Ezekiel 9:5

5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.

Ezekiel 9:5 in Other Translations

5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

5 And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.

5 Then I heard the LORD say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity!

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.

5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare [them]!

Ezekiel 9:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 9:5

And, to the others he said in mine hearing
To the other six men that had the slaughter weapons in their hands: go ye after him through the city;
that is, after the man clothed with linen; for he was sent out first to take care of the righteous, and preserve them; and the rest were not suffered to stir till he was gone; and then they are bid to go after him. The Syriac version is,

``to them that were with him he said to them before me, go through the city after me;''

as if these were the words of the man clothed with linen to the other six; and so the Arabic version; of it the other is the true reading, and gives the right sense, as the following words show: and smite;
the inhabitants of the city: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity;
not that the Chaldeans were inclined to mercy and pity, for they were a cruel and barbarous people; but this is said to show the resentment of God against the sins of the Jews; and that it was his will they should act the severe part they did.

Ezekiel 9:5 In-Context

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side

4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.

6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.

7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

Cross References

• 1. S Jeremiah 13:14; S Ezekiel 5:11
• 2. S Exodus 32:27; Isaiah 13:18