Ezekiel 20:49

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:49

Then said I, ah Lord God !.... The Septuagint version is, "by no means, Lord, Lord"; that is, let me not be sent on such an errand; at least, let it not be delivered in such figurative terms; or let not such a general calamity befall the people. The Targum is, "receive my prayer, O Lord God;' the prophet here either complains of the usage he had met with after delivering the above prophecy; or rather of what he had met with before, and which he expected again; and therefore desired... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 20:49

Ah Lord God - O my God, consider my situation; who will believe what I shall say? They put the evil day far from them. Doth he not speak parables? - הוא משלים ממשל הלא halo memashshel meshalim hu , "Is not he a maker of parables?" Is it not his custom to deal in enigmas? His figures are not to be understood; we should not trouble ourselves with them. We are not obliged to fathom his meaning; and perhaps after all it does not refer to us, or will not be accomplished in our time, if it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 20:45-49

The forest in flame. In a nation, men's minds are in every stage of development; a hundred phases of feeling prevail. Hence God, in his kindness, sent his instructions in every possible form, and adapted his reproofs to every state of mind—to children as well as to men of riper years. I. THE PARABLE IMPLIES A RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN MEN AND FOREST TREES . Amid many differences, there are some resemblances, and it is on one of these resemblances that this admonition... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 20:45-49

and Ezekiel 21:1-7 A parable of judgment. "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy lace towards the south," etc. Another chapter should certainly have been commenced at the forty-fifth verse of the twentieth chapter, as indeed it is in the Hebrew, LXX ; and Vulgate. The first seven verses of the twenty-first chapter in the Authorized Version are an explanation of the parable of the preceding five verses. I. THE AUTHOR OF THIS JUDGMENT . ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 20:49

Doth he not speak parables? We can scarcely wonder that Ezekiel's enigmatic words here, as in Ezekiel 15:1-8 , Ezekiel 16:1-63 , and Ezekiel 17:1-24 , should have called forth some such expression from his hearers; but he obviously records the whisper which he thus heard, in a tone of sorrow and indignation. It was to him a proof, as a like question was to the Christ proof that those hearers were yet without understanding. The question was, for those who asked it, an excuse for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 20:49

The obscurity of revelation. I. THE TEACHING OF DIVINE REVELATION IS SOMETIMES OBSCURED . It was a fact that Ezekiel had been speaking in parables. No other prophet indulged so freely in symbolical language. His writings are a garden of luxuriant metaphors, which often blossom into elaborate allegories. This style is characteristic of Oriental literature, and it is a feature of the Bible teaching generally, through in Ezekiel it is carried out more fully than elsewhere.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 20:45-49

This paragraph is in the Hebrew text, Septuagint and Vulgate the beginning of Ezekiel 21:0 to which it belongs, as it contains a prophecy delivered in a form which is there explained. It may, however, be regarded as a link between the foregoing and following prophecies, being a general introduction to seven words of judgment about to be pronounced in development of that which has just been delivered.Ezekiel 20:46In this verse occur three Hebrew synonyms for “south,” denoting:(1) the region on... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 20:45-49

Ezekiel 20:45-49. Moreover, the word of the Lord, &c. Here we have a new prophecy, with which Houbigant, following many learned commentators, begins the xxist chapter, and that very properly; for what is contained in that chapter is only an explanation of what is contained in the remainder of this. Son of man, set thy face toward the south The prophets were generally commanded to turn themselves toward the places concerning which they were going to prophesy; and Ezekiel being now in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 20:45-49

Babylon’s terrifying attack (20:45-21:17)The usual way to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem was by a semi-circular route that avoided the Arabian desert by following the Euphrates River to the north-west then turning south towards Judah. (See map ‘Near East in the time of Jeremiah.) Ezekiel put himself in the position of the Babylonian army as it moved south into Judah, overrunning and destroying the country as an uncontrollable bushfire. None would escape its terror (45-48). But the people did... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ezekiel 20:49

parables. Thus intended to have the same purpose as the Lord's parables. See Matthew 13:11 . read more

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