Ezekiel 9:1

1 Then I heard him call out loudly, "Executioners, come! And bring your deadly weapons with you."

Ezekiel 9:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 9:1

He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice
That is, the glory of the Lord God of Israel, whom the prophet saw in the temple, and who directed him from place to place, and showed him all the abominations committed there: this loud voice of the Lord was not so much to excite the attention of the prophet, as to call together the ministers of his vengeance; and to show the greatness of his indignation, and the vehemence of his wrath, which was stirred up by the sins of the people: saying, cause them that have the charge over the city to draw near;
or,

``who were appointed over the city,''
as the Targum; that is, the city of Jerusalem; by whom are meant either the ministering angels, who had been the guardians of it, but now were to be employed another way; or the princes of the Chaldean army, who had a charge against the city to destroy it; see ( Isaiah 10:6 ) ( Jeremiah 34:21 ) . The Syriac version is, "draw near, ye avengers of the city"; and the Septuagint and Arabic versions are "the vengeance of the city draws nigh": even every man [with] his destroying weapon in his hand;
weapons of war, as bows and arrows, sword and spear; see ( Jeremiah 6:22 Jeremiah 6:23 ) .

Ezekiel 9:1 In-Context

1 Then I heard him call out loudly, "Executioners, come! And bring your deadly weapons with you."
2 Six men came down the road from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying his lethal weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen with a writing case slung from his shoulder. They entered and stood by the bronze altar.
3 The Glory of the God of Israel ascended from his usual place above the cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case who was dressed in linen:
4 "Go through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city."
5 I listened as he went on to address the executioners: "Follow him through the city and kill. Feel sorry for no one. Show no compassion.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.