*H And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying:
Ver. 1. Month; Jan. 30, A. 3414. Usher. — Ezechiel was then in Mesopotamia, and when the news of the siege commencing on that very day, should arrive; it would make a great impression upon the people, so that they would have confidence in him, (C.) as the certainty of the prediction would appear. 4 K. xxv. 1. W.
*H Son of man, write thee the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon hath set himself against Jerusalem to day.
Ver. 2. Pot, to denote Jerusalem: the flesh boiled and consumed in the fire with the bones, would shew the future dismal condition of its chiefs and inhabitants. H. — The hardened Jews turned such things to ridicule. C. xi. 3.
*H Heap together into it the pieces thereof, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, choice pieces and full of bones.
Ver. 4. Choice. Heb. "the choice of the bones," or the finest pieces separated from the bones, as the Sept. and the sequel seem to require. C. — The bones might serve to burn. v. 5. H. See S. Jer. Vat. &c. C.
*H Take the fattest of the flock, and lay together piles of bones under it: the seething thereof is boiling hot, and the bones thereof are thoroughly sodden in the midst of it.
Ver. 5. The, &c. Lit. "its boiling has grown hot;" the citizens suffer terribly. — Bones. Heb. hatsamim, (H.) may denote the more solid meat.
*H Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it, and its rust is not gone out of it: cast it out piece by piece, there hath no lot fallen upon it.
Ver. 6. Rust: the inveterate malice of the city. v. 12. — Upon it. Hurl the pieces of meat out of the pot, without any choice. C. — All the people shall feel my indignation, the rich as well as the poor. v. 13. H.
*H For her blood is in the midst of her, she hath shed it upon the smooth rock: she hath not shed it upon the ground, that it might be covered with dust.
Ver. 7. She hath. Sept. "I have let it corrupt upon. I have not," &c. (v. 8. H.) as if God spoke. The Jews had committed murder without fear. They had naturally a horror for blood, and the law ordered even that of beasts to be covered. Lev. xvii. 13. Now innocent blood cries for vengeance. Gen. iv. 10. The punishment shall be as visible as the crime. v. 8.
* Footnote * Nahum 3 : 1
Woe to thee, O city of blood, all full of lies and violence: rapine shall not depart from thee.* Footnote * Habacuc 2 : 12
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and prepareth a city by iniquity.*H Heap together the bones, which I will burn with fire: the flesh shall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be sodden, and the bones shall be consumed.
Ver. 10. And the. Heb. "put in the seasoning and the bones," &c.
*H Thy uncleanness is execrable: because I desired to cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filthiness: neither shalt thou be cleansed, before I cause my indignation to rest in thee.
Ver. 13. Thy. Heb. "In thy crime there is design," or malice. This rendered the Jews so hateful (C.) and irreclaimable. H. — God had given them abundant instructions (C.) and graces; but all was contemned. H. — When the fire of tribulation does not amend sinners, they are sentenced to hell fire. W.
*H Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke, and thou shall not lament, nor weep; neither shall thy tears run down.
Ver. 16. Stroke; pestilence, or sudden death. This would make the loss of a dear wife still more afflicting. Yet such distress will fall upon the whole nation, (C.) and misery shall increase so much, that a private loss will be almost forgotten. H. — Curæ leves loquuntur, graviores silent. Sen. Troad. — When a loss is foreseen, it is more easily borne. Private calamities sink in public ones. W.
*H Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead: let the tire of thy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face, nor eat the meat of mourners.
Ver. 17. Silence, for such manifold calamities, if thou canst screen thyself from the enemy, who will otherwise take offence, as he has brought them on. H. — Dead. Priests were allowed to mourn only for father or mother, and their unmarried brothers and sisters. Lev. xxi. 1. Ezechiel (xliv. 25.) adds, Son and daughter. Many think the wife must also be understood, as she is nearer than a brother. The reasons for these prohibitions did not then subsist, as no sacrifice could be offered in Chaldea; and therefore God here specifies what the prophet was not to do, (C.) though lawful on other occasions. Sanct. — Tire. Lit. "crown," bandage, (C.) or parchment, on which parts of the law were written. Sept. "Let (Rom. ed. adds, not) the hair of thy head be curled (or ruffed; συμπεπλεγμενον ) upon thee." H. — It was usually cut in mourning. S. Jer. — Feet. They were bare, at funerals, and in times of sorrow. 2 K. xv. 30. — Face, like David. Heb. "the upper lip," which mourners and lepers covered. Lev. xiii. 45. C. — Mourners. Feasts were prepared by the relations, (Jos. Bel. ii. 1.) and friends sent some food, but no delicacies, to those who mourned. Lev. v. 9.
*H Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.
Ver. 21. Profane, or esteem it no more, (H.) but abandon it to the Gentiles. C. — Feareth to lose; or on which it rests, v. 25. H.
*H In that day, I say, shall thy mouth be opened to him that hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and shalt be silent no more: and thou shalt be unto them for a sign of things to come, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
Ver. 27. No more, if thou darest to speak before the Chaldeans. v. 17. Reserve thy tears and lamentations for that time. C.