Ezekiel 22:24

24 "Son of man, tell the city, 'You are an unclean land that has not had rain during the day of my anger. You have not been made clean.

Ezekiel 22:24 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 22:24

Son of man, say unto her, thou land
Thou land of Israel, as the Targum: thou art not cleansed;
from filthiness, by the fire of divine judgments; or reformed from sins, by the instructions, cautions, and exhortations of the prophets; none of these things had any effect upon her to make her wiser and better. So the Targum,

``a land not cleansed it is, and good works are not done in it, to protect it in the day of cursing:''

nor rained upon in the day of indignation;
no cooling shower to quench the fire of divine wrath; nothing to avert or stop the judgments of God; no refreshment and comfort from the doctrines of the prophets, which fell like rain: it is a judgment upon a people to have no rain, either in a temporal or spiritual sense; see ( Zechariah 14:17 Zechariah 14:18 ) . In the Talmud ^F8, this text is brought to prove that the flood did not come upon the land of Israel.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 113. 1.

Ezekiel 22:24 In-Context

22 You will be melted in the city like silver that is melted in a furnace. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you."

23 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

24 "Son of man, tell the city, 'You are an unclean land that has not had rain during the day of my anger. You have not been made clean.

25 Your princes are like roaring lions who tear their prey into pieces. They eat people and take their treasures and precious belongings. They turn many women into widows.

26 Your priests violate my teachings and dishonor my holy things. They don't distinguish between what is holy and what is unholy. They don't teach the difference between what is clean and what is unclean. They ignore the days to worship me. So I am dishonored among the people.