Ezekiel 7

Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

1 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2 "And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, 'An ¹end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land.

3 'Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you.

4 'For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will ²bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will ³know that I am the LORD!'

5 "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'A ⁴disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming!

6 'An end is coming; the end has come! It has ⁵awakened against you; behold, it has come!

7 'Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The ⁶time has come, the ⁷day is near -tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.

8 'Now I will shortly ⁸pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; ⁹judge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations.

9 'My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, do the smiting.

10 'Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the ¹⁰rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed.

11 'Violence has grown into a rod of ¹¹wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their ¹²wealth, nor anything eminent among them.

12 'The ¹³time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the ¹⁴buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for ¹⁵wrath is against all their multitude.

13 'Indeed, the seller will not ¹⁶regain what he sold as long as they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his iniquity.

14 'They have ¹⁷blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude.

15 'The ¹⁸sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also consume those in the city.

16 'Even when their survivors ¹⁹escape, they will be on the mountains like ²⁰doves of the valleys, all of them ²¹mourning, each over his own iniquity.

17 'All ²²hands will hang limp and all knees will become like water.

18 'They will ²³gird themselves with sackcloth and ²⁴shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces and ²⁵baldness on all their heads.

19 'They will ²⁶fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their ²⁷silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

20 'They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and ²⁸they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore * I will make it an abhorrent thing to them.

21 'I will give it into the hands of the ²⁹foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it.

22 'I will also turn My ³⁰face from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.

23 '³¹Make the chain, for the land is full of ³²bloody crimes and the city is ³³full of violence.

24 'Therefore, I will bring the worst of the ³⁴nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the ³⁵pride of the strong ones cease, and their ³⁶holy places will be profaned.

25 'When anguish comes, they will seek ³⁷peace, but there will be none.

26 '³⁸Disaster will come upon disaster and ³⁹rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a ⁴⁰vision from a prophet, but the ⁴¹law will be lost from the priest and ⁴²counsel from the elders.

27 'The king will mourn, the prince will be ⁴³clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the LORD.' "

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Ezekiel 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

The desolation of the land. (1-15) The distress of the few who should escape. (16-22) The captivity. (23-27)

Verses 1-15 The abruptness of this prophecy, and the many repetitions, show that the prophet was deeply affected by the prospect of these calamities. Such will the destruction of sinners be; for none can avoid it. Oh that the wickedness of the wicked might end before it bring them to an end! Trouble is to the impenitent only an evil, it hardens their hearts, and stirs up their corruptions; but there are those to whom it is sanctified by the grace of God, and made a means of much good. The day of real trouble is near, not a mere echo or rumour of troubles. Whatever are the fruits of God's judgments, our sin is the root of them. These judgments shall be universal. And God will be glorified in all. Now is the day of the Lord's patience and mercy, but the time of the sinner's trouble is at hand.

Verses 16-22 Sooner or later, sin will cause sorrow; and those who will not repent of their sin, may justly be left to pine away in it. There are many whose wealth is their snare and ruin; and the gaining the world is the losing of their souls. Riches profit not in the day of wrath. The wealth of this world has not that in it which will answer the desires of the soul, or be any satisfaction to it in a day of distress. God's temple shall stand them in no stead. Those are unworthy to be honoured with the form of godliness, who will not be governed by its power.

Verses 23-27 Whoever break the bands of God's law, will find themselves bound and held by the chains of his judgments. Since they encouraged one another to sin, God would dishearten them. All must needs be in trouble, when God comes to judge them according to their deserts. May the Lord enable us to seek that good part which shall not be taken away.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 43

1. Ezek 7:3, 5, 6; Ezekiel 11:13; Amos 8:2, 10
2. Ezekiel 11:21; Ezekiel 22:31; Hosea 9:7
3. Ezekiel 6:7, 14; Ezekiel 7:27
4. 2 Kings 21:12, 13; Nahum 1:9
5. Zechariah 13:7
6. Ezekiel 7:12; Ezekiel 12:23-25, 28
7. Isaiah 22:5
8. Isaiah 42:25; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 14:19; Nahum 1:6
9. Ezekiel 7:3; Ezekiel 33:20; Ezekiel 36:19
10. Psalms 89:32; Isaiah 10:5
11. Psalms 73:8; Psalms 125:3; Isaiah 59:6-8
12. Zephaniah 1:18
13. Ezek 7:5-7, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; James 5:8, 9
14. Proverbs 20:14; 1 Corinthians 7:30
15. Isaiah 5:13, 14; Ezekiel 6:11, 12; Ezekiel 7:14
16. Lev 25:24-28, 31
17. Numbers 10:9; Jeremiah 4:5
18. Jeremiah 14:18; Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 6:11, 12; Ezekiel 12:16
19. Ezra 9:15; Isaiah 37:31; Ezekiel 6:8; Ezekiel 14:22
20. Isaiah 38:14
21. Isaiah 59:11; Nahum 2:7
22. Isaiah 13:7; Ezekiel 21:7; Ezekiel 22:14; Hebrews 12:12
23. Isaiah 15:3; Ezekiel 27:31; Amos 8:10
24. Job 21:6; Psalms 55:5
25. Ezekiel 27:31
26. Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 30:22
27. Proverbs 11:4; Zephaniah 1:18
28. Jeremiah 7:30
29. 2 Kings 24:13; Psalms 74:2-8; Jeremiah 52:13
30. Jeremiah 18:17; Ezekiel 39:23, 24
31. Jeremiah 27:2
32. Ezekiel 9:9; Hosea 4:2
33. Ezekiel 8:17
34. Ezekiel 21:31; Ezekiel 28:7
35. Ezekiel 33:28
36. 2 Chronicles 7:20; Ezekiel 24:21
37. Ezekiel 13:10, 16
38. Isaiah 47:11; Jeremiah 4:20
39. Ezekiel 21:7
40. Jeremiah 21:2; Jeremiah 37:17
41. Psalms 74:9; Ezekiel 22:26; Micah 3:6
42. Jeremiah 18:18; Ezekiel 11:2
43. Job 8:22; Psalms 35:26; Psalms 109:18, 29; Ezekiel 26:16

Footnotes 14

[a]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD
[b]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD
[c]. Lit "give"
[d]. Lit "has risen"
[e]. Lit "return to"
[f]. Lit "thing sold," i.e. his inherited land
[g]. Lit "their life among the living ones"
[h]. Lit "return"
[i]. Lit "her"
[j]. Lit "moaning"
[k]. Lit "run with water"
[l]. Lit "soul"
[m]. Lit "judgment of blood"
[n]. Lit "be terrified"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 7

This chapter contains a prophecy of the speedy destruction of the Jews, as being just at hand; of the particular judgments that should come upon them; of the horror that should seize them, and the distress that all ranks of men among them should be in, a few only escaping, who are described as in mournful circumstances. The destruction in general is denounced as being very near; the end being come, which is often repeated; and as it is represented as sudden, so without mercy; which is declared, Eze 7:1-14; the particular judgments, sword, pestilence, and famine, are mentioned in Eze 7:15, and the few that should escape are compared to mourning doves, Eze 7:16; the trembling, horror, and shame that should be upon all, are intimated in Eze 7:17,18; the unprofitableness of their gold and silver to deliver them, and the unsatisfying nature of these things, are expressed, Eze 7:19; the profanation and destruction of their temple are prophesied of, Eze 7:20-22; and for their murder, rapine, and oppression, it is threatened that their houses should be possessed by the worst of Heathens, and their holy places defiled; and one calamity should come upon another; when their application to prophets, priests, and ancient men for counsel, would be in, vain, Eze 7:23-26; and king, prince, and people, should be in the most melancholy and distressed circumstances, Eze 7:27.