Ezekiel 7

1 And the word of the Lord was made to me, saying,

2 And thou, son of man, the Lord God of the land of Israel saith these things, The end cometh, the end cometh, on [the] four coasts of the land. (And thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things to the land of Israel, The end cometh, the end cometh, on all four sides of the land.)

3 Now an end is [up]on thee, and I shall send in my strong vengeance [up]on thee, and I shall deem thee by thy ways (and I shall judge thee by thy ways), and I shall set all thine abominations against thee.

4 And mine eye shall not spare on thee, and I shall not do mercy (And my eye shall not spare thee, and I shall have no mercy on thee). But I shall set thy ways [up]on thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.

5 The Lord God saith these things, Lo! torment, lo! torment cometh;

6 the end cometh, the end cometh; it shall wake fully against thee (it watcheth for thee); lo! it cometh.

7 Sorrow cometh [up]on thee, that dwellest in the land (who livest in the land); the time cometh, the day of slaying is nigh, and not of (the) glory of hills.

8 Now anon I shall shed out mine ire on thee, and I shall [ful]fill my strong vengeance in thee; and I shall deem thee by thy ways, and I shall put to thee all thy great trespasses. (Now at once I shall pour out my anger upon thee, and I shall fulfill my strong vengeance upon thee; and I shall judge thee by thy ways, and I shall put to thee all thy great trespasses.)

9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; but I shall put on thee thy ways, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord smiting. (And my eye shall not spare thee, nor shall I have any mercy on thee; but I shall put upon thee thy ways, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord who striketh.)

10 Lo! the day, lo! it cometh; sorrow is gone out. A rod flowered, pride burgeoned,

11 wickedness rose (up) in the rod of unpiety; not (anything) of them (shall remain), and not of the people, neither of the sound of them, and no rest shall be in them.

12 The time cometh, the day nighed; he that buyeth, be not glad, and he that selleth, mourn not (he who buyeth, be not happy, and he who selleth, mourn not); for why (my) ire is on all the people thereof.

13 For he that selleth, shall not turn again to that that he sold, and yet the life of them is in livers (For he who selleth, shall not return to what he sold, and yet their life is in the living); for why the vision, either revelation, to all the multitude thereof shall not go again, and a man shall not be strengthened in the wickedness of his life.

14 Sing ye with a trump, all men be made ready, and none is that shall go to battle (but no one shall go out to battle); for why my wrath is on all the people thereof.

15 Sword is without, pestilence and hunger within; he that is in the field, shall die by sword; and they that be in the city, shall be devoured by pestilence and hunger. (The sword is outside, pestilence and famine within; he who is in the field, shall die by sword; and they who be in the city, shall be devoured by pestilence and famine.)

16 And they shall be saved that flee of them; and they shall be as (the) culvers of great valleys in [the] hills, all-quaking, each man in his wickedness. (But those of them who flee shall be saved; and they shall be on the great hills, like the doves of the valleys, all-shaking, or trembling, each person in their wickedness.)

17 All hands shall be benumbed, and all knees shall flow with waters. (Every hand shall be numb, or be limp, and every knee shall tremble and sweat.)

18 And they shall gird them with hair-shirts, and inward dread shall cover them; and shame shall be in each face, and baldness shall be in all the heads of them. (And they shall gird themselves with hair-shirts, and inward fear shall cause them to tremble; and shame shall be on every face, and baldness shall be on all their heads.)

19 The silver of them shall be cast out, and the gold of them shall be into a dunghill; the silver of them and the gold of them shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the strong vengeance of the Lord. They shall not [ful]fill their soul(s), and the wombs of them shall not be filled; for it is made the cause of stumbling (out) of their wickedness.

20 And they setted the ornament of their brooches into pride; and they made of it the images of their abominations and simulacra. For this thing I gave it to them, into uncleanness.

21 And I shall give it into the hands of aliens, to ravish, and to the unpious men of (the) earth, into prey, and they shall defoul it. (And I shall give it into the hands of strangers, or of foreigners, to rob, and to the unpious of the earth, for prey, and they shall defile it.)

22 And I shall turn away my face from them, and they shall defoul my private (place); and knaves shall enter into it, and shall defoul it.

23 Make thou a closing together; for the land is full of doom of bloods (for the land is full of the judgement of bloodshed), and the city is full of wickedness.

24 And I shall bring (in) the worst of heathen men, and they shall have in possession the houses of them; and I shall make the pride of mighty men to cease, and enemies shall have in possession the saintuaries of them. (And I shall bring in the worst of the heathen, and they shall take possession of their houses; and I shall make the pride of the mighty to cease, and their enemies shall take possession of their sanctuaries.)

25 In anguish coming above (In anguish coming upon them), they shall seek peace, and it shall not be.

26 Disturbing shall come on disturbing, and hearing on hearing; and they shall seek of the prophet a revelation, and (the) law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elder men. (Disturbance, or trouble, shall come upon disturbance, and rumour upon rumour/and bad news upon bad news; and they shall seek a revelation, or a vision, from the prophet, but teaching shall perish from the priest, and counsel, or good advice, from the elders.)

27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed in wailing, and the hands of the people of the land shall be disturbed; by the way(s) of them I shall do to them, and by the dooms of them I shall deem them (I shall do to them by their own ways, and I shall judge them with their own judgements); and they shall know, that I am the Lord.

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.

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.