1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face toward the right, and drop toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the south; 3And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am about to kindle in thee a fire, and it will devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree. The flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces shall be scorched in it 4[by it], from the south to the north. And all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, 5have kindled it; and it shall not be quenched. And I said, Ah! Lord God, 6they say to me [of me], Doth he not speak parables? And the word of 7Jehovah came to me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop toward the holy places, and prophesy toward the land of Israel, 8and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against thee, and I have drawn My sword out of its scabbard, and will cut off 9from thee the righteous and the wicked. Because I cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its 10scabbard against all flesh from south to north. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn My sword out of its scabbard, nor shall it return 11again. And thou, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, and with bitterness 12shalt thou sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say to thee, Wherefore dost thou sigh? that thou shalt say, For the tidings, because it cometh; and every heart melts, and all hands hang down, and every spirit faints [is dulled], and all knees are dissolved into water. Lo, it comes, and has 13happened: sentence of the Lord Jehovah. And the word of Jehovah came 14to me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith Jehovah; say, A 15sword, a sword, sharpened and also furbished [is it]! To kill with slaughter it is sharpened; furbished [is it], that it may glitter as lightning! Or can 16[shall] we rejoice over the staff [sceptre] of My son, despising every tree!? And He gave it [it is given] to be furbished, that it may be taken into the hand; it is a sword sharpened and furbished, that it may be put into the hand of the 17slayer. Cry and howl, son of man, for it shall be upon [against] My people, upon all the princes of Israel; they are given up [thrown] to the sword along 18with My people, therefore smite upon the thigh. For it makes trial [trial is made]. And how?—If also the despising staff [sceptre] shall not be!—Sentence 19of the Lord Jehovah. And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite hand against hand, and the sword shall be doubled to the third time; it is the sword of the pierced-through, the sword of one pierced through, of the 20mighty, that penetrates to them. In order that the heart may faint, and the stumbling-blocks be multiplied at all their gates, have I given the threatening 21of the sword. Ah! made for flashing, drawn for slaughter! Unite thyself, turn to the right; direct thyself, turn to the left, whither thy face is appointed. 22And I also will strike My hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest.23I, Jehovah, have spoken. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 24And thou, son of man, set thee two ways for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon; out of one land shall they both proceed; and make a finger-post 25—at the head of the way of a city make [it]. Thou shalt set a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah in 26Jerusalem, [the] inaccessible. For the king of Babylon stands at the mother of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; shakes the arrows 27together, inquires at the teraphim, inspects the liver. In his right hand is the divination “Jerusalem,” to place [battering-] rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice, in the war-cry, to place rams against the gates, 28to cast a mount, to build siege-towers. And it is to them as lying divination in their eyes that have sworn oaths for themselves; and [yet] he remembers iniquity, 29in order to take [them]. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because ye shall remember [bring to remembrance] your iniquity, since your transgressions are made bare, so that your sins are seen in all your doings, because ye are come 30to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, pierced-through, wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come at the time of the iniquity 31of the end, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Remove the head-band, take off the crown. This [is] not this. The low is [to be] exalted, and the high [to be] 32brought low. Overturned, overturned, overturned will I make it. Yea, this [also] is not, till He comes to whom the judgment belongs, and I will give it to 33Him. And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and their reproach; even say, A sword, a 34sword, drawn for slaughter, furbished sufficiently to glitter! While they see vanity for thee, while they divine a lie to thee,—to lay thee upon the necks of the pierced-through, of the wicked, whose day has come at the time 35of the iniquity of the end. Let it return to its sheath. In the place where 36thou wast formed, in the land of thy origin will I judge thee. And I will pour out My indignation upon thee, with the fire of My wrath will I blow upon thee, and will give thee into the hand of consuming men, forgers of 37destruction. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt not be remembered, for I, Jehovah, have spoken.
Eze_21:7. Another reading:
àì î÷ãùí
, ad sanctuarium eorum. Syr. Sept. et Arabs. have the suffix.
Eze_21:17. ...
áñïôçóïí îôé ôçí ÷åéñá óïõ
,—Vulg.: … Israel qui fugerant—
Eze_21:18
ὁôé äåäéêáéùôáé
.
Êáé ôé åἰ êáé öõëç ἀðùóèç
;—Vulg.: … quia probatus est. Et hoc cum sceptrum subverterit, et non erit—
Eze_21:19. ...
ἡ ôñéôç ῥïìöáéá ôñáõìáôåéùí ἐóôéí
,
ῥïìöáéá ôñáõìáôåéùí ἡ ìéãáëç
,
ê
.
ἐêóôçóåé áὐôïõò
,—ac triplicetur gladius interfectorum: hic est gl. occisionis magnæ, qui obstupescere eos facit,—There is a reading:
äçøãú
, perterrefaciens). Another reading:
ìëí
.
Eze_21:20. ...
Ê
.
ðëçèõíèùóéí ïἱ ἀóèåíïõíôåò ἐðé ðáóáí ðõëçí áὐôùí
.
Ê
.
ôáñáäåäïíôáé åἰò óöáãéá ῥïìöáéáò
,
åὐ ãáãïíåí åἰò óöáãçí
,
åὐ ãåãïíåí åἰò óôéëâùóéí
.—et multiplicat ruinas. In omnibus … conturbationem gladii acuti et limati ad … amicti ad cædem.
Eze_21:21. Another reading:
äúàçøé
, retro ito vel: mora, retarda.
Eze_21:24. Et manu capiet conjecturam, in capite … conjiciet.
Eze_21:26. Sept.: ...
ô
.
ὰñ÷áéáí ὁäïí
…
ἀíáâñáóáé ῥáâäéá ê
.
ἐðåñùôçóáé ἐí ôïéò ãëõðôïéò
—
Eze_21:27
Ἐê äåîéùí áὐôïõ ἑãåíåôï
…
óôïìá ἐí âïç
. Ad dexteram ejus facta est … os in cæde—
Eze_21:28.
Ê
.
áὐôïò áὐôïéò ὡò ìáíôåõïìåíïò ìáíôåéáí ἐíùôéïí áὐôùí
,
ê
.
áὐôïò ἀíáìéìíçóêùí ἀäéêéáò áὐôùí ìíçóèçíáé
. Eritque quasi consulens frustra oraculum in oculis corum, et sabbatorum otium imitans; ipse autem recordabitur iniquitatis ad copiendam.
Eze_21:29. For
áëì
, read
åëì
.
Eze_21:30. ...
âåâçëå
,
ἀíïìå
—Vulg.: profane … dies in temp, iniquitatis præfinita.
To join Eze_21:1-5 with Ezekiel 20 (as is done in the Eng. Ver.) would be against the connection; while, as the first part of Ezekiel 21, it both admirably introduces the whole, and in particular, by Eze_21:5, paves the way for the explanation in Eze_21:6 sq.
Eze_21:1-5
[ch. Eze_20:45-49].—A Picture.
Eze_21:2. Comp. Eze_2:1 to Eze_6:2 (Eze_13:17); Luk_9:51. The right, according to Eze_21:7, is Jerusalem. Drop is after Deu_32:2 a very common expression for prophetic discourse. It is suggested by the rain or the dew, and points to the place of its origin,—above, and also to the beneficial influence which it is intended to exert, and is used even when the discourse does not contain promises merely, but also threatening and judgment, as is the case here exclusively, and to a large extent also in Deuteronomy 32. May it not also hint at the concise, abrupt style of composition adopted in the chapter?
ãָּøåֹí
, the bright, sunny south, in Eze_21:7 the expression is: the “holy places.”—
ðֶâֶá
(either “dryness,” or also from “brightness”) defines the forest of the field, more precisely, as situated in the south, pertaining to the south country (Eze_21:3), as Judea is often described. The threefold direction symbolizes perhaps the divine element in his commission. For field, comp. Eze_17:5; “land of Israel” in Eze_21:7 corresponds to it—the fruitful native soil of the whole people; Hengst.: because an agricultural people are here treated of. Forest, figurative for people, on account of the density of the population, but by no means with any reference to the degeneration of the noble vine (Isaiah 5) to a wild forest (Umbr.), or the impending reduction of the land to an uncultivated and forest condition, nor yet on account of its forest stretches; just as the southern definition of the direction from the standpoint of the exiled prophet is not to be taken in a precisely geographic sense. Besides, that which is said of the north in Eze_1:4 is here confirmed.
Eze_21:3. Eze_6:3.—The fire suits both the forest-figure and the idea of Jehovah’s avenging wrath. Comp. Ezekiel 1. (Ezekiel 15) Comp. Eze_17:24. Green and dry become in Eze_21:8 “righteous” and “wicked” (Luk_23:31).—
ìַäֶáֶú ùַׁìְäֶáֶú
, assonant ascending climax, to which the result corresponds. Endeavouring, in a far-fetched way, to conform to the figure, Hitzig interprets faces of the outside, as that which the fire first consumes. A similar view is maintained by Schnurrer in a special dissertation on the previous chapter,—“on all sides—out and out.”
Eze_21:4 explains “all faces” by: all flesh—all Israel; and so
åְøָàå
also can be understood as: seeing to their own hurt (Eze_21:9-10). Hengst. makes the “faces” stand for the persons, as the material which the fire is to consume. Comp. Eze_5:10. [Cocc. refers it to the judgment on Babylon, which was to follow the judgment on Israel.]—All flesh, equivalent to: every man. What does not pass speedily away, but endures to completion,—that which abides, makes on short-lived, fading man the impression of eternal duration.
Eze_21:5. Is it a complaint, owing to experiences following on what has just been propounded, or to his experience generally as a prophet? Perhaps an indirect petition for a less figurative message; as Hitzig, following the Chald.: “accept my petition.”—Comp. Eze_17:2 (2Co_4:4).—Transition to Eze_21:6 sq.
Eze_21:6-12
[1–7]. The Interpretation (through the Sword)
It is noteworthy that the foregoing figure is explained by another (Mat_13:10).
Eze_21:7. Comp. Eze_21:2.—Holy places (comp. Eze_7:24). Hengst. refers the plural to the glory of the one sanctuary, and understands it of “the spiritual abode of the people.” Others have thought of the individual buildings of the temple, its two or three parts. [Cocc.: “because many buildings were erected by men in addition to those authorized by God, or because Ezekiel prophesies not only of Solomon’s, but at the same time of Zerubbabel’s temple.”]
Eze_21:8. The land of Israel, equivalent to: “the forest of the south,” Eze_21:3. What follows is also parallel. The explanatory figure is the well-known one (Ezekiel 5, 6) of the sword.—The righteous and the wicked (comp. at Eze_3:18 sq.). According to Hengst., not in contradiction to Eze_9:4, “for if two suffer the same, yet it is not the same (Rom_8:28).” The contrast is to be taken like young and old, rich and poor, similarly to Mat_9:13. Those whom you call righteous and wicked,—all, fall under the power of the sword. With which Eze_21:9 harmonizes; for all flesh, etc., points to the whole extent of the Jewish territory as the field for its exercise. [“As is manifest from the whole nature of the representation, it is the merely external aspect of the visitation which the prophet has in his eye. The sword of the Lord’s judgment, he announced, was to pass through the land, and accomplish such a sweeping overthrow, that all, without exception, would be made to suffer in the fearful catastrophe. This did not prevent, however, but that there might be, in the midst of the outward calamities which were thus to burst like a mighty tempest over the land, a vigilant oversight maintained, and special interpositions of Providence exercised in behalf of the pious remnant who still continued faithful to the covenant of God. It was this distinguishing goodness to some, even amid the horrors of a general desolation, which, as we showed before, was the real object of that sealing of God’s servants on the forehead in a former vision; while here, on the other hand, it is merely the general desolation itself which is contemplated by the prophet. And the very circumstance that he should now have looked so exclusively on the outward scene of carnage and distress, which he descried in the approaching future, seemed to say that this was to be the grand feature of the time, and that the special interpositions which were to be put forth in behalf of the better portion would be so few that they scarcely required to be taken into account.”—Fairbairn’s Ezekiel, pp. 233, 234.—W. F.]—Others: on the ground of this certain universal destruction in Israel, a still more extensive judgment shall take place, e.g. on the Ammonites. [Cocc. thinks of all wars, etc. up to the subjugation of the nations to Christ.]
Eze_21:10 recalls, however, Eze_21:4. There: “it shall not be quenched,” here: nor shall it return. In other words, a full end. Some see the distinction between this and earlier judgments indicated here.
Eze_21:11. Symbolical description of intensest expression of sorrow. With breaking, etc., when the prophet sinks down like one whose loins are broken, and who is unable to stand upright (Deu_33:11). [Others: a pain which can break the seat of man’s strength; or as spasmodic pains; or as in travail-pangs; or with girdle burst asunder, etc. Ewald; smiting on the thigh.] Quite conceivable, without any hypocrisy, owing to Ezekiel’s sympathy with his people. Comp. Rom_9:1 sq. In bitterness, the pain at the same time audibly expresses itself. They shall become aware of it (before their eyes).
Eze_21:12. Eze_7:26; Eze_7:2 sq. That which to others is merely tidings, is to the prophet already coming, or it is to him a “thing heard” (Umbr.: a revelation made at an earlier time), which is passing into fulfilment; therefore his pain. But they shall be compelled to experience in themselves what they perceive in him. In all, courage gives place to terror, activity to prostration, counsel to perplexity. No one holds out any longer; as to which comp. Eze_7:17.—It is not merely coming, i.e. on the way, but that which the tidings bode, which they actually are (Eze_21:13 sq.), is as good as already accomplished.
Eze_21:13-22
[8–17]. The Sword
The prophet’s bitter pain (Eze_21:11) is audibly expressed in this sword-song, as it has been called.
Eze_21:14. The subject of the tidings emphatically repeated as a sword.—(
äåּçַãָּä
, perf. Hophal from
îְøåּèָä
—.
çָãַã
, partic, pass.)
Eze_21:15. It shall slay, and even before it proves its sharpness, terrify (
äֱéֵä
, infinitive).
áָּøָ÷
, from its gleaming brightness. (Deu_32:41)
îֹøָèָּä
, partic. Pual for
îְîֹøָèָä
, with the euphonic dag. forte.—The close of the verse is a crux interpretum. The abrupt statement of the contrary to that which was demanded of the prophet by Jehovah in Eze_21:11 is intelligible, and all the more so as an inquiry as to the reason for his exhibition of pain of heart has been already presupposed in Eze_21:12. Or can [shall] we rejoice, etc.? In this case the prophet can associate himself with Jehovah, while “crying,” etc., again (Eze_21:17) remains his occupation alone. The latter is made all the more prominent by the clause: “Can we rejoice?” The staff, in accordance with Eze_19:11 sq., is to be understood of the sceptre, and thus of the kingdom (comp. Eze_16:13). My son must be the same as “My people” in Eze_21:17—namely, Judah; which is all the more appropriate, as there is before us the promise of Gen_49:8 sq. (see Ezekiel 19), which was also confirmed to David, 2Sa_7:23. The sceptre of Judah, on account of this promise to bless Israel,—Jehovah regarding it as His own,—is perpetual. Despising every tree, conformably to Eze_17:24,—every other prince and king. (May not, conformably to Eze_21:3, allusion be also made to the man-despising wickedness (Eze_21:30) of the last Jewish kings, so as to yield the very striking sense: Or could we rejoice in the reigning wickedness which the sword makes an end of!?). The construing of the masculine
ùֵׁáֶè
as a feminine (which Rosenm. calls the supreme difficulty of the passage) is sufficiently explained by the underlying idea of lordship. (See Häv. and Rosenm.) Therefore: in respect of the sword, is there room for any feeling but pain? Could there be joy over the kingdom, which shall not depart from Judah, according to the blessing which rests on it, and the promise made to David,—joy that Judah still survives, while the princes of Israel’s kingdom have long since passed away?! Should we be able to rejoice? Even this kingdom is about to fall beneath the sword, etc. Eze_21:17 sq., 19, 30 sq. But doubtless the Messiah will also come, Eze_21:32. The connection decidedly recommends this interpretation. One must remember what the kingdom and the last remnant in Jerusalem were, even in the lament of Jeremiah (Lam_5:15). [Other interpretations: “Shall we rejoice, namely, over this sword, which despises the stem (?) of My son Israel, and every tree?” Or
ùֵׁáֶè
is taken as the chastening rod (?) of Israel, which this sword is, and which rod in hardness and solidity surpasses every other wood (Rashi). Hengst.: the punishment hanging over Israel exceeds in rigour all other punishments, according to the law set forth, Luk_12:46. (“We—I and thou—spoken from the soul of the people.”) Hävern. takes
àå
ironically: “or should (
ðָñִéí = ðָùִׂéùׂ
(projecting) with a play on
ðָùִׂéà
) the sceptre of My son be haughty (Exo_4:21; Hos_11:1; Gen_49:9; comp. therewith 1Ki_22:11; Deu_33:17), despising every tree (with reference to all other powers)?” Umbr.: “The rod of My Son—that which concerns Him—despises every (feeble) tree, has transformed itself into unbending iron.”]
Eze_21:16. The most probable subject of
åַéִúֵּï
is the “son,”—Judah itself prepared the Chaldean sword of vengeance. Comp. Eze_19:14. Or indefinitely: it was given.
Eze_21:17. As the joy was groundless (Eze_21:15), so all the more is the emotion of Eze_21:11 enjoined, Eze_9:8; Eze_11:13.—That which
äָéְúָä áְ
would say both as to the people and the princes of Israel is expressed by
îְâåּøֵé×
(part. pass. Kal of
îָâַø
). Others: “Terrors (
îְâåּøִéí
from
âåּø
) because of (
àֶì
) the sword being upon (
àֶú
) My people.” Which, however, says too little in this connection.—Upon the thigh, as women upon the breast; pain, terror.
Eze_21:18. For, resumes what is said in the previous verse.—
áֹçַï
, proving, trying; or impersonal perf. Pual, trial is made. Häv.: “for there is a proving” in relation to the judgments of God. Too far-fetched. Hengst.: “for (it is) a trial.” A brief statement of the threatening character of the impending period. Phillips.: “for a purification must take place.” Consequently, either of the past (as Rashi), of the sufferings whereby the people have already been tried, or with reference to the future. According to the connection, the trial, if not spoken directly of the sword, must be thought of in relation to its terrible murderous violence, as shown in Eze_21:17.—
åּîָä
, briefest continuation, but rather an exclamation than a thought. What, in fine, when people and prince are doomed to the sword,—when even the scornful (become inhuman in its arrogance, comp. Eze_21:15) kingdom of Judah shall now be brought to an end? [Rashi: And what will happen to My son when the sword overtakes him? He shall perish. Kimchi: The sword will be for trying. And what if that sword, despising the stem of Israel also, should not smite it? There would be no trial. Häv.: “And how? if the sceptre is still so arrogant, it shall not stand.” Hengst.: “And how? should the despising rod (the punishment that far outstrips all other punishments) not be?” Keil: When even the sceptre of Judah fails to show the might expected from it, what shall then be? Neteler “And how? if also the sceptre of the despiser (Jerusalem) shall not be!”]
Eze_21:19. Comp. at Eze_6:11. The gesture here is the sign of an impending energetic action (Hengst). To say that it expresses lively excitement of feeling is little; rather it arouses the sword to demand redoubled slaughter, which immediately follows. One stroke shall not be enough, but the strokes are repeated. Not that Ezekiel shall call out the following words, repeating them three times; nor yet is threefold doubling (?) nor threefold multiplying meant (as doubling is the thing in question). But once, twice, and yet a third time a double sword-stroke, to wit, with reference to the people, princes, and king, so that what is stated before (Eze_21:17-18) is compressed. [Klief.: For the third time the sword is a slayer, after it had previously come doubled (twice); the number three is symbolical.] It is called the sword of the pierced-through, from the multitudes whom it pierces. Häv.: the sword of the slain.—Sword of one pierced through, of the mighty. The subject is indefinite, but becomes definite in the adjective. “Among the crowd of the slain there is also one pierced through, made altogether like to them, who is the great one” (Häv). As the sword-song throughout keeps the kingdom in view, the king (Eze_21:30) is undoubtedly referred to, to wit, Zedekiah. The fact that his sons were slain before his eyes, that his own eyes were put out (2Ki_25:7), that he died in bonds in Babylon (Jer_52:11), especially when one considers how the context as well as other passages point, sufficiently justifies the application of the “pierced-through” one to him; so that it is not to be referred to “the great” collectively, nor to the wicked Chaldee king (! ?), nor to “the great sword of the slain which surrounds them.” (Comp. Keil in opposition to Hitzig.)
äַçֹãֶøֵú
, from
çָãַø
. Gesen.: to surround, to besiege, “lies in wait for them.” That penetrates to them, with an allusion to
çֶãֶø
, the inner chamber. The old translations: which puts them in terror.
Eze_21:20. In order that; that which will abundantly come to pass is also abundantly expressed. The intention made prominent by being placed in the forefront.
àִáְçַú
is found here only = threatening, or quivering, or shaking, or destroying, etc.; or a misprint for
èִáְçַú
(shambles of the sword). But whatever the precise meaning of the word be, it qualifies the sword, so that by means of it the courage of the people fails, and at all their gates obstructions lie on which they stumble,—either “crowds of corpses hard by the gates where the besieged made their sallies,” or circumstances which exposed them to slaughter. The flashing explains the fainting, etc.; the slaughter points to the stumbling-blocks.—Eze_6:11. Abrupt exclamation of the prophet.—
îְòֻèָä
,
ἁð
.
ëåã
.; meaning: polished, sharpened (Gesen.); Meier: whetted; Häv.: drawn; others the very opposite: covered, still in the sheath.
Eze_21:21. Address to the sword. Up to this point no more than one sword has been spoken of, so that the one must be summoned to ally itself with all other possible swords. But the concentration of the thrice-repeated double stroke in a single stroke, which would better correspond with Eze_21:19, could be the meaning. Or it is to collect its energies for the directions which are to be presently given it. [Hitzig reads: “turn thyself backwards,” and completes
äָùִׂéîִé
supplying
ôָּðֶéêָ
; “turn thyself forwards,” in order to procure the two additional directions to right and left. Ew.: “Collect thyself southwards, assail northwards, whithersoever thy points are appointed.”] Häv. connects: “Turn thyself with all vigour to the right,” and (corresponding to this): “direct (thy face, thy edge) to the left!” There are, however, four words which depict the activity and rapidity of the individual sword-strokes; perhaps they are also military commands? If
äָùִׂéîִé
and
äִúàַçֲãִé
correspond, then the rendering must be: “attention,” “to your post!” (Gesen., Hengst.) Besides, it is perhaps preparatively to the following paragraph as to Jerusalem and Ammon that only a twofold direction, “right” and “left,” is specified. The destination whither, etc. concludes the passage. [Cocc. is not amiss in regarding
àָðָä
as an interrogative; Hitzig does the same.]
Eze_21:22. Comp. Eze_21:19. Jehovah makes the gesture of the prophet His own. Comp. further Eze_16:42; Eze_5:13. What a rest, and, going before it, what an agitation!
Eze_21:23-29
. The King of Babylon against Jerusalem
A symbolical action, as in Eze_21:11 (17, 19). Hengst., as always, makes it belong to the internal world; but what would have been the meaning of a command of this sort, were it not to be carried out externally? The whole point lies in its external representation. It is a demonstration ad oculos (Eze_4:1 sq.). Ezekiel is to place before himself on a table or tablet a sketch of the nature mentioned, by means of cutting or engraving, as may be surmised from
áָּøֵà
, Eze_21:24.—The two ways already point to another reference besides that to Jerusalem.—The sword of the king of Babylon is the “tidings” which come (Eze_21:12); into his murdering “hand” (Eze_21:16) this approaching sword is given.—The one land (or land of one, namely, the Babylonish king) from which both ways shall proceed, owing to the manner in which it is emphasized, leads one already to suppose that both ways were originally one, which at a later point was parted into two.—
éָã
, the finger-post which here points the way to a (still indefinite) city. At the head of the way, i.e. where the way in question begins, the hand shall be formed.
Eze_21:25. More particular description of the way, according to which it appears as two ways (hence: for the coming of the sword, as in Eze_21:24), with the finger-post for guide. As to Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites, see Deu_3:11. The city at the head of whose way the finger-post stands can properly mean Rabbah only, from the fact of its being first mentioned; and this points it out as the place lying nearest on the way of the coming sword, so that (as Hengst. rightly remarks) the human probability was that the vengeance of the king of Babylon would begin with Ammon, which had provoked it by adhering to the same anti-Chaldean coalition (Jer_27:3). As if less exposed, behind it appears Judah, more precisely defined by Jerusalem; which supports our way of taking Judah-Jerusalem in Ezekiel 19. (See Doct. Reflec. there.) In, because Judah exists essentially in Jerusalem; and the way of the sword goes thither, so that the sword rests there. Its strength, its inaccessible elevation, shall be merely nominal (Deu_28:52).
Eze_21:26. Even the king of Babylon is uncertain which way to choose.—Mother of the way, is immediately explained by: the head of two ways, to be the point whence they branch off like two daughters from the way which had previously been one. [Häv. avails himself of the Arabic idiom, according to which “mother of the way” means the great military road, along (
àֶì
) which Nebuchadnezzar is about to proceed, which then divides into two ways.]—The tacit contrast between: to use divination, and: to “prophesy” (Eze_21:19; Eze_21:14; Eze_21:7; Eze_21:2) is interesting; they are nevertheless unified by the divine will. (Comp. at Deu_18:10.) Perhaps on account of this divine element in the background, it is carried out in a threefold manner, according to the symbolism of numbers.—Does the arrow-oracle refer to the significations of
÷ìì
, “light,” or “gleaming,” so that the divination is founded on the fact of the one flying more swiftly than the other, as being the lighter, or on the fact of its shining more brightly? It is the simplest way, however, to think of two arrows, the one marked “Rabbah,” the other “Jerusalem,” being put into a vessel, perhaps a helmet, when the decision is made according as the one or the other is first drawn or shaken out; unless the quarter to which the head of the lighter arrow points on falling out, either right or left, be the ground of the decision. Comp. Häv. on the passage.—It is impossible to decide as to the method of consulting the teraphim. See Winer, Realw.; Herzog, Realencycl. Eze_16:32. Israel brought them out of Chaldea, Gen_31:19; Gen_31:34. According to Häv.: gods of fortune; Hengst.: intermediate gods, serving for the investigation of the future. Häv. supposes a transference of the Hebrew popular faith to Babylonish divinities analogous to Gad and Meni. Hitzig: his household gods, private idols (
èÝñáðåò
). As to the inspection of the liver, see Hävernick’s Commentary. Such circumstances were taken into account as its condition, size, whether large, with inwardly bent lobes, etc., whether dry, defective, ulcerated, etc.
Eze_21:27. In his light hand is the divination, requires to be understood neither as: into his right hand came, etc., nor yet, with Hitzig, of the arrow-lot in particular, which pointed to Jerusalem, if it be only stated that Jerusalem was designated by the divination ceremony as the object to be attacked,—therefore, the “right hand.” “The right hand is employed; he has the decision spiritually therein; is determined in his actions by the decision given for Jerusalem in its three forms” (Hengst.). Hence there immediately follows:
ìָùׂåּñ×
. Comp. at Eze_4:2. To open the mouth, etc., either: the battle-cry calling and exciting them to destroy, or (with Jun.): to open a mouth (breach) in the wall by destroying and piercing it. [Hengst.: “with slaughter,” which is virtually contained in the slaughter-cry. Häv.: here, the cry of the besiegers according to its intention, afterwards according to its outward expression.] As the siege is the thing in question, the expression: rams, is repeated, with special reference to the gates. As to the rest, comp. at Eze_4:2 (Eze_17:17).
Eze_21:28. While the oracle determines the Chaldeans to proceed in this way, that which the prophet proclaims on the point is, to the Jews, as a lying divination in their eyes, inasmuch as they rely on the visible fact that Jerusalem still stands before their eyes.—
ùְׁáֻòֵé
,
ùְׁáֻòåֹú
, apposition clause: “who have sworn oaths” (Gesen.), and these for themselves (
ìָäֶí
). And this circumstance, owing to their consciousness of infidelity towards the king of Babylon (comp. Ezekiel 17), must make the near approach of his unlingering vengeance in the highest degree probable. The latter (and he remembers) therefore assists their faithless memory in an active way (
òָåֹï
, Eze_18:30), so that they are taken and crushed by punishment (Eze_14:5). [Other interpretations:—Kimchi: Because the Chaldeans had sworn oaths to them (or: the Chaldeans were to them, as the oath of oaths, the most sacred oath), they were bound by oath to them, so that Nebuchadnezzar must first remember their treachery against him. Cocc. refers
ìָäֶí
in both cases to the Babylonians, to whom the oracle appeared delusive, because they remembered the strength of Jerusalem and the fate of Sennacherib; whereupon the Chaldean divines made repeated protestations, and some one then called to mind the guilt of the Jews, who, having fallen away from their God, were given into the hand of the king of Babylon. There is a whole story on the subject, as to which see Targ., Rashi,—namely, that Nebuchadnezzar inquired at the oracle forty-nine times, and always received the answer, Besiege Jerusalem. (Similarly Eich., Schn.) Häv.: “Oaths of oaths are to them,” namely, from God; so that the Jews relied on God’s most holy promises, which were assured to them (!). To which, however, the sin of Judah stood in opposition, which Jehovah, as her husband, would bring to remembrance (Num_5:15). Hengst.’s view, who translates similarly, is at all events better: “that which was sworn to them by oath,” so that “the sworn of the oaths” is the announcement of destruction, sworn to them by oath (“as truly as I live”) in various ways, which they repelled as a delusion, while the prophet, behind whom the Almighty stands, makes known to them anew His irrevocable decree. “In this way Judah brings to remembrance (Eze_21:29) the iniquity, which it was its duty to atone for by sincere repentance.” Umbr.: But the inhabitants of the city live on in blind confidence, in spite of the most sacred protestations of God, etc. Yet Jehovah brings guilt to remembrance, so that Jerusalem shall at last be overtaken by punishment. Ewald: “They thought they should have weeks upon weeks,” while He (as their adversary—God) “recalls the (their) guilt (faithlessness towards Him), as a sufficient cause for allowing them to be besieged and taken.”]
Eze_21:29. It seems most appropriate to the previous context to regard them as brought to remembrance, and thus everything else stands in close connection with that fact.—Eze_16:57.—Eze_20:43.—Ewald: “Because ye come to remembrance, ye shall be taken by the hand.” Phillips.: “Because He hath brought sin to your remembrance, since, etc., because they are brought to your remembrance, ye shall be taken by His hand.” Rosenm.: Because ye are remembered—before Me.—
áַּëַּó
is equivalent to: violently (Eze_12:13; Eze_19:4). Usually it is understood of the minister of divine vengeance (Hengst.).—Nebuchadnezzar, with reference to Eze_21:16.
Eze_21:29 in connection with Eze_21:28 forms the transition—the introduction to the following paragraph.
Eze_21:30-32
[25–27]. The Prince of Israel
ADDITIONAL NOTE
[“By a lively and energetic turn in the discourse, the prophet passes from the people at large to address himself immediately to Zedekiah, and styles him not only wicked, but also pierced through, although, it is well known, he was not actually slain in the calamities that ensued. But it is not exactly what was to be done by the external sword of the Babylonians that comes here into view; it is the execution of the Lord’s judgment, under the same form and aspect of severity as that which had been presented in the former part of the vision—the terrors of His drawn sword. The sword is but an image of the judgment itself, precisely as the devouring fire had been in the vision immediately preceding; and it is not the less true that Zedekiah fell under its powerful stroke, though he personally survived the catastrophe. Driven ignominiously from his throne, doomed to see his family slain before his eyes, to have these eyes themselves put out, and to be led as a miserable and helpless captive in chains to Babylon, he might with the most perfect propriety be regarded as the grand victim of the Lord’s sword—already, in a manner, pierced through with it; for, to the strongly idealistic spirit of the prophet, the wickedness and the sword, the sin and its punishment, appear inseparably connected together. The overthrow to which he was destined seemed to the prophet’s eye at once so inevitable and so near, that he could speak of it no otherwise than as a thing already in existence.
“But it was to be no merely personal loss and degradation; the overthrow to be accomplished on Zedekiah was to draw along with it the complete subversion of the present state of things. Therefore, while the prophet represents the day of visitation as coming upon him, he also speaks of it as being at the time when sin generally had reached its consummation, and the completeness of the guilt was to have its parallel in the complete and terminal character of the judgment. All must now be made desolate; the mitre of the high priest (the emblem of his official dignity and honour, as the representative of a consecrated and priestly people), as well as the crown of the king, was to be put away, and everything turned upside down. Such a convulsed and disorganized state of things was approaching, that, as it is said, ‘this should no longer be this;’ in other words, nothing should be allowed to remain what it had been, it should be another thing than formerly; as is presently explained in what follows: ‘The low is exalted and the high is brought down,’—a general revolution, in which the outward relations of things should be made to change places, in just retaliation upon the people for having so grossly perverted the moral relations of things. Yet the agents and participators in these revolutions are warned not to expect any settled condition to come out of them; ‘this also,’ it is said, ‘shall not be,’ it shall not attain to permanence and security; and so, overthrow is to follow overthrow; ‘nowhere shall there be rest, nowhere security; all things shall be in a state of fluctuation, until the appearing of the great Restorer and Prince of Peace.’ ”—Fairbairn’s Ezekiel, pp. 242, 243.—W. F.]
Eze_21:30. One is specially singled out and apostrophized (comp. Eze_21:19).—
çָìָì
is not: “profane,” or “sacrilegious,” as
øָùָׁò
(we recall the contrast to
öַãִּé÷
in Eze_3:18) stands beside it. The Chaldee gives: “worthy of death.”—Comp. at Eze_12:10.—The day is the time of judgment, of punishment, of overthrow (1Sa_26:10; Psa_37:13; Job_18:20).—The time of the iniquity of the end (Eze_7:2) is when iniquity, (breach of oaths) brings the end (generally). [Schn., Cocc.: The end-guilt as the last and utmost.] In what sense the end is to be taken, how far Zedekiah’s guilt, who is therefore the subject of address, brings it about, Eze_21:31 shows.—The infinitive denotes the mere action, without stating from whom it proceeds (Hengst.), more expressively than the imperative
îַöְðֶôֶú
, from
öָðַó
(Isa_22:18 : “enwrap”), denotes in the Pentateuch (11 times) the head-band (turban) of the high-priest. As
òֲèָøָä
, from
òָèַø
(to surround), denotes the royal crown, and thus stands for the kingdom in contradistinction to the high-priesthood, so
äָøִéí
(from
øåּí
) could also be taken in as absolute contradistinction to
äָñִéø
,—as Hitzig interrogatively renders it: “lift,” “raise,” or “maintain in elevation.” But that the kingly dignity should remain untouched, cannot, in the light of the context, be a matter of uncertainty, and even in Hitzig’s opinion Jehovah’s negative to such a question is undoubted.
öְðִåֹó îְìåּáä
, in Isa_62:3, combines the royal and priestly, not merely in a figurative sense, but on the ground of Exo_19:6. Besides, Ezekiel is speaking of the end as a whole, not of the subversion of the kingdom merely; although it comes to pass specially by means of the iniquity of the king who is apostrophized, and the judgment (Eze_21:32) points to the priesthood as well as the royalty. Thus nothing remains but to interpret
äָøִéí
as synonymous with
äָñִéø
, even without a
îִéִּùְׂøָàֵì
, which can be easily supplied from the context (Zedekiah is expressly designated “Prince of Israel” in Eze_21:30). Consequently, “sentence of death is pronounced on the theocracy,” according to its existing form, which the history of the people subsequent to the exile confirms. Comp. Keil on the passage. [Cocc. takes both as designating the kingdom as a whole, not merely Zedekiah’s; and then understands the following as referring to the elevation of the Asmonæans, whose crown, however, would not be the Messianic one promised. In reference to this latter, Ewald remarks: “This corrupt earthly kingdom is not this Messianic kingdom which is to come.”]—
æåֹú ìàֹÎæåֹú
(neuter) indicates, according to most interpreters, the complete subversion of the existing state of things (Eze_21:32), so that the low is to be elevated, and the lofty made low, as Eze_21:32 shows, by Jehovah. Israel having abased herself by sin, God thoroughly abases her by punishment. Häv. takes
äַùָּׁôָìָä
—
ָä
as: “turned towards the low,” a constructio prœgnans, betokening the condescension of God. Compare at Eze_17:24. Then
æàֹú×
would be understood thus: This (what has just been brought low) is not this, namely, what it should be (according to its ideal), but a “not this.” And with this is connected elevation (ch Eze_17:24), namely, through the Messiah, as is seen in what follows; whereupon the bringing low of the high, which is more forcibly depicted in Eze_21:32, returns again to the existing condition of things under Zedekiah; and “this also,” merely recapitulating = Yea, this cast-down priesthood and royalty is not (namely, according to Eze_21:31) what it should be, and thus in reality is not, and this condition endures till its elevation in the Coming One (till, ideal terminus, like Gen_49:10).
Eze_21:32. The thrice-repeated overturn (found here only) accords with the well-known symbolism of the divine. Usually taken as emphatic, to denote total destruction. [According to Abarbanel, it refers to the three last kings, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; according to others, to the three destructions—the Babylonish, the Greek under Antiochus, and the Roman.] Comp. Isaiah 24.—
Îðָä
goes back on
æàֹú
, or means the land (?).—According to most, this also indicates an additional overthrow; it is more natural to regard it as betokening the present overthrow.
äָéָä
, masculine, being construed with it, shows
æàֹú
to be neuter. But this inverted state of things is not to be for ever.
òַã
, according to its root-signification, includes the future, so that the Person in question brings to an end the overthrow, or the abasement to “nothing,” since He completes it, i.e. makes it complete in form; but at the same time, through realization of the idea in the “overthrown” or “brought low,” effects the fulfilment.—The judgment is God’s, Deu_1:17, therefore here also Jehovah gives it. The expression speaks of a re-establishment of “the judgment” by means which include chastisement; it embraces the royal and priestly office (Exo_28:29; 1Ki_3:9 sq.). Comp. besides, Gen_49:10; Psa_72:1; Isa_9:6; Isa_42:1; Jer_23:5; Jer_33:17; Joh_5:22; Act_7:14.
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON Eze_21:32
[“We can have no hesitation in understanding by this person the Messiah, whether we translate, ‘Till he comes to whom the right is,’ or, ‘Till he comes to whom the judgment belongs;’ ‘and I give it to him.’ It is not expressly said what was to be given him, and should stand waiting for its proper possessor till he should come; but the context plainly forbids us to understand anything less than what was taken away—the things represented by the priestly mitre and the royal crown. The true priestly dignity, and the proper regal glory, were to be gone for a time into abeyance; some partial, temporary, and fluctuating possession of them might be regained, but nothing more; the adequate and permanent realization was only to be found in the person of Messiah, because in Him alone was there to be a fitting representation of the divine righteousness. It is true there was something like a restoration of the standing and honour of the priesthood after the return from the Babylonish exile; and if the ideas currently entertained upon the subject were correct, there might appear in that a failure of the prophecy. But there was no right restoration of the priestly, any more than of the regal dignity at the time specified; it was but a shadow of the original glory. For there was no longer the distinctive prerogative of the Urim and Thummim, nor the ark of the covenant, nor the glory over-shadowing the mercy seat; all was in a depressed and mutilated condition, and even that subject to many interferences from the encroachments of foreign powers. So much only was given, both in respect to the priesthood and the kingdom, as to show that the Lord had not forsaken His people, and to serve as pledge of the coming glory. But it was to the still-prospective, rather than the present state of things, that the eye of faith was directed to look for the proper restoration. And lest any should expect otherwise, the prophet Zechariah, after the return from Babylon, took up the matter, as it were, where Ezekiel had left it, and intimated in the plainest manner, that what was then accomplished was scarcely worth taking into account; it was, at the most, but doing in a figure what could only find its real accomplishment in the person and work of Messiah. Especially at Eze_6:14 : ‘And he (the branch) shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory; and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne.’ Thus the mitre and the crown were both to meet in him, and the temple in its noblest sense be built, and the glory be obtained, such as it became the Lord’s Anointed to possess. Meanwhile all was but preparatory and imperfect.”—Fairbairn’s Ezekiel, pp. 244, 245.—W. F.]
