Ezekiel 9:3

3 Now ¹the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ²the threshold of the house. And he called to ³the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist.

Ezekiel 9:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 9:3

And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub,
whereupon he was
That is, the glorious God of Israel; or the glorious Shechinah, and divine Majesty, which dwelt between the cherubim over the mercy seat in the most holy place, removed from thence, as a token of his being about to depart from the temple, which in a short time would be destroyed. The Targum is,

``the glory of the God of Israel departed in the cherub on which he dwelt, in the house of the holy of holies;''

the cherubim removed with him, and were his chariot in which he rode; see ( Ezekiel 10:18 ) ( 11:22 ) ; to the threshold of the house;
of the holy of holies, as Jarchi interprets it; and so was nearer to the brasen altar, where the seven men stood, to give them their orders; of which an account follows: and he called to the man clothed with linen, which [had] the writer's
inkhorn by his side;
he, being the principal person, is called first; and his business being to preserve the Lord's people shows that this was the first care of God.

Ezekiel 9:3 In-Context

1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand."

2 And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist.

4 And the LORD said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it."

5 And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.

Cross References

• 1. See Ezekiel 1:28
• 2. Ezekiel 10:4, 18; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 47:1
• 3. [See ver. 2 above]