Teks -- Ezekiel 21:24-32 (NET)

21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. 21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of final punishment, 21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tear off the turban, take off the crown! Things must change! Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud! 21:27 A total ruin I will make it! It will come to an end when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; say: “‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning– 21:29 while seeing false visions for you and reading lying omens for you– to place that sword on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of final punishment. 21:30 Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in your native land, I will judge you. 21:31 I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction. 21:32 You will become fuel for the fire– your blood will stain the middle of the land; you will no longer be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Eze 21:24 - Your transgressions

Against God, and against the king of Babylon.

Wesley: Eze 21:24 - Discovered

To all in court, city, and country.

Wesley: Eze 21:24 - With the hand

As birds, or beasts in the net, are taken with the hands, so shall you, and be carried into Babylon.

Wesley: Eze 21:25 - And thou

Zedekiah.

Wesley: Eze 21:25 - Whose day

The day of sorrows, and sufferings, and punishment is at hand.

Wesley: Eze 21:25 - Shall have an end

Shall bring the ruin of king and kingdom, and with the overthrow of your state, the means of sinning shall end too.

Wesley: Eze 21:26 - The diadem

The royal attire of the head, which the king daily wore.

Wesley: Eze 21:26 - Shall not be the same

The kingdom shall never be what it hath been.

Wesley: Eze 21:26 - Him that is low

Jeconiah. The advance of this captive king, came to pass in the thirty - seventh year of his captivity.

Wesley: Eze 21:27 - Shall be no more

Never recover its former glory, 'till the scepter be quite taken away from Judah, and way be made for the Messiah. He hath an incontestable right to the dominion both in the church and in the world. And in due time he shall have the possession of it, all adverse power being overturned.

Wesley: Eze 21:28 - Their reproach

Wherewith they reproached Israel in the day of Israel's afflictions.

Wesley: Eze 21:29 - While

While thy astrologers, and soothsayers, deceive thee with fair, but false divinations.

Wesley: Eze 21:29 - To bring thee

To bring thee under the sword of the Chaldeans, and destroy thee as the Jews; to make thee stumble and fall on their necks, as men that fall among a multitude of slain.

Wesley: Eze 21:30 - Shall I cause it

God will by no means suffer the sword to be sheathed.

Wesley: Eze 21:30 - Judge thee

Condemn, and execute.

Wesley: Eze 21:31 - I will blow

As those who melt down metals blow upon the metal in the fire, that the fire may burn the fiercer.

JFB: Eze 21:24

Their unfaithfulness to Nebuchadnezzar was a type of their general unfaithfulness to their covenant God.

JFB: Eze 21:24 - with the hand

Namely, of the king of Babylon.

JFB: Eze 21:25 - profane

As having desecrated by idolatry and perjury his office as the Lord's anointed. HAVERNICK translates, as in Eze 21:14, "slain," that is, not literally, but virtually; to Ezekiel's idealizing view Zedekiah was the grand victim "pierced through" by God's sword of judgment, as his sons were slain before his eyes, which were then put out, and he was led a captive in chains to Babylon. English Version is better: so GESENIUS (2Ch 36:13; Jer 52:2).

JFB: Eze 21:25 - when iniquity shall have an end

(Eze 21:29). When thine iniquity, having reached its last stage of guilt, shall be put an end to by judgment (Eze 35:5).

JFB: Eze 21:26 - diadem

Rather, "the miter" of the holy priest (Exo 28:4; Zec 3:5). His priestly emblem as representative of the priestly people. Both this and "the crown," the emblem of the kingdom, were to be removed, until they should be restored and united in the Mediator, Messiah (Psa 110:2, Psa 110:4; Zec 6:13), [FAIRBAIRN]. As, however, King Zedekiah alone, not the high priest also, is referred to in the context, English Version is supported by GESENIUS.

JFB: Eze 21:26 - this shall not be the same

The diadem shall not be as it was [ROSENMULLER]. Nothing shall remain what it was [FAIRBAIRN].

JFB: Eze 21:26 - exalt . . . low, . . . abase . . . high

Not the general truth expressed (Pro 3:34; Luk 1:52; Jam 4:6; 1Pe 5:5); but specially referring to Messiah and Zedekiah contrasted together. The "tender plant . . . out of the dry ground" (Isa 53:2) is to be "exalted" in the end (Eze 21:27); the now "high" representative on David's throne, Zedekiah, is to be "abased." The outward relations of things shall be made to change places in just retaliation on the people for having so perverted the moral relations of things [HENGSTENBERG].

JFB: Eze 21:27

Literally, "An overturning, overturning, overturning, will I make it." The threefold repetition denotes the awful certainty of the event; not as ROSENMULLER explains, the overthrow of the three, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah; for Zedekiah alone is referred to.

JFB: Eze 21:27 - it shall be no more, until he come whose fight it is

Strikingly parallel to Gen 49:10. Nowhere shall there be rest or permanence; all things shall be in fluctuation until He comes who, as the rightful Heir, shall restore the throne of David that fell with Zedekiah. The Hebrew for "right" is "judgment"; it perhaps includes, besides the right to rule, the idea of His rule being one in righteousness (Psa 72:2; Isa 9:6-7; Isa 11:4; Rev 19:11). Others (Nebuchadnezzar, &c.), who held the rule of the earth delegated to them by God, abused it by unrighteousness, and so forfeited the "right." He both has the truest "right" to the rule, and exercises it in "right." It is true the tribal "scepter" continued with Judah "till Shiloh came" (Gen 49:10); but there was no kingly scepter till Messiah came, as the spiritual King then (Joh 18:36-37); this spiritual kingdom being about to pass into the literal, personal kingdom over Israel at His second coming, when, and not before, this prophecy shall have its exhaustive fulfilment (Luk 1:32-33; Jer 3:17; Jer 10:7; "To thee doth it appertain").

JFB: Eze 21:28

Lest Ammon should think to escape because Nebuchadnezzar had taken the route to Jerusalem, Ezekiel denounces judgment against Ammon, without the prospect of a restoration such as awaited Israel. Jer 49:6, it is true, speaks of a "bringing again of its captivity," but this probably refers to its spiritual restoration under Messiah; or, if referring to it politically, must refer to but a partial restoration at the downfall of Babylon under Cyrus.

JFB: Eze 21:28 - their reproach

This constituted a leading feature in their guilt; they treated with proud contumely the covenant-people after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (Eze 25:3, Eze 25:6; Zep 2:9-10), and appropriated Israel's territory (Jer 49:1; Amo 1:13-15).

JFB: Eze 21:28 - furbished, to consume

MAURER punctuates thus, "Drawn for the slaughter, it is furbished to devour ('consume'), to glitter." English Version, "to consume because of the glittering," means, "to consume by reason of the lightning, flash-like rapidity with which it falls." Five years after the fall of Jerusalem, Ammon was destroyed for aiding Ishmael in usurping the government of Judea against the will of the king of Babylon (2Ki 25:25; Jer 41:15) [GROTIUS].

JFB: Eze 21:29 - see vanity . . . divine a lie

Ammon, too, had false diviners who flattered them with assurances of safety; the only result of which will be to "bring Ammon upon the necks," &c., that is, to add the Ammonites to the headless trunks of the slain of Judah, whose bad example Ammon followed, and "whose day" of visitation for their guilt "is come."

JFB: Eze 21:29 - when their iniquity shall have an end

See on Eze 21:25.

JFB: Eze 21:30 - Shall I cause it to return into his sheath

Namely, without first destroying Ammon. Certainly not (Jer 47:6-7). Others, as the Margin, less suitably read it imperatively, "Cause it to return," that is, after it has done the work appointed to it.

JFB: Eze 21:30 - in the land of thy nativity

Ammon was not to be carried away captive as Judah, but to perish in his own land.

JFB: Eze 21:31 - blow against thee in, &c.

Rather, "blow upon thee with the fire," &c. Image from smelting metals (Eze 22:20-21).

JFB: Eze 21:31 - brutish

Ferocious.

JFB: Eze 21:31 - skilful to destroy

Literally, "artificers of destruction"; alluding to Isa 54:16.

JFB: Eze 21:32 - thy blood shall be

That is, shall flow.

JFB: Eze 21:32 - be no more remembered

Be consigned as a nation to oblivion.

Repetition of the charges in the twentieth chapter only that there they were stated in an historical review of the past and present; here the present sins of the nation exclusively are brought forward.

Clarke: Eze 21:25 - And thou profane wicked prince of Israel

And thou profane wicked prince of Israel - Zedekiah, called here profane, because he had broken his oath; and wicked, because of his opposition to God and his prophet

Clarke: Eze 21:25 - Whose day is come

Whose day is come - Who in a short time shalt be delivered into the hands of thy enemies.

Clarke: Eze 21:26 - Exalt him that is low

Exalt him that is low - Give Gedaliah the government of Judea

Clarke: Eze 21:26 - Abase him that is high

Abase him that is high - Depose Zedekiah - remove his diadem, and take off his crown.

Clarke: Eze 21:27 - I will overturn

I will overturn - I will utterly destroy the Jewish government. Perverted will I make it. Heb. perverted, perverted, perverted I will make it.

Clarke: Eze 21:27 - Until he come whose - is

Until he come whose - is - משפט mishpat , the judgment; i.e., till the coming of the son of David, the Lord Jesus; who, in a mystic and spiritual sense, shall have the throne of Israel, and whose right it is. See the famous prophecy, Gen 49:10, and Luk 1:32. The עוה avah , which we translate overturn, is thrice repeated here; to point out, say the rabbins, the three conquests of Jerusalem, in which Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah were overthrown.

Clarke: Eze 21:28 - Concerning the Ammonites

Concerning the Ammonites - They had reproached and insulted Judea in its low estate, see Ezekiel 25. This prophecy against them was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem. See Joseph. Ant. lib. 10 c. 11; and Jeremiah 27, 48, 49; Ezekiel 25.

Clarke: Eze 21:30 - I will judge thee

I will judge thee - This seems to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, who, after his return from Jerusalem, became insane, and lived like a beast for seven years; but was afterwards restored, and acknowledged the Lord.

Clarke: Eze 21:32 - Thou shalt be no more remembered

Thou shalt be no more remembered - The empire of the Chaldeans was destroyed, and the power transferred to the Persians; the Persian empire was destroyed, and given to the Greeks; the Grecian empire was destroyed, and given to the Mohammedans; and the destruction of the Mohammedans is at no great distance.

Defender: Eze 21:27 - whose right it is

The right to Judah's crown (Eze 21:26) was taken away from the line of rebellious princes of Israel (Eze 21:25) by the Lord, using the king of Babylon, and will be withheld until the Messiah comes, for He alone has the true right to the throne (Jer 22:28-30; Jer 33:15-17)."

TSK: Eze 21:24 - your transgressions // ye shall

your transgressions : Eze 16:16-22, Eze 22:3-12, Eze 22:24-31, 23:5-21, Eze 24:7; Isa 3:9; Jer 2:34, Jer 3:2; Jer 5:27, Jer 5:28, Jer 6:15, Jer 8:12, Jer 9:2-7; Hos 4:2; Mic 3:10-12

ye shall : Isa 22:17, Isa 22:18; Jer 15:2; Amo 9:1-3

TSK: Eze 21:25 - profane // whose

profane : Eze 17:19; 2Ch 36:13; Jer 24:8, Jer 52:2

whose : Eze 21:29, Eze 7:6, Eze 30:3, Eze 35:5; Psa 7:9, Psa 9:5, Psa 9:6; Jer 51:13

TSK: Eze 21:26 - Remove // exalt

Remove : Eze 12:12, Eze 12:13, Eze 16:12; 2Ki 25:6, 2Ki 25:27; Jer 13:18, Jer 39:6, Jer 39:7, Jer 52:9-11, Jer 52:31-34; Lam 5:16

exalt : Eze 17:24; 1Sa 2:7, 1Sa 2:8; Psa 75:7, Psa 113:7, Psa 113:8; Luk 1:52

TSK: Eze 21:27 - I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it // until

I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it : Heb. Perverted, perverted, perverted, will I make it. Hag 2:21, Hag 2:22; Heb 12:26, Heb 12:27

until : Eze 21:13, Eze 17:22, Eze 17:23, Eze 34:23, Eze 37:24, Eze 37:25; Gen 49:10; Num 24:19; Psa 2:6, Psa 72:7-10; Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Jer 30:21, Jer 33:15, Jer 33:16, Jer 33:21, Jer 33:26; Dan 2:44, Dan 9:25; Hos 3:5; Amo 9:11, Amo 9:12; Mic 5:2; Hag 2:7; Zec 6:12, Zec 6:13, Zec 9:9; Mal 3:1, Mal 4:2; Mat 28:18; Luk 1:32, Luk 1:69, Luk 2:11; Joh 1:4, Joh 1:9; Eph 1:20-22; Phi 2:9, Phi 2:10; 1Pe 3:22; Rev 19:11-16

TSK: Eze 21:28 - concerning the // The sword

concerning the : Eze 21:20, Eze 25:2-7; Jer 49:1-5; Amo 1:13-15; Zep 2:8-10

The sword : Eze 21:9, Eze 21:10

TSK: Eze 21:29 - they see // to bring // whose

they see : Eze 12:24, Eze 13:23, Eze 22:28; Isa 44:25, Isa 47:13; Jer 27:9

to bring : Eze 13:10; Lam 2:14

whose : Eze 21:25; Job 18:20; Psa 37:13

TSK: Eze 21:30 - Shall I cause it to return // I will // in the

Shall I cause it to return : or, Cause it to return, Eze 21:4, Eze 21:5; Jer 47:6, Jer 47:7

I will : Eze 16:38, Eze 28:13, Eze 28:15; Gen 15:14

in the : Eze 16:3, Eze 16:4

TSK: Eze 21:31 - pour // I will blow // brutish // and skilful

pour : Eze 7:8, Eze 14:19, Eze 22:22; Nah 1:6

I will blow : Eze 22:20,Eze 22:21; Psa 18:15; Isa 30:33, Isa 37:7, Isa 40:7; Hag 1:9

brutish : or, burning

and skilful : Isa 14:4-6; Jer 4:7, Jer 6:22, Jer 6:23, Jer 51:20,Jer 51:21; Hab 1:6-10

TSK: Eze 21:32 - for fuel // thy blood // thou shalt be no // for I

for fuel : Eze 20:47, Eze 20:48; Mal 4:1; Mat 3:10,Mat 3:12

thy blood : Eze 21:30; Isa 34:3-7

thou shalt be no : This prophecy against the Ammonites was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem; and their name has utterly perished from the face of the earth. Eze 25:10; Zep 2:9

for I : Num 23:19; Mat 24:35

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Eze 21:24 - Your transgressions // Discovered // All your doings // Because // Taken with the hand

Either referring to God, who saw still their wicked perjuries, and other sins which they persisted in, or rather referring to Nebuchadnezzar, and his ministers of state and war, to whose memory all the falsehood of the Jews was still kept fresh by repeated disloyalty, with reproach to God, whose oath the king and inhabitants of Jerusalem had violated.

Your transgressions against God, and against the king of Babylon, whose yoke you submitted to with promised obedience.

Discovered visibly to all in court, city, and country.

All your doings public management of matters of the kingdom, and private too; you add sin to sin, and that without blushing for them, or hiding them.

Because the whole summed up for confirming the threats.

Taken with the hand as birds or beasts taken in the net, encompassed therein that they cannot get away, are taken with the hand, so shall you, and be carried into Babylon.

Poole: Eze 21:25 - Profane // Whose day

Then; Zedekiah.

Profane tainted with secret deep irreligious opinions, whence he despised God and his oath, and profaned the name of God. Prince: so much was his royal dignity lessened, that indeed he was rather a prince subject and dependent than a king.

Whose day day of sorrows, and sufferings, and punishment, is at hand. Iniquity; the irreligion which is spread by thee among thy courtiers shall cease to spread itself, because of thy low estate. Or, when iniquity shall bring the fatal ruin of king and kingdom, and both shall be destroyed, and with the overthrow of your state the opportunities and means of sinning shall end too.

Poole: Eze 21:26 - The crown // The same // Exalt him // That is low

Either God speaks to the prophet to declare the thing, or to Nebuchadnezzar to do the thing, to take away the diadem, the royal tire of the head, which the king did ordinarily and daily wear.

The crown which was a royal ornament used on solemnities, and more than ordinary occasions; or it may be one thing in doubled expressions of the deposing of Zedekiah.

The same the kingdom and crown shall never be what it hath been; as we say of one greatly altered, He is not himself, so here, This shall not be the same; it was great, glorious, and flourishing, but hereafter small, dependent, ignoble, and withering.

Exalt him Jeconiah; it is probable the prophet foretells the advance of this captive king, which came to pass in the 37th year of Jeconiah’ s captivity, in the first year of Merodach, 2Ki 25:27-29 Jer 52:31 , who exalted his seat above all the captive kings in Babylon.

That is low now in captivity in Babylon. Abase him; Zedekiah, That is high; not now on the throne of Judah, strengthened with the confederacy of Egypt, on which he relieth, and exalteth himself, and bears himself high against the prophet, the king of Babylon, and, which is most insolent, against the God of heaven.

Poole: Eze 21:27 - It shall be no more

This triplication of the threat speaks the certainty of the event, and also the gradual, successive troubles and overthrows that this kingdom should ever after be afflicted with.

It shall be no more never recover its former glory and strength, but consume, till the sceptre be quite taken away from Judah, and way be made for the Messiah, who is he that is to come, whose is the dominion, and to whom the Father will give it. So the final desolation of the temporal kingdom of the seed of David, which was most heavy tidings to the carnal Jews, is threatened, and the eternal kingdom of the Messiah, most joyful tidings to the believing Jews, is promised.

Poole: Eze 21:28 - The Ammonites // Their reproach // The sword // The sword is drawn // For the slaughter // Because of the glittering

In Eze 21:19,20 you had the mention of Rabbath, chief city of the Ammonites, in equal danger with Jerusalem; but while Jerusalem is threatened, Rabbath is no further minded, till now God directs the prophet to declare the ruin thereof.

The Ammonites a stout, but proud, injurious, and insulting people.

Their reproach wherewith they reproached Israel in the day of Israel’ s afflictions, as Jer 49:1 , and Eze 25:3,5,6 , and blasphemed the God of Israel.

The sword all warlike preparations are made against you.

The sword is drawn the war is declared, and your enemy hath drawn the sword: see Eze 21:9-11 .

For the slaughter to make waste, by avenging former quarrels and affronts. The Babylonish king comes out with bloody mind against you, O Ammonites! You countenanced Ishmael, who slew Gedaliah, viceroy by Nebuchadnezzar’ s appointment, and you would have set Ishmael on the throne; this affront you shall satisfy for with your blood.

Because of the glittering: see Eze 21:9,10 .

Poole: Eze 21:29 - Upon the necks of them that are slain // Of the wicked // Their iniquity shall have an end

War and desolation indeed hasten on thee, though in the mean while thy astrologers and soothsayers promise peace and prosperity, and deceive thee with fair but false divinations, of which Jeremiah warns them, Jer 27:9 .

Upon the necks of them that are slain to bring thee under the sword of the Chaldeans, and to destroy thee as the Jews are, who already are fallen under the destroying sword; to make thee stumble and fall on their necks, as men that fall among a multitude of slain.

Of the wicked i.e. both Jews and their king, as Eze 21:25 .

Their iniquity shall have an end: see Eze 21:25 .

Poole: Eze 21:30 - Will judge thee // Where thou wast created

Some read it without interrogation, as an advice to the Ammonites to put up the sword they had drawn for their defence, as being to no purpose to resist. If it be an interrogation, it is such as more vehemently denieth, God will by no means suffer the sword to be sheathed; in this sense it refers to the sword of the Chaldeans.

Will judge thee plead, condemn, and execute too.

Where thou wast created explained by that which follows; though they might boast of their ancient original, and their safe and impregnable strengths, yet God will bring a sword into those very places, and there they should perish.

Poole: Eze 21:31 - Pour out // I will blow against thee // Deliver thee

Pour out as a flood sweeps all away, so God will let out his indignation to overwhelm the Ammonites.

I will blow against thee as those who melt down metals blow upon the metal in the fire, that the fire might burn the fiercer, and consume the dross.

Deliver thee or, as there is no hope to one delivered up to barbarous, merciless ruffians, whose trade is to destroy, so will God deal with these Ammonites.

Poole: Eze 21:32 - Thou // For fuel // Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land // Thou shalt be no more remembered

Thou Rabbath, and thy people.

For fuel which is soon and unavoidably consumed in such a furnace.

Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land thou shalt no where be safe, or thy blood shall not be covered, nor thou buried.

Thou shalt be no more remembered thy name shall perish.

PBC: Eze 21:27

See Philpot: THE THREEFOLD OVERTHROW OF SELF

Haydock: Eze 21:24 - Remembered

Remembered. Hebrew, "caused....to be remembered," (Haydock) sinning publicly. (Calmet)

Haydock: Eze 21:25 - Thou profane

Thou profane, &c. He speaks to king Sedecias, who had broken his oath, and was otherwise a wicked prince. (Challoner) ---

Hebrew, "Criminal, (sentenced to die) wicked," &c. (Calmet)

Haydock: Eze 21:26 - Diadem // This

Diadem, ( cidarim. ) Some think this was th ornament of the high priest, (St. Jerome; Chaldean) denoting that he should perish as well as the king. (Haydock) ---

This. The royal crown of Juda had exalted Sedecias from a private state and condition to the sovereign power, as the loss of it brought down Jechonias, &c. (Challoner) ---

It shall be given go Godolias. (Chaldean) Hebrew, "it is not (Haydock) or shall be no more" the same, or for the posterity of Sedecias. None of the tribe of Juda was truly king after him, till the Messias. (Sanctius; Tirinus, &c.) (Genesis xlix. 10.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Eze 21:27 - Iniquity // Him

Iniquity. Or, I will overturn it, viz., the crown of Juda, for the manifold iniquities of the kings: but it shall not be utterly removed till Christ come, whose right it is; and who shall reign in the spiritual house of Jacob (that is, in his Church,) for evermore. (Challoner) ---

Hebrew also, "sideways." Thou shalt no more wear the tiara erect, (Haydock) like a king: (Hesychius) or rather, thy iniquity or punishment shall be most grievous. ---

Him; Christ, or (Calmet) Nabuchodonosor. (Vatable) (Menochius)

Haydock: Eze 21:28 - Reproach

Reproach, by which they had reproached and insulted over the Jews, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. (Challoner) (chap. xxv. 6., and Sophonias ii. 8.) ---

They were punished five years later (Calmet) by the same Babylonians whom they had encouraged. (Worthington)

Haydock: Eze 21:30 - Sheath

Sheath. The sword of Babylon, after raging against many nations, was shortly to be judged and destroyed at home by the Medes and Persians. (Challoner) ---

After Nabuchodonosor had chastised the nations around for 18 years, after the ruin of Jerusalem, he returned and died in peace. Yet he first became like a beast, ver. 31., and Daniel iv. 30. The rest of the prophecy regards his successors. Cyrus waged war upon them, and Baltassar was slain in a conspiracy. See Isaias xlvii., and Jeremias l. (Calmet) ---

At last the sword fell upon Babylon itself. (Worthington)

Haydock: Eze 21:31 - Brutish

Brutish, or devoid of sense. (Haydock) ---

Hebrew, "burning;" smiths. (Calmet)

Gill: Eze 21:24 - Therefore thus saith the Lord God // because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered // in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear // because, I say, that they are come to remembrance // ye shall be taken with the hand

Therefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Because of their vain confidence, added to their perjury and perfidy:

because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered; their old sins, by committing new ones, both against the Lord, and against the king of Babylon:

in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; both in their religious and civil actions; in the worship of God, and in their covenants and agreements with men; their sins were exposed and manifest to all, not only to God, who was provoked thereby, but to men, to the nations round about; particularly to Nebuchadnezzar, who was enraged by them:

because, I say, that they are come to remembrance; both before the Lord, and the king of Babylon:

ye shall be taken with the hand; as easily as a bird is, when in the snare. The Targum is,

"ye shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon;''

which is no doubt the sense of the passage.

Gill: Eze 21:25 - And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel // whose day is come

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel,.... Meaning Zedekiah, the then reigning prince; who is so called, because he had profaned or violated the oath and covenant he made with the king of Babylon, as well as because of other sins he was guilty of; and his being a prince of Israel was an aggravation of his crimes: now, though it is "not fit" in common, or for ordinary persons, "to say to a king thou art wicked, and to princes ye are ungodly", Job 34:18, yet a prophet from the Lord, and in his name, may say so; and he ought, when he has a commission from God for it:

whose day is come; the time of his downfall and ruin; and so the Targum,

"whose day of destruction is come:''

when iniquity shall have an end; a stop put to the torrent of it, both in the king and his subjects; they not having the opportunity and means of sinning in captivity as before; or when the measure of iniquity is filled up, then comes punishment; or when the punishment of iniquity shall be completed. So the Targum,

"the time of the recompence of his sins.''

Gill: Eze 21:26 - Thus saith the Lord God, remove the diadem, and take off the crown // this shall not be the same // exalt him that is low // and abase him that is high

Thus saith the Lord God, remove the diadem, and take off the crown,.... That is, from Zedekiah; and as these are the regalia and ensigns of royal dignity, taking them off signifies the deposition of him as a king, the stripping him of his kingly power and authority: an earthly crown is a corruptible and fading one, at most it continues but during this life, and sometimes not so long; it does not always sit firm; sometimes it is tottering and shakes, and sometimes quite fails off to the ground; it is taken from the head of one, and put upon the head of another, by him who gives the orders in the text, and has the sovereign disposal of crowns and kingdoms; who sets up one, and puts down another. The "diadem" was a royal tire of the head, wore in common; the "crown" was put on at certain times; both signify one and the same thing, royal dignity; though the former is sometimes used as an ornament of the priesthood, as the latter of kingly power; hence the Targum,

"remove the diadem (or mitre) from Seraiah the high priest, and I will take away the crown from Zedekiah the king;''

but the latter is only meant; besides, as Kimchi observes, it was not Seraiah, but Jehozadak his son, that was carried captive with Zedekiah:

this shall not be the same; this royal dignity shall not continue the same; the kingdom shall not be in the same lustre and glory, nor in the same hands:

exalt him that is low: either Jeconiah now in captivity; and which was fulfilled when Evilmerodach lifted up his head, and set his throne above the thrones of the kings in Babylon, Jer 52:31, or Zerubbabel, of the seed of Jeconiah, who was born in the captivity, and became prince of Judah; or rather the Messiah, who was of a low extraction; born of mean parents; was as a root out of a dry ground; appeared in the form of a servant, poor and lowly; yet, when he had done his work, was highly exalted at the right hand of God; far above angels, principalities, and powers; as well as set upon the throne of his father David:

and abase him that is high; the then prince upon the throne, Zedekiah; who was high and lifted up, but should be pulled down and humbled, as he was.

Gill: Eze 21:27 - I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it // and it shall be no more // until he come whose right it is // to whom the judgment is // and I will give it him

I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it,.... The crown and kingdom of Judah; which being expressed three times, has not respect, as Kimchi thinks, to the three generations, in which the crown ceased after the captivity, as those of Asir, Shealtiel, Pedaiah; and in the fourth generation was restored to Zerubbabel; for he was no king, nor was there any of David's line after; nor were the Maccabees or Hasmoneans properly kings; but the phrase denotes the utter abolition of the kingly power, and the certainty of it, which could not be restored, notwithstanding the attempts made by Gedaliah and Ishmael; all their schemes were overturned, and so in successive ages and may also denote and include the troubles that were in the Jewish state, not only during the captivity, but from that time unto the Messiah's coming; there were nothing but overturnings, overturnings till that time came:

and it shall be no more; a kingdom governed by one of the seed of the then present family, or of the seed of David; there shall be no more a king of his race, as there was not till Shiloh came, intended in the next clause:

until he come whose right it is; the right of the crown and kingdom of Israel; which belongs to Jesus the Messiah, being descended from a race of kings of the house of Judah, and of the seed of David: or,

to whom the judgment is ^s; to whom the Father hath committed all judgment, Joh 5:22 all power of judging both his church and people, and the whole world:

and I will give it him; the crown and kingdom, which is his right; put him in the possession of it, as he was at his resurrection and ascension; and which will more fully appear in the latter day, when all kingdoms will become his; especially he has, and will appear to have, the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there will be no end, Luk 1:31. This is understood and interpreted of the Messiah, by R. Abendana ^t, a modern Jew.

Gill: Eze 21:28 - And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say // thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach // even say thou, the sword, the sword is drawn for the slaughter // it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering; being brightened and made sharp

And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say,.... Here begins a new prophecy, or rather an enlargement on part of the former; two ways being marked out for the sword of the Chaldeans to come in; the one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Rabbath of the Ammonites; the prophecy being finished concerning the former, here an account is given of the latter; how the sword should move that way, and what execution it would do:

thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; Nebuchadnezzar, agreeably to the above prophecy, having taken his route to Jerusalem, as his divination directed him, and destroyed that, returned to Babylon, without making any attempt upon the Ammonites; which so flushed them, that they insulted the Jews, and laughed at their destruction, as if their God whom they served could not save them; attributing their safety and prosperity to the idols they worshipped; see Eze 25:1,

even say thou, the sword, the sword is drawn for the slaughter; the same sword of the Chaldeans, which was drawn for the slaughter of the Jews, is now drawn for the slaughter of the Ammonites; and which is repeated for the certainty of it, and to inject terror; and this, as Josephus ^u says, was accomplished five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, in the twenty third year of Nebuchadnezzar:

it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering; being brightened and made sharp, it not only terrified with its glittering, but was more fit and prepared to cut and destroy; see Eze 21:9.

Gill: Eze 21:29 - Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee // to bring thee upon the necks of the slain, of the wicked // whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end

Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee,.... The Ammonites had their seers, soothsayers, diviners, and false prophets, which they are bid to be aware of, and are cautioned against hearkening to, Jer 27:3, these told them they were in the utmost safety, and that the king of Babylon would not come against them; or, if he did, would not succeed, when his sword was drawn and furbished for the destruction of them:

to bring thee upon the necks of the slain, of the wicked; that is, of the Jews who were slain by the sword of the Chaldeans for their wickedness; and these diviners by their vain divination and lies would bring the Ammonites into the same condition, to be slain as they were; and as it were to fall upon their necks, as one slain person upon another; and so the Targum,

"to deliver thy neck as the necks of the slain, of the wicked:''

it may be rendered, "to put thee to the necks of the slain" ^w; or, as Kimchi, "with the necks of the slain"; though some understand it, as if the diviners by their lies, promising peace and prosperity, encouraged the Ammonites to insult the Jews, and as it were to trample upon the necks of the dead:

whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end; along with Zedekiah their king; a description of the Jews; See Gill on Eze 21:27.

Gill: Eze 21:30 - Shall I cause it to return into his sheath // I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity

Shall I cause it to return into his sheath?.... The drawn and furbished sword of the Chaldeans? no, I will not; it shall never return or be put up until the Ammonites are utterly consumed. Some read these words in the imperative, as the Targum,

"return the sword to its sheath;''

so the Vulgate Latin version, "return to thy sheath"; and so may be considered as a direction to the Ammonites to put up their swords, and not stand in their own defence, since it would be to no purpose; though Jerom, and Grotius after him, take the words to be an apostrophe to the drawn sword of the Chaldeans to sheath itself, having done its work upon the Jews and Ammonites; or to the Chaldeans to return to Babylon, and where they also should be punished; and so interpret all that follows of the destruction of the Babylonians by the Medes and Persians; but the first sense is best:

I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity; not in the place where their father Ammon was born, which was at Zoar; but where they first became a kingdom and state, a body politic; or where the present generation of them were born; they should not be carried out of their own land, but destroyed in it.

Gill: Eze 21:31 - And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee // I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath // and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men // and skilful to destroy

And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee,.... Like a mighty flood, which should sweep them away for their sins and transgressions; and particularly for their reproaches of God and his people, which caused his indignation to rise, and him to pour it out upon them in such a manner:

I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath; as men put metal into a furnace, and then blow upon it, in order to melt it, and consume the dross; and which fire, so blown, is exceeding fierce and very consuming; who can stand against such a blast as that of the wrath of God, not only kindled, but blown with his breath like a stream of brimstone?

and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men; or "burners" ^x; that burn with fierce anger, barbarous and inhuman, that would show no mercy nor compassion, such were the Chaldeans, Hab 1:6,

and skilful to destroy; though like brutes or beasts of prey for their cruelty; yet, like men, rational, cunning, and artful to devise ways and means to destroy men; well versed in the art of war; and thoroughly learned in all the lessons and methods of violence and destruction.

Gill: Eze 21:32 - Thou shalt be for fuel for the fire // thy blood shall be in the midst of the land // thou shalt be no more remembered // for I the Lord have spoken it

Thou shalt be for fuel for the fire,.... Easily consumed, as briers and thorns cast into a furnace; such are wicked men to the fire of God's wrath:

thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; such large numbers shall be slain everywhere, that the land shall flow with the blood of them; who shall lie unburied, and rot, and putrefy upon the ground:

thou shalt be no more remembered; but lie in everlasting oblivion, as they do to this day; the name of an Ammonite being nowhere mentioned and heard of:

for I the Lord have spoken it; who never alters the thing that is gone out of his lips; and sooner shall heaven and earth pass away than one word of his. The Targum is,

"for I the Lord have decreed by my word;''

and his counsel shall stand, and every purpose and resolution of his shall be accomplished.