EZEKIEL.

3 Then say thou, Thus saith the|| 8 Thou hast Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood things, and hast in the midst of it, that her time may come, and baths. 9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that blood: 1and in thee they eat upon the mounthou hast shed; and hast defi ed thyself in tains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdthine idols which thou hast made; and thou ness. hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: d therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a|| mocking to all countries.

The punishment of

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A. M. 3412. 13 Behold, therefore I have " smitten || cause ye are all become dross, behold, A. M. 3412. my hand at thy dishonest gain which therefore I will gather you into the thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath midst of Jerusalem. been in the midst of thee.

14 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.

15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and a will consume thy filthiness out of thee. 16 And thou 11 shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

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20 13 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

And the word of the LORD came unto of; and ye shall know that I the LORD have me, saying,

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⚫ poured out my fury upon you.

23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Be-the day of indignation.

in the most scandalous instances. In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness--Have defiled their fathers' beds, or taken their mothers-in-law for wives, called by St. Paul, such fornication as is not named among the Gentiles. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood-Thy judges have taken bribes, not only to pervert justice, but even to take away the lives of the innocent.

the mixture of dross and baser metals with the pure silver: and as that is purified by being melted in a furnace or crucible, so Jerusalem, when it is set on fire, shall be the furnace into which I will cast them and their wickedness to be consumed: compare Jer. vi. 28-30. God's severe judgments are expressed by the furnace of affliction, (Isa. xlviii. 10,) and compared to a refiner's fire, (Mal. iii. 2; Isa. i. 25,) Verses 13-16. Therefore I have smitten my hand || because they are designed to purge men from that at thy dishonest gain, &c.-Therefore I have ex- dross and corruption which are too often the effect of pressed my indignation against thy avarice and un- ease and prosperity."-Lowth. As they gather siljust practices: I have called for punishment to come ver, so will I gather you-From all parts. I will, by upon thee, and have animated and encouraged thy || a secret, overruling providence, bring you into Jeenemies to destroy thee. Can thy heart endure?-rusalem, as into a furnace where you may be conWill not thy heart fail thee when thou shalt fall into those calamities which I will certainly bring upon thee? And will consume thy filthiness out of thee -Will purge thee in the furnace of afflictions, and take that method to consume thy dross, and put an end to thy idolatrous practices. And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the hea- Verses 24, 25. Thou art the land that is not then--" Instead of being mine inheritance, and under || cleansed nor rained upon, &c.-Though God's judgmy peculiar care and protection, thou shalt be cast ments have been as violent floods, and as hottest out among the heathen, and there eat the fruit of fires, thou hast not been cleansed from thy wickedthine own ways, and receive the just reward of thy ness by the punishments I have sent upon thee, nor wickedness." The translation of this clause in the purified by the instructions and admonitions which I margin seems preferable: Thou shalt be profaned, have given thee by my prophets; which, if they had that is, thou shalt no longer enjoy the privileges of been duly received, would have been instrumental in a city called by my name, and set apart for my wor-cleansing thee from all thy filthiness, as the heavy ship, but shalt be laid open as common ground to be rains wash away the filth that lies upon the earth: profaned by infidels: compare Isa. xlvii. 6. see Isa. iv. 4; John xv. 3; Eph. v. 26; 1 Pet. i. 22. Verses 18-22. The house of Israel is to me become || Or this latter clause, nor rained upon, may be taken dross--" Their filthiness may be fitly compared to || literally, and signify that God had withheld rain from

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sumed. And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath-I will stir or blow up the fire of my wrath against you. God's vengeance is often compared to fire, but here it was so in a literal sense, when both city and temple were consumed by fire, 2 Kings xxv. 9.

The corrupt state of the people,

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A. M. 3412. 25 There is a conspiracy of her || with untempered mortar, seeing A. M. 3412. prophets in the midst thereof, like a vanity, and divining lies unto them, roaring lion ravening the prey; they have saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the devoured souls; they have taken the treasure LORD hath not spoken. and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

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26 Her priests have 14 violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

29 The people of the land have used 15 oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger 16 wrongfully.

30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

28 And her prophets have daubed them Lord GOD.

f Hos. vi. 9.- - Matt. xxiii. 14. h Mic. iii. 11; Zeph. iii. 3, 4. i Mal. ii. 8.- 14 Heb. offered violence to.- k Lev. xxii. 2; 1 Sam. ii. 29. Lev, x. 10; Jer. xv. 19; Chap. xliv. 23. Isa. i. 23; Chap. xxii. 6; Mic. iiì. 2, 3, 9, 10, 11; Zeph. iii. 3. n Chap. xiii. 10.

them, which was one of the judgments wherewith God punished them in the day of his wrath, Jer. xiv. 4.

forbidden to be eaten; by the clean, what it was lawful to eat. And have hid their eyes from my sabbaths-They have taken no care that my sabbaths should be kept, and have not attended themselves upon my public worship on the sabbath days, 2 Chron. xxix. 7; and thereby have encouraged my people in the neglect and profanation of it. And I am profaned among them—I am dishonoured by them, and they use my name to false and wicked purposes.

There is a conspiracy of her prophets― || That is, of the false prophets: a contrivance to speak all alike, smooth words, and to utter promises of peace and safety: they are all agreed together to deceive the people, and to plot the ruin of the true prophets, and those that favour them. They have|| devoured souls-They have brought men to ruin and destruction, by deceiving them with their false predictions; and taken away their lives, by false accu- Verses 27, 28. Her princes are like wolves-The sations and evil practices. They have taken the chief officers of state stick at no method of injustice treasure and precious things—As a reward of their and oppression whereby they may increase their lies. By their cunning arts they have obtained substance, though it be by taking away the lives riches, power, and honours, and have drained the and estates of the innocent: see the margin. Andher people of their substance; they have made her- || prophets have daubed them, &c.—Have daubed over Namely, the land; many widows-By persuading the evil practices of the great men, by palliating deZedekiah to persist in the war, which filled Jerusa- vices: or, have flattered them in their ways of sin lem with dead husbands and forlorn widows. and violence, and encouraged them to proceed therein with promises, which, like ill-tempered mortar, will deceive them, though all seems at present smooth and safe.›

Verse 26. Her priests have violated my lawWhich they ought to have observed, and to have taught the people to observe; and have profaned my holy things-The gifts and sacrifices offered in my service; either by offering them in an undue manner, as the sons of Eli did, 1 Sam. ii. 15, or without due purification of themselves; or else eating them as common meats, without regard to the rules prescribed in the law. They have put no difference between the holy and profane-They have not shown any regard to the rules of my law, concerning what is holy and unholy, clean and unclean, and that both with respect to persons and things. And they are || guilty of this neglect in contradiction to an express charge given them respecting this matter, Lev. x. 10. By the holy is here meant that which was peculiarly dedicated to God; by the profane, things in common use; by the unclean, those meats which were

Verses 29-31. The people of the land-The common people; have used oppression-Have wronged each other by acts of fraud and violence, and have greatly and cruelly oppressed each other. And have vexed the poor and needy-By these frauds and oppressions, instead of relieving them, which they ought to have done. Yea, they have oppressed the strangers wrongfully-Without any colour of justice or reason. This was contrary to an express prohibition of God's law, frequently repeated and enforced upon them, from the consideration, that they themselves were strangers in Egypt. And I soughtGod speaks after the manner of men; for a man among them-Any one among the princes, prophets, priests, or people; that should make up the hedge

Samaria from God.

That should repair the breach, and prevent further sighed and cried to God (by way of deprecating his mischief; and stand in the gap before me-That wrath) for the abominations done in Jerusalem; might interpose between a sinful people and their and they undoubtedly exhorted the people to repentoffended God; deprecate God's wrath, and entreat ance and reformation. Therefore have I poured out for mercy, that the land might not be destroyed; but || mine indignation upon them-Have given it full I found none-All were corrupted, and went on in scope, that it might come upon them in a full stream; sin without repentance. This general complaint || yet, whatever calamity God brings upon a sinful must be understood with some restriction, such as is people, it is their own way that is therein recomcommonly understood in unlimited expressions. pensed upon their heads, and God punishes them For we read, chap. ix. 4, that there were some that not more, but much less, than their iniquity deserves.

CHAPTER XXIII.

In this long chapter, as in chap. xvi. and xx., we have a history of the apostacies of God's professing people from him, and the aggravations of those apostacies, under the similitude of whoredom and adultery: the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, of the ten tribes, and the two, with their capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem, are considered dis tinctly. We have, (1,) The apostacy of Israel and Samaria from God, 1-8: and their ruin for it, 9, 10. (2,) The apostacy of Judah and Jerusalem from God, 11-21: and sentence passed upon them, that they shall in like manner be destroyed for it, 22-35. (3,) The joint wickedness of them both together, 36-44. and the joint ruin of them both, 45-49.

A. M. 3412. THE word of the LORD came again || bruised the teats of their virginity. A. M. 3412. unto me, saying, 4 And the names of them were

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2 Son of man, there were two women, the|| Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister; and daughters of one mother: dthey were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem 2 Aholibah.

3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they

a Jer. iii. 7, 8, 10; Chap. xvi. 46.b Lev. xvii. 7; Josh. xxiv. 14; Chap. xx. 8. Chap. xvi. 22.—d Chap. xvi. 8, 20.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXIII.

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5 And Aholah played the harlot when she 1 That is, His tent, or, tabernacle. -2 That is, My tabernacle in her, 1 Kings viii. 29.

Bishop Newcome. The Scripture commonly calls idolatrous churches and nations by the name of harlots: and in like manner honours those, who preserve their allegiance to God pure and undefiled, with the title of chaste wives, or virgins.

Verses 2, 3. There were two women, daughters of one mother-Judah and Israel, two kingdoms. "Countries are commonly represented as mothers of their people, and the inhabitants as their children: so the daughters of Syria signify the inhabitants of Verse 4. The names of them were Aholah and that country, chap. xvi. 57. Thus Samaria and Je- Aholibah-"The word Aholah signifies, Her tent, or rusalem are described in this chapter as sisters, the tabernacle: Aholibah denotes, My tent, or tabernaoffspring of the same land, or country." And they cle, is in her. These two different appellations imcommitted whoredoms in Egypt-The Israelites first ply that Samaria had indeed a tabernacle, or place learned idolatry in Egypt, for Abraham, Isaac, and for public worship, but of her own devising; namely, Jacob were wholly free from it. They committed the cities of Dan and Bethel, where the golden calves whoredoms in their youth-The time when the Is- were set up; whereas God's tabernacle first, and afraelites were in Egypt, or were lately departed out terward his temple, was placed in Jerusalem. He of it, is called their youth in the prophets, because placed his name there, or chose it for the place of that was the time when God first owned them for his peculiar residence," 1 Kings viii. 29. Aholah, or his people. There were their breasts pressed- Samaria, is here called the elder sister, as having "There they served idols, and there they corrupted the greatest dominion, power, wealth, and number their ways," as the Chaldee paraphrase expresses the of people belonging to her, ten tribes out of twelve The reader must observe, "The style of this being under her jurisdiction. And they were mine— chapter, like that of chap. xvi., is adapted to persons By a solemn marriage covenant. And they bare among whom, at that time, no refinement subsisted. || sons and daughters-Were fruitful, and brought Large allowance must be made for language address- forth children to me: they increased in number of ed to an ancient eastern people, in the worst period people, and among these there were some that were of their history; all whose ideas were sensual; and my spiritual children by adoption and grace, by whose grand inducement to idolatry seems to have faith, love, and obedience. been the brutal impurities which it encouraged."—

sense.

Verses 5, 6. And Aholah played the harlot when

The apostacy of Judah and

EZEKIEL.

Jerusalem from God.

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6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

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7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted; with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought f from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

9 Wherefore, I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

e 2 Kings xv. 19; xvi. 7; xvii. 3; Hosea viii. 9.3 Heb. bestowed her whoredoms upon them. Heb. the choice of the children of Ashur.- f Verse 3.- - 2 Kings xvii. 3, 4, 5, 6, 23; xviii. 9, 10, 11.- Chap. xvi. 37, 41.- 5 Heb. a name.

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daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this,

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she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, m captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way;

14 And that she increased her whoredoms : for when she saw men portrayed upon the

Jer. iii. 8.- Jer. iii. 11; Chap. xvi. 47, 51.- - Heb. she corrupted her inordinate love more than, &c.—7 Heb. more than the whoredoms of her sister. 2 Kings xvi. 7, 10; 2 Chronicles xxviii. 16-23; Chap. xvi. 28. Verses 6, 23.

were slain in the field of battle, or in the siege of Samaria, 2 Kings xvii. 5. And she became famous among women-The Hebrew reads, She became a nation among women: as she had been formerly re||nowned among the heathen for her beauty, (chap. xvi. 14,) so now she was every where talked of as a remarkable instance of God's vengeance, and set forth for an example to other cities and nations, to deter them from the like abominations.

she was mine-When she was under my govern- Tiglath-pileser, and at length the whole country was ment and protection. "After she had lived in cove- subdued and depopulated by Shalmaneser: see the nant with me, and attended upon my service and margin. The kings of Babylon were likewise styled worship all the time of the judges, and of David and kings of Assyria, 2 Kings xxiii. 29; 2 Chron. xxxiii. Solomon, she fell off from my service, and was the 11. Lovers mean the same with allies; those whose first that established idolatry by a law, and consent- friendship and assistance the Jews courted, by comed to Jeroboam's wicked device of setting up the plying with them in their idolatries, chap. xvi. 37. golden calves." In the Scripture language, the Jew- These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons ish people are said to play the harlot with those and her daughters-These stripped her of every whose religious ceremonies they imitated. And she thing, and carried her and her children away capdoted on her lovers-That is, her foreign allies,||tive: see the margin, and verse 29. And slew her whose idolatries she was fond of, and hoped by that || with the sword-Those that were not led captive means to procure their friendship and assistance: see note on chap. xvi. 33, 37. On the Assyrians her neighbours-The king of Assyria was a very potent prince, and thereupon his alliance was courted both by the kings of Israel and Judah: see the margin. Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers "As women are apt to fall in love with comely young men, well mounted and richly clothed; so the Israelites were enamoured with the state and bravery of the Assyrians, and thought themselves secure if they could but procure their alliance and || friendship, and in order to it embraced their idolatries. Horsemen riding upon horses-Horses were scarce in Judea, which made the Jews apply themselves to the neighbouring countries for troops of horse, in the time of any hostile invasion."-Lowth. Verses 7-10. Thus she committed whoredoms with them-She defiled herself with idols, as the sense is more plainly expressed at the end of the verse. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt|| -She added new idolatries to those she had former- Verses 13-16. Then-When she neither took ly committed: see verse 3. Wherefore I delivered warning nor feared; I saw that she was defiled— her into the hand of her lovers-God made these That her heart was already set on her idols; that very Assyrians the executioners of his judgments they both-Samaria and Jerusalem ; took one way— upon the ten tribes, many of them being carried || That Judah fell into the same idolatrous practices away captive by Pul, king of Assyria, afterward by as Israel. And that she increased her whoredoms

Verses 11, 12. When her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt-Jerusalem was so far from taking warning by the judgments inflicted on Samaria, that she advanced to greater degrees of idolatry. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours-Ahaz, king of Judah, entered into a confederacy with the king of Assyria, hoping for relief from his power and the bravery of his army, and worshipped the idols which the Assyrians worshipped, in order to ingratiate himself with them. See the margin.