Ezekiel
Ezekiel 11
1Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”
5Yahweh’s Spirit fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak, ‘Yahweh says: “Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. 6You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.
7“ ‘Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the middle of it, they are the meat, and this is the cauldron; but you will be brought out of the middle of it. 8You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you,” says the Lord Yahweh. 9“I will bring you out of the middle of it, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. 10You will fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. 11This will not be your cauldron, neither will you be the meat in the middle of it. I will judge you in the border of Israel. 12You will know that I am Yahweh, for you have not walked in my statutes, You have not executed my ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you.” ’ ”
13When I prophesied, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
14Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 15“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, the men of your relatives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far away from Yahweh. This land has been given to us for a possession.’ ”
16“Therefore say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come.” ’
17“Therefore say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”
18“ ‘They will come there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. 19I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; 20that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
22Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23Yahweh’s glory went up from the middle of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city. 24The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captives.
So the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25Then I spoke to the captives all the things that Yahweh had shown me.
Commentary
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 67 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry3
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
We have here, I. The great security of the prince's of Jerusalem, notwithstanding the judgements of God that were upon them, The prophet was brought, in vision, to the gate of the temple where these princes sat in council upon the present arduous affairs of…
Prophecy was designed to exalt every valley as well as to bring low every mountain and hill (Isa 40:4), and prophets were to speak not only conviction to the presumptuous and secure, but comfort to the despised and desponding that trembled at God's word. The…
Here is, 1. The departure of God's presence from the city and temple. When the message was committed to the prophet, and he was fully apprized of it, fully instructed how to separate between the precious and the vile, then the cherubim lifted up their wings…
John Gill25
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
Moreover, the spirit lifted me up,.... From the inner court of the temple, where the prophet was, according to the last account of him, Ezekiel 8:16; it was the same Spirit that took him by the lock of his head, and lifted him up, as in Ezekiel 8:3; and…
Then said he unto me, son of man,.... That is, the Lord, or, the Spirit of the Lord, that lifted him up: these are the men that devise mischief; or "vanity" (d); this is to be understood not of the two only that are named, though it may of them chiefly; but…
Which say it is not near, let us build houses,.... Meaning that the destruction of the city was not near, as the prophet had foretold, Ezekiel 7:3; and therefore encourage the people to build houses, and rest themselves secure, as being safe from all danger…
Adam Clarke12
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
At the door of the gate five and twenty men - The same persons, no doubt, who appear, Eze 8:16, worshipping the sun. Jaazaniah the son of Azur - In Eze 8:16, we find a Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. If Shaphan was also called Azur, they may be the same person…
It is not near - That is, the threatened invasion. This city is the caldron, and we be the flesh - See the vision of the seething pot, Jer 1:13. These infidels seem to say: "We will run all risks, we will abide in the city. Though it be the caldron, and we…
Your slain - they are the flesh - Jerusalem is the caldron, and those who have been slain in it, they are the flesh; and though ye purpose to stay and share its fate, ye shall not be permitted to do so, ye shall be carried into captivity.
Keil & Delitzsch5
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
Judgment upon the rulers of the nation. - Eze 11:1. And a wind lifted me up, and took me to the eastern gate of the house of Jehovah, which faces towards the east; and behold, at the entrance of the gate were five and twenty men, and I saw among them…
And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and said to me: Say, Thus saith Jehovah, So ye say, O house of Israel, and what riseth up in your spirit, that I know. Eze 11:6. Ye have increased your slain in this city, and filled its streets with slain. Eze 11:7…
And it came to pass, as I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died: then I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said: Alas! Lord Jehovah, dost Thou make an end of the remnant of Israel? - The sudden death of one of the princes of…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown22
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
he--the Lord sitting on the cherubim (Eze 10:2). wicked counsel--in opposition to the prophets of God (Eze 11:3).
It is not near--namely, the destruction of the city; therefore "let us build houses," as if there was no fear. But the Hebrew opposes English Version, which would require the infinitive absolute. Rather, "Not at hand is the building of houses." They sneer at…
prophesy . . . prophesy--The repetition marks emphatic earnestness.
World English Bible — Public domain