Ezekiel 39:2 - Exposition

I will … leave but the sixth part of thee . The word שְׁשֵּׁאתִיךָ is derived either from the numeral six, שֵׁשׁ , or from the root שָׁשָׁא , the import of which is uncertain, although a cognate root in Ethiopic suggests the idea of "going on" or "proceeding"—a meaning Havernick also finds in the Hebrew. The former derivation has been followed by the Authorized Version, which renders in the margin, "I will strike thee with six plagues," or "draw thee back with a hook of six teeth," and by Hengstenberg, With whom Plumptre agrees, "1 will six thee," i.e. "afflict thee with six plagues," viz. those mentioned in Ezekiel 38:22 . The latter derivation, presumably the more correct, is adopted by the LXX . ( καθοδογήσω ), the Vulgate ( educam ), the Revised Version ("I will lead thee on"), and by modern expositors generally. Hitzig and Smend approve of Ewald's translation, "I entice thee astray, and lead thee with leading, strings."