1.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
2.
Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
Son of man . See note on Ezekiel 2:1 .
the mountains . Specially defiled by the high places. Compare Ezekiel 6:13 .
3.
And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
the Lord GOD . Hebrew Adonai Jehovah. See note on Ezekiel 2:4 .
rivers: or, ravines . Compare Ezekiel 36:4 , s. Hebrew aphikim. See note on "channels", 2 Samuel 22:16 .
Behold , Figure of speech Asteriemos. App-6 .
bring a sword . See note on Ezekiel 5:17 .
destroy your high places . Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:30 ).
4.
And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
images = sun = images. Ref, to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:30 ). App-92 . Compare 2 Chronicles 14:5 ; 2Ch 34:4 , 2 Chronicles 34:7 , Isaiah 17:8 ; Isaiah 27:9 .
idols = manufactured gods.
5.
And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
children = sons, their. Some codices, with Vulgate, read "your".
6.
In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
waste. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:31 ). App-92 .
7.
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
the slain = a slain one.
ye shall know that am the LORD , This formula occurs twenty-one times in Ezekiel: five times at the beginning of a verse (Ezekiel 6:13 ; Ezekiel 11:12 ; Ezekiel 20:42 , Ezekiel 20:44 ; Ezekiel 37:13 ); five times in the middle of a verse (7, 9; Ezekiel 15:7 ; Ezekiel 17:21 ; Ezekiel 22:22 ; Ezekiel 37:14 ); and eleven times at the end of the verse (Ezekiel 6:7 ; Ezekiel 7:4 ; Ezekiel 11:10 ; Ezekiel 12:20 ; Ezekiel 13:14 ; Ezekiel 14:8 ; Ezekiel 20:38 ; Ezekiel 25:5 ; Eze 25:35 , Ezekiel 25:9 ; Ezekiel 36:11 ; Ezekiel 37:6 ). In two instances, which are thus safe-guarded (see App-93 ), the verb is feminine. (Ezekiel 13:21 , Ezekiel 13:23 ). Outside Ezekiel it occurs only twice (Exodus 10:2 . 1 Kings 20:28 ). See Ginsburg's Massorah, vol. i, pp 467, 468, 122, 128. For another formula, see note on Ezekiel 6:10 , and Ezekiel 13:9 .
8.
Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
ye. The 1611 edition of the Authorized Version reads "he": i.e. Israel,
9.
And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
I am broken with. Aramaean, Syriac, and Vulgate read "I have broken".
whorish: i.e. idolatrous.
evils . Hebrew. nI's'. App-44 .
10.
And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
they shall know that I am the LORD . This expression occurs again in Ezekiel 6:14 ; Ezekiel 12:15 ; Ezekiel 20:26 ; Ezekiel 30:8 ; Eze 30:32 , Ezekiel 30:15 . Other similar passages outside Ezekiel are, first, Exodus 7:5 .Leviticus 23:43 (reference to Pentateuch); then 1Sa 17:44 , 1 Samuel 17:47 . 1 Kings 8:43 ; 1Ki 18:37 . 2 Chronicles 6:33 .Psalms 59:13 ; Psalms 83:18 ; Psalms 109:27 . Isaiah 19:12 ; Isaiah 41:20 ; Isaiah 46:6 ; Jeremiah 31:34 . See Ginsburg's Massorah, vol. i, 118, 134, 135, 137.
11.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
the house of Israel See note on Exodus 16:31 .
12.
He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
13.
Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
sweet savour = savour of appeasement, or, rest.
14.
So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
So will I : or, And I will.
stretch out My hand. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 7:6 , &c.)
Diblath = Diblathaim (Numbers 33:46 . Jeremiah 48:22 ). A Massoretic note records the fact that some MSS, read Riblah"; but many codices, with ten early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "Diblah".