It shall not return any more - That is, till all the work that I have designed for it is done. Nor did it; for Nebuchadnezzar never rested till he had subdued all the lands from the south to the north, from the Euphrates to the Nile. read more
Sigh - with the breaking of thy loins - Let thy mourning for this sore calamity be like that of a woman in the pains of travail. read more
Wherefore sighest thou? - The prophet was a sign unto them. His sighing and mourning showed them how they should act. All knees shall be weak as water - See the note on Ezekiel 7:17 . read more
Verse 1 As Calvin’s Latin Translation ends here, so the version by the Translator comes naturally to a close. It has not been thought necessary to re-translate from the original the remainder of Ezekiel, as the previously quoted labors of Newcome and Rosenmuller are sufficiently accessible and explanatory. read more
Irresistible slaughter. The subject matter of this prophecy is substantially the same as the foregoing. The parable is now put into plainest language. There is an advantage in using the parable method. It awakens attention. It leads men to examine and reflect. There is an excitement in discovering a riddle. Yet God will speak also to men in language plain enough tot the simplest understanding. No lost man is able to cast any blame on our God. We have "line upon line, precept upon precept."... read more
The opening words, reproducing those of Ezekiel 20:46 , indicate that the interpretation of that parable is coming. So the three variants of "south" are shown to mean respectively Jerusalem, the holy places, and the land of Israel. So, in Ezekiel 20:3 , the righteous and the wicked take the place of the "green" and the "dry" tree, and the fire is explained as meaning the sword of the invader. The teaching of Ezekiel 18:1-32 , had shown that Ezekiel had entered, as regards the... read more
Undiscriminating infliction. It is a pathetic spectacle, this of the prophet, in his exile away in the northeast, turning by Divine command his gaze, sorrowful and sympathizing, towards Jerusalem, the holy places, the land of Israel. The present is sad enough, but Ezekiel has to bear the oppressive anticipation of the future. He hears the assurance of the God whom his countrymen have offended by their infidelity that worse calamity, even disaster, and death are about to befall the remnant... read more
The common fate of righteous and wicked. Both the righteous and the wicked are to be cut off. Though not equal in moral character, they are to share in the same general calamities. I. IT IS A FACT THAT THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER WITH THE WICKED . We see this fact in everyday experience, and it would be a falsehood to formulate a doctrine which seemed to our short-sighted judgment more just, if it did interpret events. 1 . From human conduct . The bad policy of a... read more
Sigh therefore , etc. As in other instances ( Ezekiel 4:4 ; Ezekiel 5:1-4 ), the prophet dramatizes the coming calamity. He is to act the part of a mourner, whose sighs are so deep that they seem to "break his loins" (compare, for the gesture, Nahum 2:1 , Nahum 2:10 , Isaiah 21:3 ; Jeremiah 30:6 ). The strange action was meant to lead to questions. What did it mean? And then he is to answer that he does it "for the tidings" which are to him as certain as if they had already come.... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 21:4
From the south to the north - The whole land shall be ravaged from one end to the other. read more