnto thee, concerning al the ordinances of the house of the Lord, & al the lawes thereof, & marke well the entring in of the house with euery going forth of the Sanctuarie,
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, euen to ye house of Israel, Thus saith ye Lord God, O house of Israel, ye haue ynough of al your abominatios,
7 In that ye have brought [into my sanctuary] For they had brought idolaters who were from other countries, to teach them their idolatry, (Eze_23:40). strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, [even] my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
8 And ye have not kept the You have not offered to me according to my Law. charge of my holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
9 Thus saieth the Lord God, No stranger vncircumcised in heart, nor vncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my Sanctuarie, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel,
10 And the The Levites who had committed idolatry were put from their dignity and could not be received into the priests office although they had been of the house of Aaron, but must serve in the inferior offices as to watch and to keep the doors, read (2Ki_23:9). Levites that have gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
11 And they shall serue in my Sanctuarie, and keepe the gates of the House, and minister in the House: they shall slay the burnt offring and the sacrifice for the people: and they shall stand before them to serue them.
12 Because they serued before their idoles, & caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquitie, therfore haue I lift vp mine had against the, saith the Lord God, and they shal beare their iniquity,
13 And they shal not come neere vnto me to do ye office of ye Priest vnto me, neyther shal they come neere vnto any of mine holy things in the most holy place, but they shall beare their shame & their abominatios, which they haue comitted.
14 And I will make them keepers of ye watch of the House, for all the seruice thereof, and for all that shalbe done therein.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that Who observed the law of God and did not fall to idolatry. kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
16 They shall enter into my Sanctuarie, and shall come neere to my table, to serue me, and they shall keepe my charge.
17 And whe they shal enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments, & no wool shall come vpon the while they serue in ye gates of the inner court, & within.
18 They shall haue linnen bonets vpon their heades, and shall haue linnen breeches vpon their loynes: they shall not girde them selues in the sweating places.
19 But when they goe foorth into the vtter court, euen to the vtter court to the people, they shall put off their garments, wherein they ministred, and lay them in the holy chambers, & they shall put on other garments: for they shall not sanctifie the people with their garments.
20 Neither shall they As did the infidels and heathen. shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut [the hair of] their heads.
21 Neither shall any Priest drinke wine when they enter into the inner court.
22 Neither shall they take for their wiues a widowe, or her that is diuorced: but they shall take maidens of the seede of the house of Israel, or a widow that hath bene the widow of a Priest.
23 And they shal teach my people the differece betweene the holy and prophane, & cause them to discerne betweene the vncleane & the cleane.
24 And in controuersie they shall stande to iudge, and they shall iudge it according to my iudgements: and they shall keepe my lawes and my statutes in all mine assemblies, and they shall sanctifie my Sabbaths.
25 And they shall come near no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may They may be at their burial which was a defiling. defile themselves.
26 And when he is clensed, they shall reckon vnto him seuen dayes.
27 And when he goeth into ye Sanctuarie vnto the inner court to minister in the Sanctuarie, he shall offer his sinne offring, saith ye Lord God.
28 And the Priesthood shall bee their inheritance, yea, I am their inheritance: therefore shall ye giue them no possessio in Israel, for I am their possession.
29 They shall eate the meat offring, and the sinne offring, and the trespas offring, and euery dedicate thing in Israel shal be theirs.
30 And all the first of all the first borne, & euery oblation, euen all of euery sort of your oblations shall be the Priestes. Ye shal also giue vnto the Priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.
31 The Priests shal not eate of any thing, that is dead, or torne, whether it be foule or beast.
1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation to the LORD, an Of all the land of Israel the Lord only requires this portion for the temple and for the priests for the city and for the prince. holy portion of the land: the length [shall be] the length of five and twenty thousand [reeds], and the breadth [shall be] ten thousand. This [shall be] holy in all its borders on every side.
2 Of this there shalbe for the Sanctuarie fiue hundreth in length with fiue hundreth in breadth, all square round about, and fiftie cubites rounde about for the suburbes thereof.
3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of fiue and twentie thousande, and the breadth of tenne thousande: and in it shalbe the Sanctuarie, and the most holy place.
4 The holy portion of the lande shalbe the Priests, which minister in the Sanctuarie, which came neere to serue the Lorde: and it shalbe a place for their houses, and an holy place for the Sanctuarie.
5 And in the fiue and twentie thousande of length, and the ten thousand of breadth shall the Leuites that minister in the house, haue their possession for twentie chambers.
6 Also ye shall appoynt the possession of the citie, fiue thousand broad, and fiue and twentie thousand log ouer against the oblation of ye holy portion: it shalbe for the whole house of Israel.
7 And a portion shalbe for the prince on ye one side, and on that side of the oblation of the holy portion, & of the possession of the citie, euen before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the citie from the West corner Westward, and from the East corner Eastward, and the length shalbe by one of the portions fro the West border vnto the East border.
8 In this lande shalbe his possession in Israel: and my princes shal no more oppresse my people, and the rest of the land shall they giue to ye house of Israel, according to their tribes.
9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it The prophet shows that the heads must be first reformed before any good order can be established among the people. suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.
10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just Ephah and Bath are the same quantity save that an Ephah is a dry measure and a Bath liquid, (Lev_5:11; 1Ki_5:11). ephah, and a just bath.
11 The Ephah and the Bath shalbe equall: a Bath shall conteyne the tenth part of an Homer, and an Ephah the tenth part of an Homer: the equalitie thereof shalbe after the Homer.
12 And the shekel [shall be] twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, That is, sixty shekels make a weight called Mina, for he joins these three parts to a Mina. five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
13 This is the oblation that ye shall offer, ye sixt part of an Ephah of an Homer of wheat, and ye shall giue the sixt part of an Ephah of an Homer of barley.
14 Concerning ye ordinance of the oyle, euen of the Bath of oyle, ye shall offer the tenth part of a Bath out of ye Cor (ten Baths are an Homer: for ten Baths fill an Homer)
15 And one lambe of two hundreth sheepe out of ye fat pastures of Israel for a meat offring, and for a burnt offring and for peace offrings, to make reconciliation for them, sayth the Lorde God.
16 All the people of the lande shall giue this oblation for the prince in Israel.
17 And it shalbe ye princes part to giue burnt offrings, and meat offrings, and drinke offrings in the solemne feasts and in the newe moones, & in the Sabbaths, and in all the hie feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sinne offring, and the meat offring, and the burnt offring, and the peace offrings to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.
18 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first [month], in the first [day] of the Which was Nisan containing part of March and part of April. month, thou shalt take a young bull without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
19 And the Priest shall take of the blood of the sinne offring, and put it vpon the posts of the house, and vpon the foure corners of the frame of the altar, and vpon the postes of the gate of the inner court.
20 And so shalt thou doe the seuenth day of the moneth, for euery one that hath erred and for him that is deceiued: so shall you reconcile the house.
21 In the first moneth in the foureteenth day of the moneth, ye shal haue the Passeouer, a feast of seuen dayes, & ye shal eate vnleauened bread.
22 And vpon that day, shal the prince prepare for him selfe, and for all the people of the lande, a bullocke for a sinne offring.
23 And in the seuen dayes of the feast he shal make a burnt offring to the Lorde, euen of seuen bullockes, and seuen rammes without blemish dayly for seuen dayes, and an hee goate dayly for a sinne offring.
24 And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and an Read (Exo_29:40). hin of oil for an ephah.
25 In the seuenth moneth, in the fifteenth day of the moneth, shal he do the like in the feast for seuen dayes, according to the sinne offring, according to the burnt offring, and according to the meate offring, and according to the oyle.
1 Thus sayth the Lord God, The gate of the inner court, that turneth toward the East, shall be shut the sixe working dayes: but on the Sabbath it shalbe opened, and in the day of the newe moone it shalbe opened.
2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stande by the post of the gate, and the Priests shal make his burnt offring, and his peace offrings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: after, he shall go foorth, but the gate shall not be shut till the euening.
3 Likewise the people of the lande shall worshippe at the entrie of this gate before the Lorde on the Sabbaths, and in the newe moones.
4 And the burnt offring that the prince shall offer vnto the Lorde on the Sabbath day, shalbe sixe lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
5 And the meat offering [shall be] an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs That is, as much as he will. as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.
6 And in the day of the newe moone it shalbee a yong bullocke without blemish, and sixe lambes and a ram: they shalbe without blemish.
7 And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs Meaning, as he will think good. according as his hand shall be able, and an hin of oil to an ephah.
8 And when the prince shall enter, hee shall goe in by the way of the porche of that gate, and hee shall go foorth by the way thereof.
9 But when the people of the land shal come before the Lord in the solemne feastes, hee that entreth in by the way of the North gate to worship, shall goe out by the way of the South gate: & he that entreth by the way of the South gate, shall goe foorth by the way of the North gate: hee shall not returne by the way of the gate whereby hee came in, but they shall goe forth ouer against it.
10 And the prince shall be in the middes of them: hee shall go in when they goe in, & when they goe forth, they shal goe forth together.
11 And in the feastes, and in the solemnities the meat offring shalbe an Ephah to a bullocke, and an Ephah to a ram, and to the lambes, the gift of his hand, and an Hin of oyle to an Ephah.
12 Nowe when the prince shall make a free burnt offring or peace offrings freely vnto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate, that turneth towarde the East, and hee shall make his burnt offring and his peace offrings, as he did on the Sabbath day: after, hee shall goe foorth, and when he is gone forth, one shall shut the gate.
13 Thou shalt dayly make a burnt offring vnto the Lord of a lambe of one yere without blemish: thou shalt doe it euery morning.
14 And thou shalt prepare a meate offring for it euery morning, the sixt part of an Ephah, and the thirde part of an Hin of oyle, to mingle with the fine flowre: this meate offring shalbe continually by a perpetuall ordinance vnto the Lorde.
15 Thus shall they prepare the lambe, and the meate offring and the oyle euery morning, for a continual burnt offring.
16 Thus saith the Lorde God, If the prince giue a gift of his inheritance vnto any of his sonnes, it shalbe his sonnes, and it shall bee their possession by inheritance.
17 But if he shall give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the Which was at the Jubile, (Lev_25:9). year of liberty; afterward it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be to his sons for them.
18 Moreover the prince shall not But be content with that portion that God has assigned him, as in (Eze_45:8). take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; [but] he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not dispossessed every man from his possession.
19 After, he brought me through the entrie, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the Priestes, which stoode towarde the North: and beholde, there was a place at the West side of them.
20 Then said he to me, This [is] the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear [them] not out into the outer court, That the people should not have to do with those things which belong to the Lord, and think it lawful for them to eat them. to sanctify the people.
21 Then he brought me foorth into the vtter court, and caused me to goe by the foure corners of the court: and beholde, in euery corner of the court, there was a court.
22 In the foure corners of the court there were courts ioyned of fourty cubits long, & thirty broad: these foure corners were of one measure.
23 And there went a wall about them, euen about those foure, and kitchins were made vnder the walles rounde about.
24 Then said he vnto me, This is the kitchin where the ministers of the house shall seethe the sacrifice of the people.
1 Afterward he brought me again to the door of the house; and, behold, By which are meant the spiritual graces that would be given to the Church under the kingdom of Christ. waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the front of the house [stood toward] the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south [side] of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out toward the North gate, and led me about by the way without vnto the vtter gate, by the way that turneth Eastward: & behold, there came forth waters on ye right side
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand, went foorth Eastward, he measured a thousand cubites, and he brought me through the waters: the waters were to the ancles.
4 Againe he measured a thousande, and brought me through the waters: the waters were to the knees: againe he measured a thousand, & brought me through: ye waters were to ye loynes.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass over: for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a Signifying that the graces of God would never decrease, but ever abound in his Church. river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said vnto me, Sonne of man, hast thou seene this? Then he brought me, and caused me to returne to the brinke of the riuer.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many Meaning, the multitude of them that would be refreshed by the spiritual waters. trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he to me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the Showing that the abundance of these graces would be so great, that all the world would be full of it, which is here meant by the Persian sea, or Genezareth, and the sea called Mediterranean, (Zec_14:8). sea: [which being] brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, [that] every thing that liveth, which moveth, wherever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come there: for they shall be The waters which by nature are salt and unwholesome will be made sweet and comfortable. healed; and every thing shall live where the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, [that] the Signifying that when God bestows his mercies in such abundance the ministers will by their preaching win many. fishermen shall stand upon it from Engedi even to Which were cities at the corners of the salt or dead sea. Eneglaim; they shall be a [place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of They will be here of all sorts and in as great abundance as in the great ocean where they are bred. the great sea, very many.
11 But That is, the wicked and reprobate. its miry places and its marshes shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by this riuer vpon the brinke thereof, on this side, and on that side shall grow all fruitful trees, whose leafe shall not fade, neither shall ye fruit thereof faile: it shal bring forth new fruit according to his moneths, because their waters run out of ye Sanctuarie: and the fruite thereof shalbe meat, and the leafe thereof shalbe for medicine.
13 Thus saith the Lorde God, This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherite the lande according to the twelue tribes of Israel: Ioseph shall haue two portions.
14 And ye shal inherite it, one as wel as another: concerning the which I lift vp mine hand to giue it vnto your fathers, and this lande shall fall vnto you for inheritance.
15 And this [shall be] the border By the land of promise he signifies the spiritual land of which this was a figure. of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is betweene the border of Damascus, and the border of Hamath, & Hazar, Hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shalbe Hazar, Enan, & the border of Damascus, and the residue of the North, Northwarde, and the border of Hamath: so shalbe the North part.
18 But the East side shall ye measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the lande of Israel by Iorden, and from the border vnto the East sea: and so shalbe the East part.
19 And the Southside shalbe towarde Teman from Tamar to the waters of Meriboth in Kadesh, and the riuer to the maine sea: so shalbe the South part towarde Teman.
20 The West parte also shalbe the great sea from the border, till a man come ouer against Hamath: this shalbe the West part.
21 So shall ye deuide this lande vnto you, according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, [that] ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be to you as born in the country among the children of Israel; Meaning that in this spiritual kingdom there would be no difference between Jew nor Gentile but that all would be partakers of this inheritance in their head Christ. they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And in what tribe the stranger dwelleth, there shall ye giue him his inheritance, saith the Lorde God.
1 Now these [are] the names of the The tribes after they entered into the land under Joshua divided the land somewhat otherwise then is here set forth by this vision. tribes. From the north end to the border of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the border of Hamath; for these are his sides east [and] west; a [portion for] Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan from the East side vnto the West side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher from the East parte euen vnto the West parte a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali from the East quarter vnto the West side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh from the East side vnto the West side a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the East part euen vnto the West part, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the East quarter vnto the West quarter, a portion for Iudah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, That is, the portion of the ground which they will separate and appoint to the Lord which will be divided into three parts for the priests for the prince and for the city. shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand [reeds in] breadth, and [in] length as one of the [other] parts, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer vnto the Lord, shalbe of fiue and twentie thousande long, and of ten thousand the breadth.
10 And for them, euen for the Priestes shalbe this holy oblation, towarde the North fiue and twentie thousande long, and towarde the West, ten thousande broade, and towarde the East ten thousand broad, and towarde the South fiue and twentie thousand long, and the Sanctuarie of the Lorde shalbe in the middes thereof.
11 It shalbe for the Priestes that are sanctified of the sonnes of Zadok, which haue kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Leuites went astray.
12 Therefore this oblation of the land that is offred, shalbe theirs, as a thing most holy by the border of the Leuites.
13 And ouer against the border of the Priests the Leuites shall haue fiue and twentie thousande long, and ten thousande broade: all the length shalbe fiue and twentie thousand, and the breadth ten thousande.
14 And they shall not sel of it, neither change it, nor abalienate the first fruites of the land: for it is holy vnto the Lorde.
15 And the fiue thousand that are left in the breadth ouer against the fiue and twentie thousande, shall be a prophane place for the citie, for housing, and for suburbes, and the citie shalbe in the middes thereof.
16 And these [shall be] the measures of it; the north side Meaning that it would be square. four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbes of the citie shall be toward the North two hundreth and fiftie, and towarde the South two hundreth and fiftie, and towarde the East two hundreth and fiftie, and towarde the West two hundreth and fiftie.
18 And the residue in length ouer against the oblation of the holy portion shalbe ten thousand Eastwarde, and ten thousand Westwarde: and it shalbe ouer against the oblation of the holy portion, and the encrease thereof shall be for foode vnto them that serue in the citie.
19 And they that serue in the citie, shalbe of all the tribes of Israel that shall serue therein.
20 All the oblation [shall be] five and twenty thousand by Every way it will be five and twenty thousand. five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shalbe for the prince on the one side and on the other of the oblation of the Sanctuarie, and of the possession of the citie, ouer against the fiue and twentie thousand of the oblation toward the East border, and Westward ouer against the fiue and twentie thousande towarde the West border, ouer against shalbe for the portion of the prince: this shall be the holy oblation, and the house of the Sanctuarie shalbe in the middes thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, [being] in the midst [of that] which is the prince's, between the border So that Judah was on the north side of the princes and Levites portions and Benjamin on the south side. of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 And the rest of the tribes shalbe thus: from the East parte vnto the West parte Beniamin shalbe a portion.
24 And by the border of Beniamin, from the East side vnto the West side Simeon a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon from the East part vnto the West part, Isshachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Isshachar, from the East side vnto the West, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun from the East parte vnto the West part, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the Which is here taken for Idumea. border shall be even from Which was Jericho the city of palm trees. Tamar [to] the waters of strife [in] Kadesh, [and] to the Meaning, the Nile that runs into the sea called the Mediterranean. river toward the great sea.
29 This is the lande, which ye shall distribute vnto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, & these are their portions, saith the Lorde God.
30 And these are the boundes of the citie, on the North side fiue hundreth, and foure thousande measures.
31 And the gates of the citie shalbe after the names of the tribes of Israel, the gates Northwarde, one gate of Reuben, one gate of Iudah, and one gate of Leui.
32 And at the East side fiue hundreth and foure thousande, and three gates, and one gate of Ioseph, one gate of Beiamin, & one gate of Dan.
33 And at the South side, fiue hundreth and foure thousande measures, and three portes, one gate of Simeon, one gate of Isshachar, and one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the West side, fiue hundreth and foure thousand, with their three gates, one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, and one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was rounde about eighteene thousande measures, and the name of the citie from that day shalbe, The Lorde is there.