Ezekiel 6:1-8

1 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

2 Thou, son of man, set thy face to(ward) the hills of Israel; and thou shalt prophesy to those hills,

3 and shalt say, Hills of Israel, hear ye the word of the Lord God. The Lord God saith these things to mountains, and little hills, to rocks of stone, and to valleys, Lo! I shall bring in on you a sword, and I shall lose your high things. (and shalt say, Hills of Israel, hear ye the word of the Lord God. The Lord God saith these things to the mountains, and the little hills, to the rocks and stones, and to the valleys, Lo! I shall bring in a sword upon you, and I shall destroy your high places, or your hill shrines.)

4 And I shall destroy your altars, and your simulacra shall be broken; and I shall cast down your slain men before your idols. (And I shall destroy your altars, and your idols shall be broken; and I shall throw down your slain before your idols.)

5 And I shall give the dead bodies of the sons of Israel before the face of your simulacra, and I shall scatter your bones about your altars, (Yea, I shall throw down the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of your idols, and I shall scatter your bones all about your altars.)

6 in all your dwellings. Cities shall be forsaken, and high things shall be destroyed, and shall be scattered; and your altars shall perish, and shall be broken (In all your dwelling places, the cities shall be deserted, and the high places, or the hill shrines, shall be destroyed, and shall be scattered; and your altars shall perish, and shall be broken in pieces). And your idols shall cease (to exist), and your temples of idols shall be all-broken, and your works shall be done away.

7 And a slain man shall fall down in the midst of you; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And the slain shall fall down in the midst of you; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

8 And I shall leave in you (some of) them that fled [the] sword, (to go) among heathen men, when I shall scatter you into lands. (And I shall leave among you some of them who fled from the sword, to go among the heathen, when I shall scatter you into other lands.)

Ezekiel 6:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 6

This chapter contains a prophecy of the desolation of the whole land of Israel, and a promise that a remnant should escape, with a lamentation for the sad destruction, signified by some gestures of the prophet. The order to the prophet to deliver out the prophecy is in Eze 6:1,2; the several parts of the land of Israel or Judea, to which the prophecy is directed, are signified by mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys, on which the sword should be brought, Eze 6:3; the desolation is described, and the cause of it suggested, the idolatry of the people, Eze 6:4-7; the promise of a remnant that should escape, who should remember the Lord, loath themselves for their sins, acknowledge him, and that his word was not in vain, is in Eze 6:8-10; the lamentation, signified by the prophet's smiting with his hand, and stamping with his foot, for the sins of the people, and the judgments that should come upon them, is in Eze 6:11; a particular enumeration of these judgments follows, and of the places where they should be executed, Eze 6:12; the end of them was to bring them to the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord, against whom they had sinned and offended by their idolatry, as the places where their slain fell would show, Eze 6:13; and the chapter is concluded with a resolution to bring this desolation on them, Eze 6:14.