Ezekiel 9:6-11

6 Slay ye till to death, an eld man, a young man, and a virgin, a little child, and women; but slay ye not any man, on whom ye see Tau; and begin ye at my saintuary. Therefore they began at the elder men, that were before the face of the house (And so they began with the elders, who were in front of the House of the Lord).

7 And he said to them, Defoul ye the house (of the Lord), and fill ye the foreyards with slain men; go ye out. And they went out, and killed them that were in the city. (And he said to them, Defile ye the House of the Lord, and fill ye the courtyards with the slain; go ye out. And they went out, and killed those who were in the city.)

8 And lo! when the slaying was [ful]filled, I was left (alone). And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, therefore whether thou shalt lose all the remnants of Israel, and shalt shed out thy strong vengeance on Jerusalem? (And I fell down on my face, and I cried, and said, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, and so shalt thou destroy all the remnants of Israel, and shalt thou pour out thy strong vengeance upon Jerusalem?)

9 And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and of Judah is full great, and the land is filled of bloods, and the city is filled with turning away; for they said, The Lord hath forsaken the land, and the Lord seeth not. (And he said to me, The wickedness of the house of Israel and Judah is very great, and the land is filled with bloodshed, or of murder, and the city is filled with turning away from righteousness; for they said, The Lord hath abandoned the land, and the Lord seeth not.)

10 Therefore and mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; I shall yield the way of them on the head of them. (And so my eye shall not spare them, nor shall I have any mercy on them; I shall yield their ways back upon their own heads.)

11 And lo! the man that was clothed in linen clothes, that had a penner in his back (who had an inkhorn at his side), answered a word, and said, I have done, as thou commandedest to me.

Ezekiel 9:6-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 9

In this chapter is contained a vision, representing the destruction of the idolatrous Jews, and the preservation of the godly that were among them, in which different persons were employed; they that were concerned in the destruction of the idolaters are described by their office; they had charge over the city; by their form and appearance, men; by their number, six; by the quarter from whence they came, the way of the higher gate northward; and by the weapons they had in their hands, slaughter ones; and by their place and posture, standing beside the brasen altar, Eze 9:1,2; among these were one clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side; to whom the glorious God of Israel, who was removed from the cherub to the threshold of the house, gave orders to go through the city of Jerusalem, and mark those that mourned over the abominations of it, Eze 9:3,4; and the rest he ordered to go through the city, and slay all of every age, and sex, and state, except those that had the mark; beginning at the sanctuary, and filling the courts with the slain; which orders were obeyed, Eze 9:5-7; upon which the prophet expostulates with the Lord, and intercedes for the people; but is not heard, because of the abounding of iniquity among them; their frequent shedding of blood; their perversion of justice; and their abominable infidelity and atheism; for which reasons he was determined to show them no mercy, Eze 9:8-10; and the chapter is closed with a report made by the man clothed with linen, that he had done as was commanded him, Eze 9:11.