1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5 And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6 In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10 And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
13 Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
1 And the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came unto me, saying, H559
2 Son H1121 of man, H120 set H7760 thy face H6440 toward the mountains H2022 of Israel, H3478 and prophesy H5012 against them,
3 And say, H559 Ye mountains H2022 of Israel, H3478 hear H8085 the word H1697 of the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD H3069 to the mountains, H2022 and to the hills, H1389 to the rivers, H650 and to the valleys; H1516 Behold, I, even I, will bring H935 a sword H2719 upon you, and I will destroy H6 your high places. H1116
4 And your altars H4196 shall be desolate, H8074 and your images H2553 shall be broken: H7665 and I will cast down H5307 your slain H2491 men before H6440 your idols. H1544
5 And I will lay H5414 the dead carcases H6297 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 before H6440 their idols; H1544 and I will scatter H2219 your bones H6106 round about H5439 your altars. H4196
6 In all your dwellingplaces H4186 the cities H5892 shall be laid waste, H2717 and the high places H1116 shall be desolate; H3456 that your altars H4196 may be laid waste H2717 and made desolate, H816 and your idols H1544 may be broken H7665 and cease, H7673 and your images H2553 may be cut down, H1438 and your works H4639 may be abolished. H4229
7 And the slain H2491 shall fall H5307 in the midst H8432 of you, and ye shall know H3045 that I am the LORD. H3068
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, H3498 that ye may have some that shall escape H6412 the sword H2719 among the nations, H1471 when ye shall be scattered H2219 through the countries. H776
9 And they that escape H6412 of you shall remember H2142 me among the nations H1471 whither they shall be carried captives, H7617 because I am broken H7665 with their whorish H2181 heart, H3820 which hath departed H5493 from me, and with their eyes, H5869 which go a whoring H2181 after H310 their idols: H1544 and they shall lothe H6962 themselves H6440 for the evils H7451 which they have committed H6213 in all their abominations. H8441
10 And they shall know H3045 that I am the LORD, H3068 and that I have not said H1696 in vain H2600 that I would do H6213 this evil H7451 unto them.
11 Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Smite H5221 with thine hand, H3709 and stamp H7554 with thy foot, H7272 and say, H559 Alas H253 for all the evil H7451 abominations H8441 of the house H1004 of Israel! H3478 for they shall fall H5307 by the sword, H2719 by the famine, H7458 and by the pestilence. H1698
12 He that is far off H7350 shall die H4191 of the pestilence; H1698 and he that is near H7138 shall fall H5307 by the sword; H2719 and he that remaineth H7604 and is besieged H5341 shall die H4191 by the famine: H7458 thus will I accomplish H3615 my fury H2534 upon them.
13 Then shall ye know H3045 that I am the LORD, H3068 when their slain H2491 men shall be among H8432 their idols H1544 round about H5439 their altars, H4196 upon every high H7311 hill, H1389 in all the tops H7218 of the mountains, H2022 and under every green H7488 tree, H6086 and under every thick H5687 oak, H424 the place H4725 where they did offer H5414 sweet H5207 savour H7381 to all their idols. H1544
14 So will I stretch out H5186 my hand H3027 upon them, and make H5414 the land H776 desolate, H8077 yea, more desolate H4923 than the wilderness H4057 toward Diblath, H1689 in all their habitations: H4186 and they shall know H3045 that I am the LORD. H3068
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy unto them,
3 and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4 And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5 And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6 In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished.
7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
9 And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10 And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath upon them.
13 And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
14 And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
2 `Son of man, set thy face unto mountains of Israel, and prophesy concerning them:
3 And thou hast said: Mountains of Israel, Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah To the mountains, and to the hills, To the streams, and to the valleys, Lo, I, I am bringing in against you a sword, And I have destroyed your high places.
4 And desolated have been your altars, And broken your images, And I have caused your wounded to fall before your idols,
5 And put the carcases of the sons of Israel before their idols, And scattered your bones round about your altars.
6 In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works.
7 And fallen hath the wounded in your midst, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah.
8 And I have caused `some' to remain, In their being to you the escaped of the sword among nations, In your being scattered through lands.
9 And remembered Me have your escaped among nations, Whither they have been taken captive, Because I have been broken with their heart that is going a-whoring, That hath turned aside from off Me, And with their eyes they are going a-whoring after their idols, And they have been loathsome in their own faces, For the evils that they have done -- all their abominations.
10 And they have known that I `am' Jehovah, Not for nought have I spoken to do to them this evil.
11 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: `Smite with thy palm, and stamp with thy foot, And say: Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, Who by sword, by famine, and by pestilence do fall.
12 The far-off by pestilence dieth, And the near by sword falleth, And the left and the besieged by famine dieth, And I have completed my fury upon them.
13 And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah, In their wounded being in the midst of their idols, Round about their altars, On every high hill, on all tops of mountains, And under every green tree, and under every thick oak, The place where they gave sweet fragrance to all their idols.
14 And I have stretched out my hand against them, And have made the land a desolation, Even a desolation from the wilderness to Diblath, In all their dwellings, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah!'
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
3 and say, Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the water-courses and to the valleys: Behold, I, [even] I, do bring a sword upon you, and will destroy your high places.
4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain [men] before your idols;
5 and I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6 In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some escaped from the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they have been carried captives, when I shall have broken their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols; and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed, in all their abominations.
10 And they shall know that I [am] Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the abominations of the iniquities of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is left, and is besieged, shall die by the famine: and I will accomplish my fury upon them.
13 And ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when their slain shall be among their idols, round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick terebinth, the places where they offered sweet savour to all their idols.
14 And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness of Diblath, in all their dwellings; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,
3 and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.
4 Your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5 I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6 In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished.
7 The slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, in that you shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you shall be scattered through the countries.
9 Those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10 They shall know that I am Yahweh: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.
11 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Smite with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12 He who is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath on them.
13 You shall know that I am Yahweh, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
14 I will stretch out my hand on them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, let your face be turned to the mountains of Israel, and be a prophet to them, and say,
3 You mountains of Israel, give ear to the words of the Lord: this is what the Lord has said to the mountains and the hills, to the waterways and the valleys: See, I, even I, am sending on you a sword for the destruction of your high places.
4 And your altars will be made waste, and your sun-images will be broken: and I will have your dead men placed before your images.
5 And I will put the dead bodies of the children of Israel in front of their images, sending your bones in all directions about your altars.
6 In all your living-places the towns will become broken walls, and the high places made waste; so that your altars may be broken down and made waste, and your images broken and ended, and so that your sun-images may be cut down and your works rubbed out.
7 And the dead will be falling down among you, and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
8 But still, I will keep a small band safe from the sword among the nations, when you are sent wandering among the countries.
9 And those of you who are kept safe will have me in mind among the nations where they have been taken away as prisoners, how I sent punishment on their hearts which were untrue to me, and on their eyes which were turned to their false gods: and they will be full of hate for themselves because of the evil things which they have done in all their disgusting ways.
10 And they will be certain that I am the Lord: not for nothing did I say that I would do this evil to them.
11 This is what the Lord has said: Give blows with your hand, stamping with your foot, and say, O sorrow! because of all the evil and disgusting ways of the children of Israel: for death will overtake them by the sword and through need of food and by disease.
12 He who is far away will come to his death by disease; he who is near will be put to the sword; he who is shut up will come to his death through need of food; and I will give full effect to my passion against them.
13 And you will be certain that I am the Lord, when their dead men are stretched among their images round about their altars on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every branching tree, and under every thick oak-tree, the places where they made sweet smells to all their images.
14 And my hand will be stretched out against them, making the land waste and unpeopled, from the waste land to Riblah, through all their living-places: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 6
Commentary on Ezekiel 6 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Judgment upon the Idolatrous Places, and on the Idol-Worshippers
To God's address in Ezekiel 5:5-17, explaining the signs in Ezekiel 4:1-5, are appended in Ezekiel 6:1-14 and 7 two additional oracles, which present a further development of the contents of these signs, the judgment portrayed by them in its extent and greatness. In Ezekiel 6:1-14 there is announced, in the first section, to the idolatrous places, and on their account to the land, desolation, and to the idolaters, destruction (Ezekiel 6:3-7); and to this is added the prospect of a remnant of the people, who are dispersed among the heathen, coming to be converted to the Lord (Ezekiel 6:8-10). In the second section the necessity and terrible character of the impending judgment is repeatedly described at length as an appendix to Ezekiel 6:12, Ezekiel 6:14 (Ezekiel 6:11-14).
The Desolation of the Land, and Destruction of the Idolaters
Ezekiel 6:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Ezekiel 6:2 . Son of man, turn thy face towards the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them. Ezekiel 6:3 . And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains, and to the hills, to the valleys, and to the low grounds, Behold, I bring the sword upon you, and destroy your high places. Ezekiel 6:4 . Your altars shall be made desolate, and your sun-pillars shall be broken; and I shall make your slain fall in the presence of your idols. Ezekiel 6:5 . And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and will scatter your bones round about your altars. Ezekiel 6:6 . In all your dwellings shall the cities be made desolate, and the high places waste; that your altars may be desolate and waste, and your idols broken and destroyed, and your sun-pillars hewn down, and the works of your hands exterminated. Ezekiel 6:7 . And the slain will fall in your midst; that you may know that I am Jehovah. - With Ezekiel 6:1 cf. Ezekiel 3:16. The prophet is to prophesy against the mountains of Israel. That the mountains are mentioned (Ezekiel 6:2) as pars pro toto , is seen from Ezekiel 6:3, when to the mountains and hills are added also the valleys and low grounds, as the places where idolatry was specially practised; cf. Hosea 4:13; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6; see on Hos. l.c. and Deuteronomy 12:2. אפיקים , in the older writings, denotes the “river channels,” “the beds of the stream;” but Ezekiel uses the word as equivalent to valley, i.e., נחל , a valley with a brook or stream, like the Arabic wady. גּיא , properly “deepening,” “the deep ground,” “the deep valley;” on the form גּאיות , cf. Ewald, §186 da . The juxtaposition of mountains and hills, of valleys and low grounds, occurs again in Ezekiel 36:4, Ezekiel 36:6, and Ezekiel 35:8; the opposition between mountains and valleys also, in Ezekiel 32:5-6, and Ezekiel 24:13. The valleys are to be conceived of as furnished with trees and groves, under the shadow of which the worship of Astarte especially was practised; see on v. 15. On the mountains and in the valleys were sanctuaries erected to Baal and Astarte. The announcement of their destruction is appended to the threatening in Leviticus 26:30, which Ezekiel takes up and describes at greater length. Beside the בּמות , the places of sacrifice and worship, and the חמּנים , pillars or statues of Baal, dedicated to him as the sun-god, he names also the altars, which, in Lev. l.c. and other places, are comprehended along with the בּמות eht htiw ; see on Leviticus 26:30 and 1 Kings 3:3. With the destruction of the idol temples, altars, and statues, the idol-worshippers are also to be smitten, so as to fall down in the presence of their idols. The fundamental meaning of the word גּלּוּלים , “idols,” borrowed from Lev. l.c. , and frequently employed by Ezekiel, is uncertain; signifying either “logs of wood,” from גּלל , “to roll” (Gesen.), or stercorei , from גּל , “dung;” not “monuments of stone” (Hävernick). Ezekiel 6:5 is taken quite literally from Leviticus 26:30 . The ignominy of the destruction is heightened by the bones of the slain idolaters being scattered round about the idol altars. In order that the idolatry may be entirely rooted out, the cities throughout the whole land, and all the high places, are to be devastated, Ezekiel 6:6. The forms תּישׁמנה and יאשׁמוּ are probably not to be derived from שׁמם (Ewald, §138 b ), but to be referred back to a stem-form ישׁם , with the signification of שׁמם , the existence of which appears certain from the old name ישׁימון in Ps 68 and elsewhere. The א in יאשׁמו is certainly only mater lectonis . In Ezekiel 6:7, the singular חלל stands as indefinitely general. The thought, “slain will fall in your midst ,” involves the idea that not all the people will fall, but that there will survive some who are saved, and prepares for what follows. The falling of the slain - the idolaters with their idols - leads to the recognition of Jehovah as the omnipotent God, and to conversion to Him.
The survivors shall go away into banishment amongst the heathen, and shall remember the word of the Lord that will have been fulfilled. - Ezekiel 6:8. But I shall preserve a remnant, in that there shall be to you some who have escaped the sword among the nations, when he shall be dispersed among the lands. Ezekiel 6:9 . And those of you who have escaped, will make mention of me among the nations whither they are led captive, when I have broken to me their whorish heart, which had departed from me, and their eyes, which went a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves because of the evil which they have done in reference to all their abominations. Ezekiel 6:10 . And ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Not in vain have I spoken this evil to you. - הותיר , superstites facere , “to make or preserve survivors.” The connection with ' בּהיות וגו is analogous to the construction of הותיר , in the sense of “giving a superabundance,” with בּ rei , Deuteronomy 28:11 and Deuteronomy 30:9, and is not to be rejected, with Ewald and Hitzig, as inadmissible. For בּהיות is supported by the old versions, and the change of והותרתּי into ודבּרתּי , which would have to be referred to Ezekiel 6:7, is in opposition to the twofold repetition of the וידאתּם כּי אן ( וידעוּ ), Ezekiel 6:10 and Ezekiel 6:14, as this repetition shows that the thought in Ezekiel 6:7 is different from that in 17, 21, not “they shall know that Jehovah has spoken,” but “they shall know that He who has done this is Jehovah, the God of Israel.” The preservation of a remnant will be shown in this, that they shall have some who have escaped the sword. הזּרותיכם is infin. Niph . with a plural form of the suffix, as occurs elsewhere only with the plural ending ות of nouns, while Ezekiel has extended it to the ות of the infinitive of ה '' ל verbs; cf. Ezekiel 16:31, and Ewald, §259 b . The remembrance of Jehovah (Ezekiel 6:9) is the commencement of conversion to Him. אשׁר before נשׁבּרתּי is not to be connected as relative pronoun with לבּם , but is a conjunction, though not used conditionally, “if,” as in Leviticus 4:22; Deuteronomy 11:27, and elsewhere, but of time, ὅτε , “when,” as Deuteronomy 11:6 and 2 Chronicles 35:20, and נשׁבּרתּי in the signification of the futur. exact . The Niphal נשׁבּר here is not to be taken as passive, but middle, sibi frangere , i.e., לבּם , poenitentiâ conterere animum eorum ut ad ipsum ( Deum ) redeant (Maurer, Hävernick). Besides the heart, the eyes also are mentioned, which God is to smite, as the external senses which allure the heart to whoredom. ונקטוּ corresponds to וזכרוּ at the beginning of the verse. קוּט , “the later form for קוּץ , “to feel a loathing,” Hiphil , “to be filled with loathing;” cf. Job 10:1 with ב object ., “in (on) their פנים , faces,” i.e., their persons or themselves: so also in Ezekiel 20:43; Ezekiel 36:31. אל הרעות , in allusion to the evil things; ' לכל־תועב , in reference to all their abominations. This fruit, which is produced by chastisement, namely, that he idolaters are inspired with loathing for themselves, and led to the knowledge of Jehovah, will furnish the proof that God has not spoken in vain.
The Punishment Is Just and Well Deserved
Ezekiel 6:11. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Woe on all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel! that they must perish by sword, hunger, and pestilence. Ezekiel 6:12 . He that is afar off will die by the pestilence; and he that is near at hand shall fall by the sword; and he who survives and is preserved will die of hunger: and I shall accomplish my wrath upon them. Ezekiel 6:13 . And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when your slain lie in the midst of your idols round about your altars, on every high hill, upon all the summits of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick-leaved terebinth, on the places where they brought their pleasant incense to all their idols. Ezekiel 6:14 . And I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land waste and desolate more than the wilderness of Diblath, in all their dwellings: so shall ye know that I am Jehovah. - Through clapping of the hands and stamping of the feet - the gestures which indicate violent excitement - the prophet is to make known to the displeasure of Jehovah at the horrible idolatry of the people, and thereby make manifest that the penal judgment is well deserved. הכּה בכפּך is in Ezekiel 21:19 expressed more distinctly by הך כּף אל , “to strike one hand against the other,” i.e., “to clap the hands;” cf. Numbers 24:10. אח , an exclamation of lamentation, occurring only here and in Ezekiel 21:20. אשׁר , Ezekiel 6:11, is a conjunction, “ at .” Their abominations are so wicked, that they must be exterminated on account of them. This is specially mentioned in Ezekiel 6:12. No one will escape the judgment: he who is far removed from its scene as little as he who is close at hand; while he who escapes the pestilence and the sword is to perish of hunger. נצוּר , servatus , preserved, as in Isaiah 49:6. The signification “besieged” (lxx, Vulgate, Targum, etc.), Hitzig can only maintain by arbitrarily expunging הנּשׁאר as a gloss. On Ezekiel 6:12 , cf. Ezekiel 5:13; on 13 a , cf. Ezekiel 6:5; and on 13 b , cf. Ezekiel 6:3, and Hosea 4:13; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:6; Deuteronomy 12:2. ' אל כּל־גב , according to later usage, for על כּל־גב . ריח ניחח , used in the Pentateuch of sacrifices pleasing to God, is here transferred to idol sacrifices; see on Leviticus 1:9 and Genesis 8:21. On account of the prevalence of idolatry in all parts, God will make the land entirely desolate. The union of שׁממה serves to strengthen the idea; cf. Ezekiel 33:8., Ezekiel 35:3. The words ממּדבּר דּבלתה are obscure, either “in the wilderness towards Diblath” (even to Diblath), or “more than the wilderness of Diblath” ( מן of comparison). There is no doubt that דּבלתה is a nom. prop. ; cf. the name of the city דּבלתים in Jeremiah 48:22; Numbers 33:46. The second acceptation of the words is more probable than the first. For, if ממּדבּר is the terminus a quo , and דּבלתה the terminus ad quem of the extent of the land, then must ממּדבּר be punctuated not only as status absolut., but it must also have the article; because a definite wilderness - that, namely, of Arabia - is meant. The omission of the article cannot be justified by reference to Ezekiel 21:3 or to Psalms 75:7 (Hitzig, Ewald), because both passages contain general designations of the quarters of the world, with which the article is always omitted. In the next place, no Dibla can be pointed out in the north; and the change of Diblatha into Ribla , already proposed by Jerome, and more recently brought forward again by J. D. Michaelis, has not only against it the authority of all the old versions, but also the circumstance that the Ribla mentioned in 2 Kings 23:33 did not form the northern boundary of Palestine, but lay on the other side of it, in the land of Hamath ; while the הרבלה , named in Numbers 34:11, is a place on the eastern boundary to the north of the Sea of Gennesareth, which would, moreover, be inappropriate as a designation of the northern boundary. Finally, the extent of the land from the south to the north is constantly expressed in a different way; cf. Numbers 23:21 (Numbers 34:8); Joshua 13:5; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Kings 14:65; Amos 6:14; 1 Chronicles 13:5; 2 Chronicles 7:8; and even by Ezekiel himself (Ezekiel 48:1) לבוא is named as the boundary on the north. The form דּבלתה is similar to תּמנתה for תּמנה , although the name is hardly to be explained, with Hävernick, as an appellation, after the Arabic dibl, calamitas, exitium . The wilderness of Diblah is unknown. With ' וידעוּ כּי וגו the discourse is rounded off in returning to the beginning of Ezekiel 6:13, while the thoughts in Ezekiel 6:13 and Ezekiel 6:14 are only a variation of Ezekiel 6:4-7.