23 Make the chain; for the land Hath been full of bloody judgments, And the city hath been full of violence.
And He saith unto me, `The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah `is' very very great, and the land is full of blood, and the city hath been full of perverseness, for they have said: Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.
`Thus said Jehovah unto me, Make to thee bands and yokes,
Ye multiplied your wounded in this city, And filled its out-places with the wounded.
And also, innocent blood hath Manasseh shed very much, till that he hath filled Jerusalem -- mouth to mouth; apart from his sin that he hath caused Judah to sin, to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah.
Her heads in her midst `are' roaring lions, Her judges `are' evening wolves, They have not gnawn the bone in the morning. Her prophets unstable -- men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law.
Even she doth become an exile, She hath gone into captivity, Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At the top of all out-places, And for her honoured ones they cast a lot, And all her great ones have been bound in fetters.
And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
Its princes in its midst `are' as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.
and also the innocent blood that he hath shed, and he filleth Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Jehovah was not willing to forgive.
and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it hath made idols on it for defilement. By thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast been guilty, And by thine idols that thou hast made thou hast been defiled, And thou causest thy days to draw near, And art come in unto thine years, Therefore I have given thee a reproach to nations, And a derision to all the lands. The near and the far-off from thee scoff at thee, O defiled of name -- abounding in trouble. Lo, princes of Israel -- each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood.
And she bringeth up one of her whelps, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured. And hear of it do nations, In their pit it hath been caught, And they bring it in with chains unto the land of Egypt. And she seeth, that stayed -- perished hath her hope, And she taketh one of her whelps, A young lion she hath made it. And it goeth up and down in the midst of lions, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.
And He saith unto me, `Hast thou seen, son of man? hath it been a light thing to the house of Judah to do the abomination that they have done here, that they have filled the land with violence, and turn back to provoke Me to anger? and lo, they are putting forth the branch unto their nose!
He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter.
The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, hath sent him from Ramah, in his taking him -- and he a prisoner in chains -- in the midst of all the removal of Jerusalem and of Judah, who are removed to Babylon.
But thine eyes and thy heart are not, Except on thy dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.
Sojourner, fatherless, and widow, ye oppress not, And innocent blood do not shed in this place, And after other gods do not walk, for evil to yourselves,
Their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed innocent blood, Their thoughts `are' thoughts of iniquity, Spoiling and destruction `are' in their highways.
For your hands have been polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity, Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue perverseness doth mutter.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 7
Commentary on Ezekiel 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
In this chapter the approaching ruin of the land of Israel is most particularly foretold in affecting expressions often repeated, that if possible they might be awakened by repentance to prevent it. The prophet must tell them,
Eze 7:1-15
We have here fair warning given of the destruction of the land of Israel, which was now hastening on apace. God, by the prophet, not only sends notice of it, but will have it inculcated in the same expressions, to show that the thing is certain, that it is near, that the prophet is himself affected with it and desires they should be so too, but finds them deaf, and stupid, and unaffected. When the town is on fire men do no seek for fine words and quaint expressions in which to give an account of it, but cry about the streets, with a loud and lamentable voice, "Fire! fire!' So the prophet here proclaims, An end! an end! it has come, it has come; behold, it has come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.
Eze 7:16-22
We have attended the fate of those that are cut off, and are now to attend the flight of those that have an opportunity of escaping the danger; some of them shall escape (v. 16), but what the better? As good die once as, in a miserable life, die a thousand deaths, and escape only like Cain to be fugitives and vagabonds, and afraid of being slain by every one they meet; so shall these be.
Eze 7:23-27
Here is,