20.25 Moreover, God gives the children statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. Ezekiel’s charge is radical, but it is not outside the pale of other OT assessments, e.g., Isa 63.17.
20.26 This verse defines the sort of laws to which Ezekiel refers in v. 25, namely, offering the firstborn. Certain obligations involving the firstborn are ambiguous, e.g., Ex 22.29. Nonetheless, child sacrifice is attested in ancient Israel (Deut 12.31; Jer 7.31; 19.4–6; 32.35).
20.27–29 Another geographic setting, now in the land that God swore to give them. The promised land provided occasions for ritual malfeasance: sacrifices, offering, pleasing odors (incense), drink offerings, and the high place.
20.30–31 Ezekiel addresses his generation (the house of Israel), which can now be compared to those who have gone before. V. 31 suggests that those in exile are guilty of misdeeds like those performed by their forebears. To wit, with the effect of an inclusio (a repetition signaling the beginning and end of a unit; see vv. 3–4), God asks, Shall I be consulted by you? To this question the deity answers in the negative, which is a much milder response than it was to earlier audiences.
20.32 Again Ezekiel quotes those whom he addresses: Let us be like the nations, or “we will be like the nations.” Worship wood and stone, the most overt reference to veneration of objects representing gods other than Yahweh in this chapter; cf. Jer 2.27.
20.33–44 These verses offer hope.
20.33–35 With wrath poured out indicates that this new exodus will be accompanied by harsh trials en route. Wilderness of the peoples, through which Israel will have to pass on its way from Babylon to Syro-Palestine. Face to face, imagery of direct encounter, similar to the prior encounter in the wilderness at Mount Sinai (Deut 5.4).
20.37 I…will bring you within the bond of the covenant. Cf. the Greek manuscript tradition and RSV, “I will let you go by number.”
20.38 Certain Israelites, rebels, will be removed from the community before it enters the land. Cf. 13.9 for the motif of being removed from among the people.
20.39 The first part of the verse is an ironic admonition to worship religious objects. The final clause demonstrates the purpose of such language, to prevent God’s holy name from being profaned.
20.40–44 The scene shifts to Jerusalem and Zion, my holy mountain, the site of the temple. Ezekiel describes a hopeful future in which the people resume proper religious practices. Contributions, choicest of…gifts, sacred things, ritual offerings at the temple.
20.41 Israel itself will be like a pleasing odor, the incense and smoke from various sacrifices.
20.43 Memory will lead to contrition.
20.45–48 A prophecy against the South.
20.46 The south, the south, and the Negeb, three different Hebrew terms that should probably all be understood as referring to the Southern Kingdom, or tribal territory of Judah. According to this imagery, Ezekiel is in the north; on the enemy from the north, see ch. 38; Jer 5.14–17.
20.47–48 Fire imagery is prominent in Ezekiel (e.g., 5.4; 10.2; 15.4–7; 16.41; 19.12, 14; 21.32; 23.25). For such a great fire, cf. Am 7.4–5.
20.49 Ezekiel laments (so the formulaic Ah) that the people perceive him as speaking unclearly.
EZEKIEL 21a
The Drawn Sword of God
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel 3and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: I am coming against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north; 5and all flesh shall know that I the LORD have drawn my sword out of its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again. 6Moan therefore, mortal; moan with breaking heart and bitter grief before their eyes. 7And when they say to you, “Why do you moan?” you shall say, “Because of the news that has come. Every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will turn to water. See, it comes and it will be fulfilled,” says the LORD God.
8And the word of the LORD came to me: 9Mortal, prophesy and say: Thus says the LORD; Say:
A sword, a sword is sharpened,
it is also polished;
10it is sharpened for slaughter,
honed to flash like lightning!
How can we make merry?
You have despised the rod,
and all discipline.b
11The swordc is given to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand;
it is sharpened, the sword is polished,
to be placed in the slayer’s hand.
12Cry and wail, O mortal,
for it is against my people;
it is against all Israel’s princes;
they are thrown to the sword,
together with my people.
Ah! Strike the thigh!
13For consider: What! If you despise the rod, will it not happen?d says the Lord GOD.
14And you, mortal, prophesy;
strike hand to hand.
Let the sword fall twice, thrice;
it is a sword for killing.
A sword for great slaughter—
it surrounds them;
15therefore hearts melt
and many stumble.
At all their gates I have set
the pointe of the sword.
Ah! It is made for flashing,
it is polishedf for slaughter.
16Attack to the right!
Engage to the left!
—wherever your edge is directed.
17I too will strike hand to hand,
I will satisfy my fury;
I the LORD have spoken.
18The word of the LORD came to me: 19Mortal, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them shall issue from the same land. And make a signpost, make it for a fork in the road leading to a city; 20mark out the road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and tog Jerusalem the fortified. 21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork in the two roads, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim,h he inspects the liver. 22Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build siege towers. 23But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths; but he brings their guilt to remembrance, bringing about their capture.
24Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.i
25As for you, vile, wicked prince of Israel,
you whose day has come,
the time of final punishment,
26thus says the Lord GOD:
Remove the turban, take off the crown;
things shall not remain as they are.
Exalt that which is low,
abase that which is high.
27A ruin, a ruin, a ruin—
I will make it!
(Such has never occurred.)
Until he comes whose right it is;
to him I will give it.
28As for you, mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say:
A sword, a sword! Drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume,j to flash like lightning.
29Offering false visions for you,
divining lies for you,
they place you over the necks
of the vile, wicked ones—
those whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
30Return it to its sheath!
In the place where you were created,
i
n the land of your origin,
I will judge you.
31I will pour out my indignation upon you,
with the fire of my wrath
I will blow upon you.
I will deliver you into brutish hands,
those skillful to destroy.
32You shall be fuel for the fire,
your blood shall enter the earth;
you shall be remembered no more,
for I the LORD have spoken.
next chapter
* * *
a Ch 21.6 in Heb
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Heb It
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Tg: Heb wrapped up
g Gk Syr: Heb Judah in
h Or the household gods
i Or be taken captive
j Cn: Heb to contain
21.1–32 Sayings that have in common sword imagery, which appears elsewhere in Ezekiel (e.g., 14.21).
21.1–7 The audience is diverse: Jerusalem, the sanctuaries, the land of Israel. Moreover, God will attack all flesh, which includes both righteous and wicked. The oracle therefore stresses the totality of the coming destruction; cf. chs. 9, 18.
21.6–7 The prophet laments symbolically, which elicits a question from the people, thereby allowing for a new utterance about the universal scope of God’s punitive action: every heart, all hands, every spirit, all knees.
21.8–17 The number of text notes indicates the difficulty of this poem. Descriptions of the sword are interposed with comments from the prophet and God respectively (vv. 10, 12).
21.12 Again Ezekiel is commanded to lament (v. 6). That the sword is against Israel’s princes (cf. 19.1;22.60) does not, however, limit the scope of the punishment; see my people twice in this verse. Strike the thigh, an expression of sorrow; see Jer 31.19.
21.13–17 These verses are built on the foregoing poem; the rod in v. 13 alludes to the rod in v. 10. Now imperative language predominates as God addresses the sword and its function, e.g., v. 16.
21.18–24 The sword of Babylon. Ezekiel is admonished to direct Nebuchadnezzar’s sword, which is at a crossroads.
21.20 Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, modern Amman, Jordan.
21.21 Nebuchadnezzar employs various divinatory techniques to determine which road to take. On teraphim as sources of information, see Hos 3.4; Zech 10.2. Hepatoscopy, liver divination, was prominent in Mesopotamia. In the ancient Near East kings regularly consulted various omens before entering battle. Ezekiel as an intermediary could affect the king’s decision.
21.22 The lot, which symbolizes a divinatory decision, designates Jerusalem. The repertoire of siege and destruction ensues.
21.25–27 God addresses a wicked prince of Israel, almost certainly Zedekiah. Exalt…low, abase…high, a reversal of social order, which exemplifies dysfunction (cf. Isa 3.4–5).
21.27 He, probably Nebuchadnezzar, the one whom God has designated to administer judgment; cf. Gen 49.10.
21.28–32 Concerning the Ammonites, whose capital had been Nebuchadnezzar’s alternate site for attack (v. 20). The sense of v. 29 remains unclear. Ammon appears first in the collection of oracles against the nations, 25.1–7.
21.30 Presumably Nebuchadnezzar is addressed. God’s judgment will also fall on Babylon; cf. Isa 13–14; Jer 50–51. The sword is under God’s control.
EZEKIEL 22
The Bloody City
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2You, mortal, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to it all its abominable deeds. 3You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city! Shedding blood within itself; its time has come; making its idols, defiling itself. 4You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made; you have brought your day near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a disgrace before the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.
6The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you. 8You have despised my holy things, and profaned my sabbaths. 9In you are those who slander to shed blood, those in you who eat upon the mountains, who commit lewdness in your midst. 10In you they uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women in their menstrual periods. 11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father’s daughter. 12In you, they take bribes to shed blood; you take both advance interest and accrued interest, and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord GOD.
13See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest gain you have made, and at the blood that has been shed within you. 14Can your courage endure, or can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will purge your filthiness out of you. 16And Ia shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the LORD.
17The word of the LORD came to me: 18Mortal, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them, silver,b bronze, tin, iron, and lead. In the smelter they have become dross. 19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a smelter, to blow the fire upon them in order to melt them; so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted within it. 22As silver is melted in a smelter, so you shall be melted in it; and you shall know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.
23The word of the LORD came to me: 24Mortal, say to it: You are a land that is not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of indignation. 25Its princesc within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it. 26Its priests have done violence to my teaching and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Its officials within it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28Its prophets have smeared whitewash on their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord GOD,” when the LORD has not spoken. 29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress. 30And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. 31Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; I have returned their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.
next chapter
* * *
a Gk Syr Vg: Heb you
b Transposed from the end of the verse; compare verse 20
c Gk: Heb indignation. 25A conspiracy of its prophets
22.1–31 Oracles of judgment on Jerusalem and Judah.
22.2–5 Bloodshed (cf. the indictment of Nineveh as a “city of bloodshed,” Nah 3.1) and veneration of idols are the hallmark indictments.
22.5 On Jerusalem as scorned, cf. 16.57.
22.6–12 Shedding blood (vv. 6, 9, 12), attributed to the princes of Israel (v. 6). Other OT texts attest leaders (Num 4.34; 31.13;32.2).
22.7 Cases that violate Israelite legal formulations: father and mother, Ex 21.17; the alien, Ex 22.21; the orphan and the widow, Deut 16.11.
; 22.8–9 Violations of the orders involving holiness. Cf. Lev 18–20.
22.10–11 Concerning illicit sexual practice. Cf. Lev 18.
22.12 Concerning illegal monetary practices.
22.13–16 Judgment for the iniquity just cited. Punishment will occur in the form of exile.
22.13 Strike my hands together. Cf. 21.14.
22.17–22 Judgment on the house of Israel based on smelting imagery. Cf. Isa 1.22, 25; Jer 9.7; Zech 13.9; Mal 3.2–3. As with ore in which the desired metal is still present, so Israel will be gathered to one furnace, Jerusalem, for a decisive smelting. Ezekiel emphasizes the diverse elements collected—silver, bronze, tin, iron, and lead (v. 17). At the outset, however, God views Israel as dross, not the essential metal sought in the smelting process.
22.22 A focus on the most precious of these metals, silver, as opposed to the earlier dross. Nonetheless, wrath remains the hallmark.
22.23–31 Those in certain social roles—prince, priest, official, and prophet—have acted improperly; cf. Jer 8.8–10; esp. Zeph 3.3–4. The malfeasance may be identified: princes who are to foster peace kill (v. 25), priests do not distinguish between the sacred and the common (v. 26), officials do not administer impartial justice (v. 27), and prophets do not speak on behalf of God (v. 28). The people of the land (v. 29; cf. 7.27) moves the discourse beyond discrete classes to all Israel.
22.30 For the search for anyone, cf. Jer 5.1. There as here, no such person was found. The absence of such an individual results in judgment, which is described in v. 31.
22.31 Fire (see vv. 17–22) will destroy those just indicted.
EZEKIEL 23
Oholah and Oholibah
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3they played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled. 4Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 304