38 As the holy H6944 flock, H6629 as the flock H6629 of Jerusalem H3389 in her solemn feasts; H4150 so shall the waste H2720 cities H5892 be filled H4392 with flocks H6629 of men: H120 and they shall know H3045 that I am the LORD. H3068
And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 that were present H4672 at Jerusalem H3389 kept H6213 the feast H2282 of unleavened bread H4682 seven H7651 days H3117 with great H1419 gladness: H8057 and the Levites H3881 and the priests H3548 praised H1984 the LORD H3068 day H3117 by day, H3117 singing with loud H5797 instruments H3627 unto the LORD. H3068 And Hezekiah H3169 spake H1696 comfortably H3820 unto all the Levites H3881 that taught H7919 the good H2896 knowledge H7922 of the LORD: H3068 and they did eat H398 throughout the feast H4150 seven H7651 days, H3117 offering H2076 peace H8002 offerings, H2077 and making confession H3034 to the LORD H3068 God H430 of their fathers. H1 And the whole assembly H6951 took counsel H3289 to keep H6213 other H312 seven H7651 days: H3117 and they kept H6213 other seven H7651 days H3117 with gladness. H8057 For Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 did give H7311 to the congregation H6951 a thousand H505 bullocks H6499 and seven H7651 thousand H505 sheep; H6629 and the princes H8269 gave H7311 to the congregation H6951 a thousand H505 bullocks H6499 and ten H6235 thousand H505 sheep: H6629 and a great number H7230 of priests H3548 sanctified H6942 themselves. And all the congregation H6951 of Judah, H3063 with the priests H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and all the congregation H6951 that came out H935 of Israel, H3478 and the strangers H1616 that came out H935 of the land H776 of Israel, H3478 and that dwelt H3427 in Judah, H3063 rejoiced. H8055 So there was great H1419 joy H8057 in Jerusalem: H3389 for since the time H3117 of Solomon H8010 the son H1121 of David H1732 king H4428 of Israel H3478 there was not the like in Jerusalem. H3389 Then the priests H3548 the Levites H3881 arose H6965 and blessed H1288 the people: H5971 and their voice H6963 was heard, H8085 and their prayer H8605 came H935 up to his holy H6944 dwelling place, H4583 even unto heaven. H8064
And Josiah H2977 gave H7311 to the people, H1121 H5971 of the flock, H6629 lambs H3532 and kids, H1121 H5795 all for the passover offerings, H6453 for all that were present, H4672 to the number H4557 of thirty H7970 thousand, H505 and three H7969 thousand H505 bullocks: H1241 these were of the king's H4428 substance. H7399 And his princes H8269 gave H7311 willingly H5071 unto the people, H5971 to the priests, H3548 and to the Levites: H3881 Hilkiah H2518 and Zechariah H2148 and Jehiel, H3171 rulers H5057 of the house H1004 of God, H430 gave H5414 unto the priests H3548 for the passover offerings H6453 two thousand H505 and six H8337 hundred H3967 small cattle, and three H7969 hundred H3967 oxen. H1241 Conaniah H3562 also, and Shemaiah H8098 and Nethaneel, H5417 his brethren, H251 and Hashabiah H2811 and Jeiel H3273 and Jozabad, H3107 chief H8269 of the Levites, H3881 gave H7311 unto the Levites H3881 for passover offerings H6453 five H2568 thousand H505 small cattle, and five H2568 hundred H3967 oxen. H1241 So the service H5656 was prepared, H3559 and the priests H3548 stood H5975 in their place, H5977 and the Levites H3881 in their courses, H4256 according to the king's H4428 commandment. H4687 And they killed H7819 the passover, H6453 and the priests H3548 sprinkled H2236 the blood from their hands, H3027 and the Levites H3881 flayed H6584 them. And they removed H5493 the burnt offerings, H5930 that they might give H5414 according to the divisions H4653 of the families H1 H1004 of the people, H1121 H5971 to offer H7126 unto the LORD, H3068 as it is written H3789 in the book H5612 of Moses. H4872 And so did they with the oxen. H1241 And they roasted H1310 the passover H6453 with fire H784 according to the ordinance: H4941 but the other holy H6944 offerings sod H1310 they in pots, H5518 and in caldrons, H1731 and in pans, H6745 and divided them speedily H7323 among all the people. H1121 H5971 And afterward H310 they made ready H3559 for themselves, and for the priests: H3548 because the priests H3548 the sons H1121 of Aaron H175 were busied in offering H5927 of burnt offerings H5930 and the fat H2459 until night; H3915 therefore the Levites H3881 prepared H3559 for themselves, and for the priests H3548 the sons H1121 of Aaron. H175 And the singers H7891 the sons H1121 of Asaph H623 were in their place, H4612 according to the commandment H4687 of David, H1732 and Asaph, H623 and Heman, H1968 and Jeduthun H3038 the king's H4428 seer; H2374 and the porters H7778 waited at every gate; H8179 they might not depart H5493 from their service; H5656 for their brethren H251 the Levites H3881 prepared H3559 for them. So all the service H5656 of the LORD H3068 was prepared H3559 the same day, H3117 to keep H6213 the passover, H6453 and to offer H5927 burnt offerings H5930 upon the altar H4196 of the LORD, H3068 according to the commandment H4687 of king H4428 Josiah. H2977 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 that were present H4672 kept H6213 the passover H6453 at that time, H6256 and the feast H2282 of unleavened bread H4682 seven H7651 days. H3117 And there was no passover H6453 like H3644 to that kept H6213 in Israel H3478 from the days H3117 of Samuel H8050 the prophet; H5030 neither did H6213 all the kings H4428 of Israel H3478 keep H6213 such a passover H6453 as Josiah H2977 kept, H6213 and the priests, H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and all Judah H3063 and Israel H3478 that were present, H4672 and the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem. H3389 In the eighteenth H8083 H6240 year H8141 of the reign H4438 of Josiah H2977 was this passover H6453 kept. H6213
Behold, the days H3117 come, H935 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 that I will sow H2232 the house H1004 of Israel H3478 and the house H1004 of Judah H3063 with the seed H2233 of man, H120 and with the seed H2233 of beast. H929 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over H8245 them, to pluck up, H5428 and to break down, H5422 and to throw down, H2040 and to destroy, H6 and to afflict; H7489 so will I watch over H8245 them, to build, H1129 and to plant, H5193 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068
Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 In the day H3117 that I shall have cleansed H2891 you from all your iniquities H5771 I will also cause you to dwell H3427 in the cities, H5892 and the wastes H2723 shall be builded. H1129 And the desolate H8074 land H776 shall be tilled, H5647 whereas it lay desolate H8077 in the sight H5869 of all that passed by. H5674 And they shall say, H559 This H1977 land H776 that was desolate H8074 is become like the garden H1588 of Eden; H5731 and the waste H2720 and desolate H8074 and ruined H2040 cities H5892 are become fenced, H1219 and are inhabited. H3427
Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 The fast H6685 of the fourth H7243 month, and the fast H6685 of the fifth, H2549 and the fast H6685 of the seventh, H7637 and the fast H6685 of the tenth, H6224 shall be to the house H1004 of Judah H3063 joy H8342 and gladness, H8057 and cheerful H2896 feasts; H4150 therefore love H157 the truth H571 and peace. H7965 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come H935 people, H5971 and the inhabitants H3427 of many H7227 cities: H5892 And the inhabitants H3427 of one H259 city shall go H1980 to another, H259 saying, H559 Let us go H3212 speedily H1980 to pray H2470 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and to seek H1245 the LORD H3068 of hosts: H6635 I will go H3212 also. Yea, many H7227 people H5971 and strong H6099 nations H1471 shall come H935 to seek H1245 the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 in Jerusalem, H3389 and to pray H2470 before H6440 the LORD. H3068 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 In those days H3117 it shall come to pass, that ten H6235 men H582 shall take hold H2388 out of all languages H3956 of the nations, H1471 even shall take hold H2388 of the skirt H3671 of him that is a Jew, H376 H3064 saying, H559 We will go H3212 with you: for we have heard H8085 that God H430 is with you.
And G1161 there were G2258 dwelling G2730 at G1722 Jerusalem G2419 Jews, G2453 devout G2126 men, G435 out of G575 every G3956 nation G1484 under G5259 heaven. G3772 Now G1161 when this G5026 was G1096 noised abroad, G5456 the multitude G4128 came together, G4905 and G2532 were confounded, G4797 because G3754 that every G1538 man G1520 heard G191 them G846 speak G2980 in his own G2398 language. G1258 And G1161 they were G1839 all G3956 amazed G1839 and G2532 marvelled, G2296 saying G3004 one to another, G4314 G240 Behold, G2400 are G1526 not G3756 all G3956 these G3778 which G3588 speak G2980 Galilaeans? G1057 And G2532 how G4459 hear G191 we G2249 every G1538 man in our G2257 own G2398 tongue, G1258 wherein G1722 G3739 we were born? G1080 Parthians, G3934 and G2532 Medes, G3370 and G2532 Elamites, G1639 and G2532 the dwellers G2730 in Mesopotamia, G3318 and G5037 in Judaea, G2449 and G2532 Cappadocia, G2587 in Pontus, G4195 and G2532 Asia, G773 G5037 Phrygia, G5435 and G5037 G2532 Pamphylia, G3828 in Egypt, G125 and G2532 in the parts G3313 of Libya G3033 about G2596 Cyrene, G2957 and G2532 strangers G1927 of Rome, G4514 G5037 Jews G2453 and G5037 G2532 proselytes, G4339 Cretes G2912 and G2532 Arabians, G690 we do hear G191 them G846 speak G2980 in our G2251 tongues G1100 the wonderful works G3167 of God. G2316
And G2532 I heard G191 the number G706 of them which were sealed: G4972 and there were sealed G4972 an hundred G1540 and forty G5062 and four G5064 thousand G5505 of G1537 all G3956 the tribes G5443 of the children G5207 of Israel. G2474 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Juda G2455 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Reuben G4502 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Gad G1045 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Aser G768 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Nepthalim G3508 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Manasses G3128 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Simeon G4826 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Levi G3017 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Issachar G2466 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Zabulon G2194 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Joseph G2501 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 Of G1537 the tribe G5443 of Benjamin G958 were sealed G4972 twelve G1427 thousand. G5505 After G3326 this G5023 I beheld, G1492 and, G2532 lo, G2400 a great G4183 multitude, G3793 which G3739 no man G3762 could G1410 number, G705 G846 of G1537 all G3956 nations, G1484 and G2532 kindreds, G5443 and G2532 people, G2992 and G2532 tongues, G1100 stood G2476 before G1799 the throne, G2362 and G2532 before G1799 the Lamb, G721 clothed G4016 with white G3022 robes, G4749 and G2532 palms G5404 in G1722 their G846 hands; G5495
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 36
Commentary on Ezekiel 36 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Restoration and Blessing of Israel
Ezekiel 36:1. And thou, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Jehovah: Ezekiel 36:2. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because the enemy saith concerning you, Aha! the everlasting heights have become ours for a possession: Ezekiel 36:3. Therefore prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because, even because they lay you waste, and pant for you round about, so that ye have become a possession to the remnant of the nations, and have come to the talk of the tongue and gossip of the people: Ezekiel 36:4. Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and hills, to the low places and valleys, and to the waste ruins and the forsaken cities, which have become a prey and derision to the remnant of the nations round about; Ezekiel 36:5. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Truly in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the remnant of the nations, and against Edom altogether, which have made my land a possession for themselves in all joy of heart, in contempt of soul, to empty it out for booty. Ezekiel 36:6. Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the low places and valleys, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, in my jealousy and fury have I spoken, because ye have borne the disgrace of the nations. Ezekiel 36:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I, I have lifted up my hand; truly the nations round about you, they shall bear their disgrace. Ezekiel 36:8. But ye, ye mountains of Israel, shall put forth your branches, and bear your fruit to my people Israel; for they will soon come. Ezekiel 36:9. For, behold, I will deal with you, and turn toward you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. Ezekiel 36:10. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel at once; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the ruins built. Ezekiel 36:11. And I will multiply upon you man and beast; they shall multiply and be fruitful: and I will make you inhabited as in your former time, and do more good to you than in your earlier days; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. Ezekiel 36:12. I will cause men, my people Israel, to walk upon you; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be an inheritance to them, and make them childless no more. Ezekiel 36:13. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because they say to you, “Thou art a devourer of men, and hast made thy people childless;” Ezekiel 36:14. Therefore thou shalt no more devour men, and no more cause thy people to stumble, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. Ezekiel 36:15. And I will no more cause thee to hear the scoffing of the nations, and the disgrace of the nations thou shalt bear no more, and shalt no more cause thy people to stumble, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah.
This prophecy is uttered concerning the land of Israel, as is plainly declared in Ezekiel 36:6; whereas in Ezekiel 36:1 and Ezekiel 36:4 the mountains of Israel are mentioned instead of the land, in antithesis to the mountains of Seir (Ezekiel 35:1-15; see the comm. on Ezekiel 35:12). The promise takes throughout the form of antithesis to the threat against Edom in Ezekiel 35:1-15. Because Edom rejoices that the Holy Land, which has been laid waste, has fallen to it for a possession, therefore shall the devastated land be cultivated and sown again, and be inhabited by Israel as in the former time. The heathen nations round about shall, on the other hand, bear their disgrace; Edom, as we have already observed, being expanded, so far as the idea is concerned, into all the heathen nations surrounding Israel (Ezekiel 36:3-7). In Ezekiel 36:2, האויב , the enemy, is mentioned in quite a general manner; and what has already been stated concerning Edom in Ezekiel 35:5 and Ezekiel 35:10, is her predicted of the enemy. In Ezekiel 36:3 and Ezekiel 36:4 this enemy is designated as a remnant of the heathen nations; and it is not till Ezekiel 36:5 that it is more precisely defined by the clause, “and all Edom altogether.” The גּוים round about ( אשׁר , Ezekiel 36:4, compared with Ezekiel 36:3) are the heathen nations which are threatened with destruction in Ezekiel 25 and 26, on account of their malicious rejoicing at the devastation of Jerusalem and Judah. This serves to explain the fact that these nations are designated as שׁארית הגּוים , the rest, or remnant of the heathen nations, which presupposes that the judgment has fallen upon them, and that only a remnant of them is left, which remnant desires to take possession of the devastated land of Israel. The epithet applied to this land, בּמות , everlasting, i.e., primeval heights, points back to the גּבעות עולם of Genesis 49:26 and Deuteronomy 33:15, and is chosen for the purpose of representing the land as a possession secured to the people of Israel by primeval promises, in consequence of which the attempt of the enemy to seize upon this land has become a sin against the Lord God. The indignation at such a sin is expressed in the emotional character of the address. As Ewald has aptly observed, “Ezekiel is seized with unusual fire, so that after the brief statement in Ezekiel 36:2 'therefore' is repeated five times, the charges brought against these foes forcing themselves in again and again, before the prophecy settles calmly upon the mountains of Israel, to which it was really intended to apply.” For יען בּיען , see the comm. on Ezekiel 13:10. שׁמּות is an infinitive Kal , formed after the analogy of the verbs ה ' ל (cf. Ewald, §238 e ), from שׁמם , to be waste, to devastate, as in Daniel 8:13; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 12:11, and is not to be taken in the sense of נשׁם , after Isaiah 42:14, as Hitzig supposes. שׁאף , to pant for a thing; here it is equivalent to snapping at anything. This is required by a comparison with Ezekiel 36:4 , where היה לבז corresponds to שׁמּות ושׁאף , and ללעג to ' תּעלוּ על שׂפת וגו . In the connection שׂפת לשׁון , שׂפה signifies the lip as an organ of speech, or, more precisely, the words spoken; and לשׁון , the tongue, is personified, and stands for אישׁ לשׁון (Psalms 140:12), a tongue-man, i.e., a talker.
In Ezekiel 36:4 the idea expressed in “the mountains of Israel” is expanded into mountains, hills, lowlands, and valleys (cf. Ezekiel 31:12; Ezekiel 32:5-6); and this periphrastic description of the land is more minutely defined by the additional clause, “waste ruins and forsaken cities.” אם לא in Ezekiel 36:5 is the particle used in oaths (cf. Ezekiel 5:11, etc.); and the perfect דּבּרתּי is not merely prophetic, but also a preterite. God has already uttered a threatening word concerning the nations round about in Ezekiel 25, 26, and Ezekiel 35:1-15; and here He once more declares that they shall bear their disgrace. אשׁ קנאח is the fiery jealousy of wrath. כּלּא is an Aramean form for כּלּהּ (Ezekiel 35:15). For בשׁאט נפשׁ , see Ezekiel 25:6. In the expression למען מגרשׁהּ לבז n o isserp , which has been rendered in various ways, we agree with Gesenius and others in regarding מגרשׁ as an Aramean form of the infinitive of גּרשׁ , with the meaning to empty out, which is confirmed by the Syriac; for מגרשׁ cannot be a substantive, on account of the למען ; and Hitzig's conjecture, that לבז should be pointed לבז , and the clause rendered “to plunder its produce,” is precluded by the fact that the separation of the preposition למען ל , by the insertion of a word between, is unexampled, to say nothing of the fact that מגרשׁ does not mean produce at all. The thought expressed in Ezekiel 36:6 and Ezekiel 36:7 is the following: because Israel has hitherto borne the contempt of the heathen, the heathen shall now bear their own contempt. The lifting of the hand is a gesture employed in taking an oath, as in Ezekiel 20:6, etc. But the land of Israel is to receive a blessing. This blessing is described in Ezekiel 36:8 in general terms, as the bearing of fruit by the mountains, i.e., by the land of Israel; and its speedy commencement is predicted. It is then depicted in detail in Ezekiel 36:9. In the clause כּי קרבוּ לבוא , the Israelites are not to be regarded as the subject, as Kliefoth supposes, in which case their speedy return from exile would be announced. The כּי shows that this cannot be the meaning; for it is immediately preceded by ' לעמּי ישׁ' yb , which precludes the supposition that, when speaking of the mountains, Ezekiel had the inhabitants in his mind. The promised blessings are the subject, or the branches and fruits, which the mountains are to bear. Nearly all the commentators have agreed in adopting this explanation of the words, after the analogy of Isaiah 56:1. With the כּי in Ezekiel 36:9 the carrying out of the blessing promised is appended in the form of a reason assigned for the general promise. The mountains shall be cultivated, the men upon them, viz., all Israel, multiplied, the desolated cities rebuilt, so that Israel shall dwell in the land as in the former time, and be fruitful and blessed. This promise was no doubt fulfilled in certain weak beginnings after the return of a portion of the people under Zerubbabel and Ezra; but the multiplying and blessing, experienced by those who returned from Babylon, did not take place till long after the salvation promised here, and more especially in Ezekiel 36:12-15.
According to Ezekiel 36:12, the land is to become the inheritance of the people Israel, and will no more make the Israelites childless, or (according to Ezekiel 36:14) cause them to stumble; and the people are no more to bear the contempt of the heathen. But that portion of the nation which returned from exile not only continued under the rule of the heathen, but had also in various ways to bear the contempt of the heathen still; and eventually, because Israel not only stumbled, but fell very low through the rejection of its Saviour, it was scattered again out of the land among the heathen, and the land was utterly wasted...until this day. In Ezekiel 36:12 the masculine suffix attached to וירשׁוּך refers to the land regarded as הר , which is also the subject to היית and תּוסף . It is not till Ezekiel 36:13, Ezekiel 36:14, where the idea of the land becomes so prominent, that the feminine is used. שׁכּלם , to make them (the Israelites) childless, or bereaved, is explained in Ezekiel 36:13, Ezekiel 36:14 by אכלת , devouring men. That the land devours its inhabitants, is what the spies say of the land of Canaan in Numbers 13:32; and in 2 Kings 2:19 is it affirmed of the district of Jericho that it causes משׁכּלת , i.e., miscarriages, on account of its bad water. The latter passage does not come into consideration; but the former (Numbers 13:32) probably does, and Ezekiel evidently refers to this. For there is no doubt whatever that he explains or expands שׁכּלם by אכלת אדם yb . Although, for example, the charge that the land devours men is brought against it by the enemies or adversaries of Israel ( אמרים לּכם , they say to you), the truth of the charge is admitted, since it is said that the land shall henceforth no more devour men, though without a repetition of the שׁכּל . But the sense in which Ezekiel affirms of the land that it had been אכלת אדם , and was henceforth to be so no more, is determined by וגויך לא תכשׁלי אוד , thou wilt no more cause thy people to stumble, which is added in Ezekiel 36:14 in the place of משׁכּלת גּויך היית in Ezekiel 36:14 . Hence the land became a devourer of men by the fact that it caused its people to stumble, i.e., entangled them in sins (the Keri תּשׁכּלי for תכשׁלי is a bad conjecture, the incorrectness of which is placed beyond all doubt by the לא־תכשׁלי עוד of Ezekiel 36:15). Consequently we cannot understand the “devouring of men,” after Numbers 13:32, as signifying that, on account of its situation and fruitfulness, the land is an apple of discord, for the possession of which the nations strive with one another, so that the inhabitants are destroyed, or at all events we must not restrict the meaning to this; and still less can we agree with Ewald and Hitzig in thinking of the restless hurrying and driving by which individual men were of necessity rapidly swept away. If the sweeping away of the population so connected with the stumbling, the people are devoured by the consequences of their sins, i.e., by the penal judgment, unfruitfulness, pestilence, and war, with which God threatened Israel for its apostasy from Him. These judgments had depopulated the land; and this fact was attributed by the heathen in their own way to the land, and thrown in the teeth of the Israelites as a disgrace. The Lord will henceforth remove this charge, and take away from the heathen all occasion to despise His people, namely, by bestowing upon His land and people the blessing which He promised in the law to those who kept His commandments. But this can only be done by His removing the occasion to stumble or sin, i.e., according to Ezekiel 36:25. (compared with Ezekiel 11:18.), by His cleansing His people from all uncleanness and idols, and giving them a new heart and a new spirit. The Keri גּוייך in Ezekiel 36:13, Ezekiel 36:14, and Ezekiel 36:15 is a needless alteration of the Chetib גּויך . - In Ezekiel 36:15 this promise is rounded off and concluded by another summing up of the principal thoughts.
The Salvation of Israel Founded upon Its Sanctification
Because Israel has defiled its land by its sins, God has scattered the people among the heathen; but because they also profaned His name among the heathen, He will exercise forbearance for the sake of His holy name (Ezekiel 36:16-21), will gather Israel out of the lands, cleanse it from its sins, and sanctify it by the communication of His Spirit, so that it will walk in His ways (Ezekiel 36:22-28), and will so bless and multiply it, that both the nations around and Israel itself will know that He is the Lord (Ezekiel 36:29-38). - This promise is shown by the introductory formula in Ezekiel 36:16 and by the contents to be an independent word of God; but it is substantially connected in the closest manner with the preceding word of God, showing, on the one hand, the motive which prompted God to restore and bless His people;, and, on the other hand, the means by which He would permanently establish the salvation predicted in Ezekiel 34 and Ezekiel 36:1-15. - The kernel of this promise is formed by Ezekiel 36:25-28, for which the way is prepared in Ezekiel 36:17-24, whilst the further extension is contained in Ezekiel 36:29-38.
Ezekiel 36:16-21
The Lord will extend His forbearance, for the sake of His holy name, to the people who have been rejected on account of their sins. - Ezekiel 36:16. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 36:17. Son of man, the house of Israel dwelt in its land, and defiled it with its way and its doings; like the uncleanness of the unclean woman, was its way before me. Ezekiel 36:18. Then I poured out my fury upon them on account of the blood which they had shed in the land, and because they had defiled it through their idols, Ezekiel 36:19. And scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed in the land; according to their way and their doings I judge them. Ezekiel 36:20. And they came to the nations whither they came, and profaned my holy name, for men said of them, “These are Jehovah's people, and they have come out of His land.” Ezekiel 36:21. And so I had pity upon my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations whither they came. - The address commences with a description of the reasons why God had thrust out His people among the heathen, namely, on account of their sins and idolatrous abominations, by which the Israelites had defiled the land (cf. Leviticus 18:28 and Numbers 35:34). Their conduct resembled the most offensive uncleanness, namely, the uncleanness of a woman in her menstruation (Leviticus 15:19), to which the moral depravity of the people had already been compared in Isaiah 64:5. - In Ezekiel 36:18 the consequence of the defiling of the land by the people is introduced with the impression ואשׁפּך . In Ezekiel 36:17, ויטמּאוּ is the continuation of the participle ישׁבים ; and the participle is expressive of the condition in the past, as we may see from the words ' ואשׁפּך וגו . The simile in Ezekiel 36:17 is an explanatory, circumstantial clause. For Ezekiel 36:18, compare Ezekiel 7:8, and for ' על הדּם וגו , Ezekiel 22:3, Ezekiel 22:6. The last clause, “and through their idols they have defiled it,” is loosely appended; but it really contains a second reason for the pouring out of the wrath of God upon the people. For Ezekiel 36:19, compare Ezekiel 22:15. ויּבוא in Ezekiel 36:20 refers to בּית־ישׂראל ; but there is no necessity to read ויבאוּ on that account. It is perfectly arbitrary to supply the subject proposed by Kliefoth, viz., “the report of what had happened to Israel” came to the heathen, which is quite foreign to the connection; for it was not the report concerning Israel, but Israel itself, which came to the heathen, and profaned the sacred name of God. This is not only plainly expressed in Ezekiel 36:21 , but has been already stated in Ezekiel 36:20. The fact that the words of the heathen, by which the name of God was profaned, are quoted here, does not prove that it is the heathen nations who are to be regarded as those who profaned the name of God, as Kliefoth imagines. The words, “these are Jehovah's people, and have come out of His (Jehovah's) land,” could only contain a profanation of the holy name of God, if their coming out was regarded as involuntary, i.e., as an exile enforced by the power of the heathen; or, on the other hand, if the Israelites themselves had denied the holiness of the people of God through their behaviour among the heathen. Most of the commentators have decided in favour of the former view. Vatablus, for example, gives this explanation: “if their God whom they preach had been omnipotent, He would not have allowed them to be expelled from His land.” And we must decide in favour of this exposition, not only because of the parallel passages, such as Numbers 14:16 and Jeremiah 33:24, which support this view; but chiefly on account of the verses which follow, according to which the sanctification of the name of God among the nations consists in the fact that God gathers Israel out of its dispersion among the nations, and leads them back into His own land (vid., Ezekiel 36:23 and Ezekiel 36:24). Consequently the profanation of His name can only have consisted in the fact that Israel was carried away out of its own land, and scattered in the heathen lands. For, since the heathen acknowledged only national gods, and regarded Jehovah as nothing more than such a national god of Israel, they did not look upon the destruction of the kingdom of Judah and the carrying away of the people as a judgment of the almighty and holy God upon His people, but concluded that that catastrophe was a sign of the inability of Jehovah to defend His land and save His people. The only way in which God could destroy this delusion was by manifesting Himself to the heathen as the almighty God and Lord of the whole world through the redemption and glorification of His people. ואחמל על־שׁם ק : so I had pity, compassion upon my holy name. The preterite is prophetic, inasmuch as the compassion consists in the gathering of Israel out of the nations, which is announced in Ezekiel 36:22. as still in the future. The rendering, “I spared (them) for my holy name's sake” (lxx, Hävernick), is false; for חמל is construed with על , governing the person or the thing toward which the compassion is shown (vid., Ezekiel 16:5 and 2 Chronicles 36:15, 2 Chronicles 36:17).
Ezekiel 36:22-28
For His holy name's sake the Lord will bring Israel back from its dispersion into His own land, purify it from its sins, and sanctify it by His Spirit to be His own people. - Ezekiel 36:22. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I do it not for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the nations whither ye have come. Ezekiel 36:23. I will sanctify my great name, which is profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, so that the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, when I prove myself holy upon you before their eyes. Ezekiel 36:24. I will take you out of the nations, and gather you out of all lands, and bring you into your land, Ezekiel 36:25. And will sprinkle clean water upon you, that ye may become clean; from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols will I cleanse you, Ezekiel 36:26. And I will give you a new heart, and give a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:27. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and keep my rights, and do them. Ezekiel 36:28. And ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to your fathers, and shall become my people, and I will be your God. - These verses show in what way the Lord will have compassion upon His holy name, and how He will put an end to the scoffing thereat, and vindicate His honour in the sight of the heathen. “Nor for your sake,” i.e., not because you have any claim to deliverance on account of your behaviour (cf. Isaiah 48:11 and Deuteronomy 9:6), but for my holy name's sake, i.e., to manifest as holy the name which has been profaned among the heathen, I do it, namely, what follows from Ezekiel 36:23 onwards. The Lord will sanctify His name, i.e., show it to be holy by proving Himself to be holy upon Israel. קדּשׁ is not equivalent to glorify, although the holiness of God involves the idea of glory. Sanctifying is the removing or expunging of the blots and blemishes which adhere to anything. The giving up of His people was regarded by the heathen as a sign of the weakness of Jehovah. This blot through which His omnipotence and glory were dishonoured, God would remove by gathering Israel out of the heathen, and glorifying it. Instead of לעיניכם , the ancient versions have rendered לעיניהם . This reading is also found in many of the codices and the earliest editions, and is confirmed by the great Masora, and also commended by the parallel passages, Ezekiel 20:41 and Ezekiel 28:25, so that it no doubt deserves the preference, although לעיניכם can also be justified. For inasmuch as Israelites had despaired in the midst of their wretchedness through unbelief, it was necessary that Jehovah should sanctify His great name in their sight as well. The great name of Jehovah is His almighty exaltation above all gods (cf. Malachi 1:11-12). The first thing that Jehovah does for the sanctification of His name is to bring back Israel from its dispersion into its own land (Ezekiel 36:24, compare Ezekiel 11:17 and Ezekiel 20:41-42); and then follows the purifying of Israel from its sins. The figurative expression, “to sprinkle with clean water,” is taken from the lustrations prescribed by the law, more particularly the purifying from defilement from the dead by sprinkling with the water prepared from the ashes of a red heifer (Numbers 19:17-19; compare Psalms 51:9). Cleansing from sins, which corresponds to justification, and is not to be confounded with sanctification (Schmieder), is followed by renewal with the Holy Spirit, which takes away the old heart of stone and puts within a new heart of flesh, so that the man can fulfil the commandments of God, and walk in newness of life (Ezekiel 36:26-28; compare Ezekiel 11:18-20, where this promise has already occurred, and the necessary remarks concerning its fulfilment have been made). - With regard to the construction ' עשׂה את אשׁר , to make or effect your walking, compare Ewald, §337 b .
Ezekiel 36:29-38
The Lord will richly bless, multiply, and glorify His people, when thus renewed and sanctified. - Ezekiel 36:29. And I will save you from all your uncleannesses, and will call the corn, and multiply it, and no more bring famine upon you; Ezekiel 36:30. But I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that ye will no more bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Ezekiel 36:31. But ye will remember your evil ways, and your deeds which were not good, and will loathe yourselves on account of your iniquities and your abominations. Ezekiel 36:32. Not for your sake do I this, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah, be this known to you; be ye ashamed and blush for your ways, O house of Israel! Ezekiel 36:33. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, In the day when I shall cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will make the cities inhabited, and the ruins shall be built, Ezekiel 36:34. And the devastated land shall be tilled instead of being a desert before the eyes of every one who passed by. Ezekiel 36:35. And men will say, This land, which was laid waste, has become like the garden of Eden, and the desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. Ezekiel 36:36. And the nations, which have been left round about you, shall know that I Jehovah build up that which is destroyed, and plant that which is laid waste. I, Jehovah, have said it, and do it. Ezekiel 36:37. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I will still let myself be sought by the house of Israel in this, to do it for them; I will multiply them, like a flock, in men; Ezekiel 36:38. Like a flock of holy sacrifices, like the flock of Jerusalem on its feast-days, so shall the desolate cities be full of flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. - The words ' הושׁעתּי , I help or save you from all your uncleannesses, cannot be understood as relating to their purification from the former uncleannesses; for they have already been cleansed from these, according to Ezekiel 36:25. The טמאות can only be such defilements as are still possible even after the renewing of the people; and הושׁע , to help, means to guard them against any further recurrence of such defilements (cf. Ezekiel 37:23), and not to deliver them from the consequences of their former pollutions. But if God preserves His people from these, there is no longer any occasion for a fresh suspension of judgments over them, and God can bestow His blessing upon the sanctified nation without reserve. It is in this way that the further promises are appended; and, first of all, in Ezekiel 36:29 and Ezekiel 36:30, a promise that He will bless them with an abundant crop of fruits, both of the orchard and the field. “I call to the corn,” i.e., I cause it to come or grow, so that famine will occur no more (for the fact, compare Ezekiel 34:29).
In consequence of this blessing, Israel will blush with shame at the thought of its former sins, and will loathe itself for those abominations (Ezekiel 36:31); compare Ezekiel 20:43, where the same thought has already occurred. To this, after repeating what has been said before in Ezekiel 36:22, namely, that God is not doing all this for the sake of the Israelites themselves, the prophet appends the admonition to be ashamed of their conduct, i.e., to repent, which is so far inserted appropriately in the promise, that the promise itself is meant to entice Israel to repent and return to God. Then, secondly, in two strophes introduced with ' כּה אמר יי , the promise is still further expanded. In Ezekiel 36:33-36, the prophet shows how the devastated land is to be restored and rebuilt, and to become a paradise; and in Ezekiel 36:37 and Ezekiel 36:38, how the people are to be blessed through a large increase in their numbers. Both of these strophes are simply a further elaboration of the promise contained in Ezekiel 36:9-12. הושׁיב , causative of ישׁב , to cause to be inhabited, to populate, as in Isaiah 54:3. לעיני כּל־עובר , as in Ezekiel 5:14. The subject to ואמרוּ in Ezekiel 36:35 is, “those who pass by.” For the comparison to the garden of Eden, see Ezekiel 31:9. בּצוּרות is a circumstantial word belonging to ישׁבוּ : they shall be inhabited as fortified cities, that is to say, shall afford to their inhabitants the security of fortresses, from which there is no fear of their being expelled. In Ezekiel 36:36 the expression, “the heathen nations which shall be left round about you,” presupposes that at the time of Israel's redemption the judgment will have fallen upon the heathen (compare Ezekiel 30:3 with Ezekiel 29:21), so that only a remnant of them will be still in existence; and this remnant will recognise the work of Jehovah in the restoration of Israel. This recognition, however, does not involve the conversion of the heathen to Jehovah, but is simply preparatory to it. For the fact itself, compare Ezekiel 17:24. הדּרשׁ , to let oneself be asked or entreated, as in Ezekiel 14:3. זאת , with regard to this, is explained by לעשׂות . What God will do follows in ' ארבּה ותו . God will multiply His people to such an extent, that they will resemble the flock of lambs, sheep, and goats brought to Jerusalem to sacrifice upon the feast days. Compare 2 Chronicles 35:7, where Josiah is said to have given to the people thirty thousand lambs and goats for the feast of the passover. כּצּאן אדם does not mean, like a flock of men. אדם cannot be a genitive dependent upon צאן , on account of the article in כּצּאן , but belongs to ארבּה , either as a supplementary apposition to אותם , or as a second object, so that ארבּה would be construed with a double accusative, after the analogy of verbs of plenty, to multiply them in men. Kliefoth's rendering,, “I will multiply them, so that they shall be the flock of men” (of mankind), is grammatically untenable. צאן קדשׁים , a flock of holy beasts, i.e., of sacrificial lambs. The flock of Jerusalem is the flock brought to Jerusalem at the yearly feasts, when the male population of the land came to the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:16): So shall the desolate cities be filled again with flocks of men (compare Micah 2:12).