Ezekiel 14:6-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 14:1-11

Here is, I. The address which some of the elders of Israel made to the prophet, as an oracle, to enquire of the Lord by him. They came, and sat before him, Ezek. 14:1. It is probable that they were not of those who were now his fellow-captives, and constantly attended his ministry (such as those we read of Ezek. 8:1), but some occasional hearers, some of the grandees of Jerusalem who had come upon business to Babylon, perhaps public business, on an embassy from the king, and in their way... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 14:6

Therefore say unto the house of Israel ,.... Deliver out the following exhortation to repentance unto them; for God's end, in all his threatenings and judgments, is to bring men to repentance: thus saith the Lord God, repent, and turn yourselves from your idols ; or, "turn, and cause to be turned from your idols" F23 שובו והשיבו "convertimini, et facite converti", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. ; turn yourselves from the worship of idols, as the Targum, and do all that in you... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 14:7

For everyone of the house of Israel ,.... King and subjects, princes and people, high and low, rich and poor, of every rank, sex, and age: or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel ; the proselytes; whether of righteousness, such as were circumcised, and embraced the Jewish religion; or of the gate, who were only inhabitants with them; one as another were obliged to worship the God of Israel, and abstain from idolatry; there was but one law to the Israelite and to the stranger,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 14:8

And I will set my face against that man ,.... And look him out of countenance, notwithstanding all his daring impudence and presumption in coming to a prophet of the Lord, and inquiring of him by him, when guilty of gross idolatry; which mast needs be the case, when the face of God is set against a man. The Targum renders it, "my fury", or "wrath"; and indeed that is what is meant; when God sets his face against a man, he pours out his wrath, or inflicts punishment on him; see Psalm 34:16 ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 14:7

And cometh to a prophet - Generally supposed to mean a false prophet. I the Lord will answer him by myself - I shall discover to him, by my own true prophet, what shall be the fruit of his ways. So, while their false prophets were assuring them of peace and prosperity, God's prophets were predicting the calamities that afterwards fell upon them. Yet they believed the false prophets in preference to the true. Ahab, about to engage with the Syrians, who had possession of Ramoth-Gilead,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 14:6

Verse 6 Now God shows why he had threatened the false prophets and the whole people so severely, namely, that they should repent; for the object of God’s rigor is, that, when terrified by his judgments, we should return into the way. Now, therefore, he exhorts them to repentance. Hence we gather the useful lesson, that whenever God inspires us with fear, he has no other intention than to humble us, and thus to provide for our salvation, when he reproves and threatens us so strongly by his... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 14:7

Verse 7 Ezekiel again returns to threats, because exhortations was not sufficiently effectual with such hardened ones; for we have seen that they were obdurate in their vices and almost like untamed beasts. For unless God’s judgment had been often set before them, there had been but small fruit of teaching and exhortation. This then is the reason why God here sets before them his vengeance: a man, a man, says he, or a stranger who sojourns among Israel. When he adds strangers, he doubtless... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 14:8

Verse 8 Here God adds, that the execution of his wrath would be ready when the prophet had denounced it. For profane men always fabricate for themselves empty treaties, and when God threatens they say that it is only thunder without lightning. Since the prophetic threats moved the reprobate either nothing or but little, so God now shows that he would not only answer what they did not wish to hear, but they should perceive by its effect how truly he had spoken. And this ought to be understood... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 14:1-11

Disastrous answers to prayer. Ezekiel's predictions had been so gloomy and adverse, that the ciders of Israel in Babylon were staggered. They could not acquiesce in their nation's ruin. Hopeful that some message more favourable might come from God, they sought the prophet's presence. We must not place these elders in the same category with those in Jerusalem who preferred the flattering speeches of the false prophets. Nevertheless, they were not right at heart. The taint of idolatry was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 14:1-11

Hypocritical inquirers of God. "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me," etc. In the former chapter false prophets and prophetesses were severely rebuked by the Lord God through his true prophet. In this one certain elders who came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord through him, while their hearts were given up to idols, are reproved, exhorted, and warned. The paragraph before us presents the following connected topics for consideration, which we will notice in... read more

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