The Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:1-32

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

EXPOSITION

The opening words, reproducing those of Ezekiel 20:46, indicate that the interpretation of that parable is coming. So the three variants of "south" are shown to mean respectively Jerusalem, the holy places, and the land of Israel. So, in Ezekiel 20:3, the righteous and the wicked take the place of the "green" and the "dry" tree, and the fire is explained as meaning the sword of the invader. The teaching of Ezekiel 18:1-32, had shown that Ezekiel had entered, as regards the ultimate judgment of individual men, into the spirit of Abram's words "That be far from thee to destroy the righteous with the wicked" (Genesis 18:25). But in regard to temporal judgments there would be in this case, as in the complaint of Job 9:22, no distinction. The sword went forth "against all flesh."

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Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 21:1-17Ezekiel 21:1-17 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryHere is an explanation of the parable in the last chapter. It is declared that the Lord was about to cut off Jerusalem and the whole land, that all might know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious people. It…Threatenings against Israel; Judgments Predicted. (b. c. 592.)Ezekiel 21:1-7 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleTHREATENINGS AGAINST ISRAEL; JUDGMENTS PREDICTED. (B. C. 592.) The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with, in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not dari…The Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:1-17Ezekiel 21:1-17 · The Pulpit CommentaryIrresistible slaughter. The subject matter of this prophecy is substantially the same as the foregoing. The parable is now put into plainest language. There is an advantage in using the parable method. It awakens attent…

commentaryMatthew Henry on Ezekiel 21:1-17Here is an explanation of the parable in the last chapter. It is declared that the Lord was about to cut off Jerusalem and the whole land, that all might know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious people. It…Matthew Henry commentaryThreatenings against Israel; Judgments Predicted. (b. c. 592.)THREATENINGS AGAINST ISRAEL; JUDGMENTS PREDICTED. (B. C. 592.) The prophet had faithfully delivered the message he was entrusted with, in the close of the foregoing chapter, in the terms wherein he received it, not dari…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:1-17Irresistible slaughter. The subject matter of this prophecy is substantially the same as the foregoing. The parable is now put into plainest language. There is an advantage in using the parable method. It awakens attent…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:3-5Undiscriminating infliction. It is a pathetic spectacle, this of the prophet, in his exile away in the northeast, turning by Divine command his gaze, sorrowful and sympathizing, towards Jerusalem, the holy places, the l…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:4The common fate of righteous and wicked. Both the righteous and the wicked are to be cut off. Though not equal in moral character, they are to share in the same general calamities. I. IT IS A FACT THAT THE RIGHTEOUS SUF…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:6Sigh therefore, etc. As in other instances (Ezekiel 4:4; Ezekiel 5:1-4), the prophet dramatizes the coming calamity. He is to act the part of a mourner, whose sighs are so deep that they seem to "break his loins" (compa…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryJudgments Predicted. (b. c. 592.)JUDGMENTS PREDICTED. (B. C. 592.) Here is another prophecy of the sword, which is delivered in a very affecting manner; the expressions here used are somewhat intricate, and perplex interpreters. The sword was unsheathe…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ezekiel 21:8-17The sacred song of the sword. "Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened," etc. The passage before us is written in the form…Joseph S. Exell and contributors