In this chapter, under the sign of the prophet’s removing household goods, is represented the removal of the king of Judah and his people from their own land into captivity; and under another sign, of the prophet’s eating and drinking with quaking, and trembling, and carefulness, is set forth,…

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying. ] The word of prophecy, as the Targum; the vision of the cherubim being over, this, very likely, immediately followed upon the former; though the exact time of the prophecy cannot be fixed, because the date is not given; it must be between the sixth month…

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, &c.] The captives in Babylon, who murmured at their present condition and circumstances, and looked upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be in happy ones, and believed they would continue in them, as the false prophets persuaded them;…

Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, &c.] Or, “vessels of captivity” [[17]], such as persons take along with them when they go a journey, or into a far country; such as a staff, scrip, purse, shoes or household goods; such as tables, chairs, and the like, which are removed…

Then shall thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, &c.] Bring it forth, that they may be spectators of it; and “by day”, that it might be manifest to them what was carried out; and this day by day, till all was removed: as stuff for removing; that is intended to be removed from one place…

Dig thou through the wall in their sight The wall of the house where he was, as an emblem of the city of Jerusalem closely besieged, from whence there was no escape but by digging through the wall this showed the manner in which Zedekiah made his escape, by the way of the gate, between the two…

In their sight shall thou bear it upon thy shoulders The bundle, packed up for his use and service, carried out through the wall dug by him. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it, as if he himself was to be carried out upon the shoulders of another, thus: “in their sight, upon the…

And I did so as I was commanded Though it might seem ridiculous in the sight of men, and he be bantered and despised for it; yet, it being the will of God, he was obedient to it; as it becomes the servants of the Lord to be with all readiness and cheerfulness; even in things for which they may be…

And in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me, saying. ] That is, in the morning after he had done all the above things commanded him; explaining the meaning of them, and showing to whom they belonged.

Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee The Jews that were in captivity; for with these the prophet was, and before their eyes he had done the above things; and they only could put the following question to him, who were “the rebellious house”; ; what dost…

Say thou unto them, thus saith the Lord God In answer to their sneering question; or notwithstanding their stupidity and indolence, and in order to awaken them out of it: this burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem; the present reigning prince in Jerusalem, King Zedekiah.

Say, I am your sign Which represents you, and shows what will befall you: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them; as he had carried out his stuff, and had removed it from one place to another, so they should be carried away out of their own land into a foreign country, as follows: they…

And the prince that is among them Zedekiah their king that reigned over them, in whom they trusted, and under whose government they thought themselves safe and secure: shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth; out of Jerusalem, where his palace and throne were, leaving the…

My net also will I spread upon him Meaning the Chaldean army, which the Lord raised up, and brought against him, and gave success unto: and he shall be taken in my snare; as a bird is taken in the snare of the fowler; or a wild beast by the hunter.

And I will scatter to every wind all that are about him to help him Either his bodyguards, the men of war that were with him when he fled, ; or his auxiliary troops, the Egyptians, whom he had taken into his pay for his assistance: and all his bands: or “wings” [[21]]; the wings of his army.

And they shall know that I am the Lord God omniscient, and can and do foresee and foretell future events, when the above things shall come to pass; and omnipotent, able to do what he purposed and declared he would; and true and faithful to his word, and holy and righteous in all his ways and works:…

But I will leave a few men of them Or, “men of number” [[22]]; of a small number, such as are easily reckoned up; which will require no great skill in numbers, nor trouble to count them: from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; during the siege of Jerusalem, and at the breaking of…

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying. ] Here follows another sign of the desolation of the Jews, which the prophet was unto them; as the former signified their going into captivity, this their famine and distress at the siege of Jerusalem, and the dreadful calamities attending and…

Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking As one in surprise or fear, or that has got an ague upon him: and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; fearing want of it, or as apprehensive of danger of its being taken away; see .

And say unto the people of the land Of Chaldea, where the prophet now was; not the natives of the land, but the Israelites, who were captives in it; who were ready to murmur and repine at their own case, as miserable; and at that of the Jews at Jerusalem, as happy; and therefore they are taught by…

And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste Not only the city of Jerusalem, but the other cities of Judea; as they were by the Chaldeans, which were then full of inhabitants: and the land shall be desolate; the whole land of Judea be destitute of men and cattle, and lie uncultivated, and…

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. ] After he had been a sign unto the people, in the two instances above mentioned; and they had hardened themselves against the belief of the things signified by them, because the time of their accomplishment was not yet.

Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel Which question is put, as ignorant of it, but as filled with indignation at the impiety and boldness of those that used it, and in order to expose the wickedness and folly of it: saying, the days are prolonged; the days of…

Tell them therefore Plainly and boldly, with the greatest assurance and confidence, as from God himself: thus saith the Lord God, I will make this proverb to cease; by quickly accomplishing the things which they, by this proverb, represented as at a great distance, and what would never be brought…

For there shall be no more any vain vision Or prophecy; such as the false prophets had given out, that the people should be in peace and safety, and not be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon; which they gave heed to, and so encouraged the lying prophets to go on prophesying smooth…

For I am the Lord: I will speak A sovereign Being, immutable and eternal; who will speak by his prophets what is his mind and will shall be done: and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; the word of prophecy delivered out in his nature by the true prophets never fails, but is always…

Again, the word of the Lord came to me, saying. ] This is repeated to confirm what was before spoken, and that they might assure themselves that there would be a certain and speedy accomplishment of what the Lord had said by his prophet.

Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say Either they of the ten tribes in Babylon, or the Jews in Judea, who were also Israelites: these the Lord directs the prophet to take notice of, and be a witness of what they said; since he himself, as a prophet, was concerned in it: the vision…

Therefore say unto them, thus saith the Lord God Carry this message to them from me, whether they will hear it or not; so shall it be: there shall none of my words be prolonged any more; the fulfilment of prophecies delivered in the name of the Lord by the prophets shall be no longer deferred, but…