In this chapter are contained the displeasure of God at hypocritical idolaters that sought unto him, and at the false prophets; the judgments that should come upon them, and which should not be averted by the intercession of the best of men; and yet a promise that a remnant should be saved.

Then came certain, of the elders of Israel unto me The Syriac version adds, “to consult the Lord”; by the prophet. These, according to Kimchi, were the elders of the captivity, the heads of the captives that were now in Babylon with Ezekiel: but there are others that think they were some that came…

And the word of the Lord came unto me While the elders were sitting before him, and whispered secretly and powerfully the following things in his ears: saying; as follows:

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, &c.] Though they look so grave and demure, seem so devout and religious, and hear with so much attention and reverence, and express such a desire of consulting me by thee, they are no other than idolaters; and though they are at such a…

Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them That is, speak unto them as a prophet, and as from the Lord, and say what follows; so the Targum, “prophesy unto them and say unto them;” thus saith the Lord God, every man of the house of Israel, that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the…

That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart By which they are ensnared, and drawn aside to their ruin; being given up to strong delusions, to believe a lie, and worship idols; God threatening to answer them by righteous judgments, and thereby take the wickedness, the hypocrisy, and…

Therefore say unto the house of Israel Deliver out the following exhortation to repentance unto them; for God’s end, in all his threatenings and judgments, is to bring men to repentance: thus saith the Lord God, repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; or, “turn, and cause to be turned from…

For everyone of the house of Israel King and subjects, princes and people, high and low, rich and poor, of every rank, sex, and age: or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel; the proselytes; whether of righteousness, such as were circumcised, and embraced the Jewish religion; or of the gate,…

And I will set my face against that man And look him out of countenance, notwithstanding all his daring impudence and presumption in coming to a prophet of the Lord, and inquiring of him by him, when guilty of gross idolatry; which mast needs be the case, when the face of God is set against a man.

And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, &c.] That is pleasing to men, and is not true, in hope of reward and applause, but it never comes to pass, and his expectations are not answered: I the Lord have deceived that prophet; by sending a lying spirit to him, as to Ahab’s…

And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity Both the false prophet, and those that sought unto him, and were deceived by him; and which being laid according to the strictness of divine justice, is intolerable: sad is the case when a man is obliged to bear his own sins, and the punishment…

That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me Or from his worship, as the Targum; from the law of God, and obedience to it: sin is a going astray from God, a deviation from his commandments; it leads men out of the way of their duty into wrong paths, which issue in ruin, if grace prevent…

The word of the Lord came again unto saying. ] At the same time as before, continuing the prophecy, and a denunciation of judgments; for it does not seem to begin a new prophecy. The Targum renders it, the word of prophecy from the Lord.

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously That is, the inhabitants of the land, when they are in general become sinners against God and his law; and not merely sinners, as all men are, but grievous ones, notorious sinners, guilty of very gross enormities, of great…

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, &c.] In the sinning land, and made intercession for it, that the famine might be removed, and the inhabitants of it be saved alive, this would not be granted; though they were men that found favour in the sight of God, and were eminent for…

If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land Evil and hurtful ones; not so much those that are poisonous as pernicious; such, as lions, tigers, foxes, wolves, and bears, that are very ravenous and devouring, and especially in a time of famine before threatened; though sometimes God makes use…

Though these three men were in it Above named, Noah, Daniel, and Job; as they were not, two of them not being in the land of the living, and the other in Babylon; but if all three had been in a land so threatened, and used all the interest they had with God, by fervent prayer and supplication, to…

Or if I bring a sword upon that land The land which had grievously sinned; the same land into which a famine should come, and through which evil beasts should pass; to which, if the Lord should add, as he would, a third judgment, the sword; suffer a foreign enemy to come in among them, and destroy…

Though these three men were in it Before mentioned: as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters: believe me no more, or be it so and so, if they do; it is in the form of an oath, and in the same manner it is expressed in (Ezek. 14:16, Ezek.

Or if I send a pestilence into that land Or the plague, which is the destruction that wastes at noon day; this is from the Lord, and a sore judgment it is: and pour out my fury upon it in blood; or, “by blood” [[23]]; by corrupting the blood, which is done when a man is seized with the pestilence.

Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it Who are again mentioned by name, as in ; and are the three men referred to in (Ezek. 14:16, Ezek. 14:18) ; as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; not so much as an only son, or an only daughter, no, not even a single…

For thus saith the Lord God, how much more If the Lord would not be entreated by such good men as those mentioned, for a land that had sinned against him, to whom he only sends some one of the above judgments, either famine, or noisome beasts, or the sword, or the pestilence, how much more…

Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant That is, in Jerusalem, on which God’s four sore judgments should be sent: though in a sinful land, as before described, where only one judgment was sent, there was no escape, not so much as a son or a daughter were delivered; yet here, where four sore…

And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings Not that their sinful ways and doings would be comfortable to them, but either their acknowledgments of them, and repentance for them; or, seeing their dissolute manner of life, it would be a means of composing their minds, and…