Ezekiel 21:2 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. An explication of the prophecy in the close of the foregoing chapter concerning the fire in the forest, which the people complained they could not understand (Eze 21:1-5), with directions to the prophet to show himself deeply affected with it (Eze 21:6, Eze 21:7). II. A further prediction of the sword that was coming upon the land, by which all should be laid waste; and this expressed very emphatically (Eze 21:8-17). III. A prospect given of the king of Babylon's approach to Jerusalem, to which he was determined by divination (Eze 21:18-24). IV. Sentence passed upon Zedekiah king of Judah (Eze 21:25-27). V. The destruction of the Ammonites by the sword foretold (Eze 21:28-32). Thus is this chapter all threatenings.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 21 This chapter contains an explanation of a prophecy in the latter part of the preceding chapter; and a new one, concerning the sword of the Chaldeans, and the destruction of the Jews and Ammonites by it. The prophecy of the fire in the forest is explained, Eze 21:1, upon which the prophet is directed to show his concern at it by sighing, in order to awaken the attention of the people to it, Eze 21:6, then follows a prophecy of a very sharp and bright sword, which should do great execution upon the people and princes of Israel; and therefore the prophet, in order to affect them, with it, is bid to howl and cry, and smite on his thigh; and smite his hands together, and the Lord says he would do so; all which is designed to set forth the greatness of the calamity and the distress, Eze 21:8, next the prophet is ordered to represent the king of Babylon as at a place where two ways met, and as at a loss which way to take, and as determined by divination to go to Jerusalem first, Eze 21:18, and then Zedekiah, the then reigning prince of Israel, has his doom pronounced on him, and he is ordered to be stripped of his regalia; and an intimation is given that there should be no more king over Israel of the house of David until the Messiah came, Eze 21:26 and the chapter is concluded with a prophecy of the destruction of the Ammonites in their own land, which should certainly be, though their diviners might, say the contrary, Eze 21:28.

And say to the land of Israel,.... The inhabitants of it, signified by the "forest of the south field", Eze 20:47, thus saith the Lord, behold, I am against thee; and sad it is to have the Lord against a people, a nation, a city, or a family, or a particular person; for there is no contending with him, or standing before him; there is always a reason for it, it is for sin when God is against a people, even his own professing people: and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath; bring the Chaldean army out of Babylon; which interprets what is meant by the "fire" he would kindle in the land of Israel, Eze 20:47, namely, the sword of the enemy, which he would bring upon it; or war, with all its desolating train of judgments: and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked; meant by the green and dry tree, Eze 20:47, who, though they shall not perish everlastingly together, yet may fall together in temporal calamities; the one may be chastised, and the other condemned; or the one be carried captive for their good, as Ezekiel and Daniel, &c. and others be cut off by sword and famine; and such as were captives, never the better for their captivity. The Targum is, "I will remove out of thee thy righteous ones, that I may destroy thy wicked ones.'' Some think that only such who were righteous in appearance, or in their own sight, are here meant. R. Saadiah Gaon, as Kimchi quotes him, interprets them of such as were righteous to Baal, and served him continually, in distinction from such as were wicked to him, and did not serve him continually; and both were wicked before the Lord, and therefore justly cut off.

(Chapter 21, Verse 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked: therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north. And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord, for I have drawn my sword out of its sheath, the sword that cannot be returned. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Therefore, son of man, prophesy and set your face against Jerusalem, and behold their sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will draw my sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. Thus my sword will go forth from its sheath over all flesh from the South to the North, and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have brought forth my sword from its sheath; it will not return again. For as it was said before: They say of me, is not this one speaking in parables? And the people demanded a clear judgment: therefore what the Lord spoke metaphorically or in parable, and as others interpret, as a proverb, he now speaks more clearly, that the desert of Nageb and Darom and Theman are Jerusalem, and its temple, the Holy of Holies, and all the land of Judah; and the flame which will consume the desert is to be understood as the devouring sword, which has been brought forth from its sheath, to strike down the righteous and the wicked. For this is a green wood and a dry wood. Hence the Lord says: If they do these things in the green wood, what will they do in the dry? (Luke 23:31) For this reason, I do not know what they were thinking, the Seventy interpreted it as unfair and unjust, as if both did not mean the same. And what he had said there: And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it, that is, the wood or the flame, and it shall not be extinguished, he speaks here in other words: That all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn forth my sword from its sheath never to be returned. For truly, the fire against Jerusalem is not extinguished, nor is the burning sword recalled, because there is little time in between, and Jerusalem with its temple is burned by the fire of Babylon.

The prophet goes on to denounce the fate of Jerusalem and Judea; using signs of vehement grief, to denote the greatness of the calamity, Eze 21:2-7. He then changes the emblem to that of a sharp and bright sword, still denoting the same sad event, Eze 21:8-17; and, becoming yet more explicit, he represents the king of Babylon, who was to be employed by God in this work, as setting out to take vengeance on both the Jews and the Ammonites, for joining with Egypt in a confederacy against him. He is described as standing at the parting of the roads leading to the respective capitals of the Jews and Ammonites; and doubting which to attack first, he commits the decision of the matter to his arts of divination, performed by mingling arrows inscribed with the names of the different nations or cities, and then marching against that whose name was written on the arrow first drawn from the quiver. In this case the name Jerusalem comes forward; and therefore he proceeds against it, Eze 21:18-24. History itself could scarcely be more explicit than this prophecy. The profane prince Zedekiah as then declared to be given up by God, and his kingdom devoted to utter destruction, for that breach of oath of which the prophet foretells he should be guilty, Eze 21:25-27. The remaining verses form a distinct prophecy relating to the destruction of the Ammonites, which was fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Eze 21:28-32.

Set thy face toward Jerusalem - This is a continuation of the preceding prophecy; and in this chapter the prophet sets before them, in the plainest language, what the foregoing metaphors meant, so that they could not complain of his parables.

PROPHECY AGAINST ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM, AND AGAINST AMMON. (Eze. 21:1-32) the holy places--the three parts of the temple: the courts, the holy place, and the holiest. If "synagogues" existed before the Babylonian captivity, as Psa 74:8 seems to imply, they and the proseuchÃ&brvbr, or oratories, may be included in the "holy places" here.