Ezekielchapter 11
25 verses · Ezekiel · 593 to 571 BC · The Prophets
And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.
Introduction
Ezekiel, The Prophets, Ezekiel Overview.
Ezekiel saw this at the close of the temple vision, and then he woke to his house and told the exiles all of it. The people still in Jerusalem had written these deportees off and taken their land. The chapter first judges the city's leaders in their own words, and then it turns to comfort the exiles. Listen for the saying about a cooking pot and how God turns it around. Mark the promise near the end about a new heart, because the book returns to it again.
Context
- Who
- Deportees who had just been told by the people back home that they were finished
- What
- Judgment on the leaders of Jerusalem, the promise to gather the exiles and give them a new heart, and the glory's departure to the mountain east of the city.
- Where
- In the vision the east gate of the temple and the mountain east of Jerusalem, and then Tel Abib in Babylonia.
- When
- The sixth year of Jehoiachin's exile, about September 592 BC, at the close of the vision.
- Why
- To show the exiles that the people who held the city stood under judgment, while God would gather the scattered and renew them from within.
Historical context
The men at the gate are named, Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, and the city gate is where their kind of business was done. Gates in a walled city were deep chambered structures with stone benches, and they served as the courthouse, the council room and the marketplace. To sit in the gate was to govern.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Their slogan is a cooking proverb. This city is the pot and we are the meat. A cauldron protects the choice cuts from the fire; the meat inside is the good stuff, and the walls are the metal. They meant it as reassurance, we are safe in here, we are the ones that matter. God turns it inside out: the ones they killed are the meat, and the survivors will be dragged out of the pot and judged at the border of the land, not inside it.
The second slogan is about property. The people left in Jerusalem were saying of the deportees, they have gone far from the LORD; the land is given to us as a possession. Deportation left estates empty, and the neighbours moved onto them. Jeremiah records the same land grab. It was a legal claim as much as an insult, the exiles were being written out of their inheritance.
God's answer includes a phrase that would have been startling to a priest: I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Sanctuary was a place with walls and an altar. Here it is not a place at all.
Significance
This is the chapter where the exiles find out which side of the line they are on. The people with the temple, the city and the land are the ones under sentence. The people by the canal, written off by their own countrymen, are the ones God says He will gather.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And then comes the promise that the rest of the book will keep returning to: one heart, a new spirit, the heart of stone taken out and a heart of flesh given. Their problem had never been the address. It was the organ, and God says He will replace it Himself.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
The site's table of synagogue readings ties no weekly portion and no Haftarah to this chapter. Probed for this lane, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts printed parashot 0 and haftarah uses 0 for Ezekiel 11, and no festival reading for the book. The table holds the Haftarah of each weekly portion and the six books read whole on a feast or a fast. Across chapters 1 to 24 of Ezekiel the same probe found a Haftarah only in chapters 20 and 22.
The corpus ties one institution to this chapter. At the sixteenth verse, where God says He will be a small sanctuary to the exiles, Rashi reads the words as "Synagogues, which are in a position second to the Temple" (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:16:1).
How it is read
Rashi is the main commentator on this chapter in the corpus. He is quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY. The translation is modern, so every quotation from it is fifty words or fewer.
The twenty-five men at the gate are the same men who stood with their backs to the Temple in chapter 8, and here two of them are named (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:1:1). Their saying is that it is not near, meaning "that the words of the prophets will come upon us" (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:3:1).
Rashi reads the pot and the meat as a boast turned against them. They said Jerusalem is the pot and they are the meat. But the city will be a pot only for the slain, and "for you, it will not become a pot to retain you until the day of death" (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:5:1). The border of Israel where they will be judged is Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Zedekiah was judged by Nebuchadnezzar (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:10:1).
The brothers of the fifteenth verse are "The exile of Samaria and the exile of Jeconiah" (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:15:1). The heart of flesh of the nineteenth verse is "A heart that is soft and easily submissive" (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:19:1). The glory stands on the mountain east of the city, which "is the Mount of Olives" and the third stage of the departure of the Shechinah (Rashi on Ezekiel 11:23:1).
The corpus carries 10 notes on this chapter without an English text, marked linked. Radak's notes stand at 11:2:1, 11:6:1, 11:9:1, 11:12:1, 11:13:1, 11:17:1, 11:18:1 and 11:20:1. Metzudat David's note stands at 11:4:1. Malbim's note stands at 11:14:1. Each stands cited and unquoted, because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries 24 rabbinic locators on the verses of this chapter, 6 filed under the Talmud and 18 under the Midrash. It carries the text of none, so each is cited by ref here and never quoted or paraphrased. The verse numbers are the Hebrew ones the corpus prints.
On verse 1 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Kiddushin 4:15 and Kiddushin 72b:6. On verse 3 it holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Shemot 18:11:3. On verse 12 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 4:28, Ein Yaakov, Sanhedrin 4:34, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Terumah 4:1 and Sanhedrin 39b:19. On verse 13 it holds Ein Yaakov, Kiddushin 4:13 and Kiddushin 72b:4. On verse 15 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 58:2.
On verse 16 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Megillah 4:8 and Megillah 29a:7. On verse 19 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 23:3, Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 13:1, Otzar Midrashim, Chuppah of Eliyahu, Chuppat Eliyahu Rabbah 62 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 61:1. On verse 23 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan 34:7, Eikhah Rabbah, Petichta 25, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Rosh Hashanah 4:2 and Ein Yaakov, Rosh Hashanah 4:2. It also holds Otzar Midrashim, Chuppah of Eliyahu, Chuppat Eliyahu Rabbah 244, Pesikta DeRav Kahana 13:11, Rosh Hashanah 31a:17 and Seder Olam Rabbah 26:1.
What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Ezekiel 11:1:1 to 11:23:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Radak, Radak on Ezekiel 11:2:1 to 11:20:1, cited by ref only: Sefaria holds no English version of the ref; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Ezekiel 11:4:1, cited by ref only: Sefaria holds no English version of the ref; Malbim, Malbim on Ezekiel 11:14:1, cited by ref only: Sefaria holds no English version of the ref; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/ezekiel/11.json, the 24 Talmud and Midrash locators on the verses of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for Ezekiel 11: parashot 0, haftarah uses 0, no festival reading for the book.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The cauldron and the flesh: princes who plot evil
Ezekiel 11:1-4
twenty-five men: The Spirit brings the prophet to the east gate. He sees “Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people.” “The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat,” a boast that the siege will leave the leaders safe inside.
Ezekiel 11:1
“The judgment on the representatives of the priesthood naturally follows here, just as the sin of the priests had followed in the description (Eze 8:12, 16) after the sin of the elders. Jaazaniah--signifying "God hears." son of Azur--different from Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan (Eze 8:11).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the men who plot evil: The LORD names the twenty-five men at the east gate as plotters of evil who give wicked counsel in the city. John Calvin notes that the blame falls on the city's leaders and rulers. Their counsel corrupted the people.
Ezekiel 11:2
“Lastly, men always throw off all blame from themselves, under pretense of error or ignorance. Hence the Prophet now shows that the city was not free from God's wrath, since it was corrupted by its leaders and rulers; nay, that this was a cause of its destruction, since the people were too easily led astray by perverse examples.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
The city is the cooking pot: The leaders call the city the pot and themselves the meat. They expect to stay safe inside its walls. Albert Barnes notes building houses is the talk of people who feel secure, the same words Jeremiah 29:5 gave the exiles for a long stay.
Ezekiel 11:3
“It is not near - In contradiction to Eze 7:2. Let us build houses - “To build houses” implies a sense of security. Jeremiah bade the exiles “build houses” in a foreign land because they would not soon quit it Jer 29:5; Jer 35:7. These false counselors promised to their countrymen a sure and permanent abode in the city which God had doomed to destruction. No need, they said, to go far for safety; you are perfectly safe at home.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:3
“It is not near--namely, the destruction of the city; therefore "let us build houses," as if there was no fear. But the Hebrew opposes English Version, which would require the infinitive absolute.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The LORD gives the command twice: prophesy against them, prophesy. Matthew Henry notes the prophet faced men hardened in sin, and the Spirit of the LORD falls on him and tells him what to declare. The doubled word presses the charge.
Ezekiel 11:4
“But the prophet, being at a loss what to say to men that were hardened in sin, and that bade defiance to the judgments of God, the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him, to make him full of power and courage, and said unto him, Speak. Note, When sinners are flattering themselves into their own ruin it is time to speak, and to tell them that they shall have no peace if they go on.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 11:5-7
the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me: The Spirit falls on Ezekiel, and the Lord answers the leaders’ boast. “The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.” The shelter they claimed is reversed, and their proverb is quoted to refute itself.
Ezekiel 11:5
“And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me,.... In an extraordinary manner, and afresh, and enlightened his mind, and showed him things that should come to pass; and filled him with boldness and courage to declare them.”
filled its streets with the dead: The LORD charges the leaders with the dead in the streets. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take these slain as the victims of the leaders' wicked counsels. Citing 7:23, they add that blood shed inside the city brought a bloody enemy from outside.
Ezekiel 11:6
“Ye - Many murders have you committed yourselves, and you are accountable to God for all those whom the Chaldeans have slain, seeing you persuaded them, thus obstinately to stand out.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
the city is the pot: The LORD turns the leaders' saying back on them. The meat in the pot is the slain they have laid within the city, and the leaders themselves will be removed from it. Albert Barnes explains that the only ones to stay in Jerusalem will be the buried dead.
Ezekiel 11:7
“All that shall remain in the city are the buried dead. Bloodshed and murder were at this time rife in Jerusalem, and these were among the chief crimes that were bringing down judgment upon the city. All the inhabitants that should yet survive were destined to be carried away into exile.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:7
“There shall none remain to keep possession of the city but those that are buried in it. There shall be no inhabitants of Jerusalem but the inhabitants of the graves there, no freemen of the city but the free among the dead.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 11:8-12
You fear the sword: “You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you,” and the leaders are handed “into the hands of foreigners.” The recognition formula comes twice, in verses 10 and 12. The charge is imitation of the nations: “you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.”
Ezekiel 11:8
“Ye have feared the sword,.... Of the Chaldeans; and therefore they sent to the Egyptians for help. The Targum is, "ye have been afraid of them that kill with the sword;'' and not afraid of the Lord; see Mat 10:28; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God; or those that kill with the sword, as the Targum; meaning the Chaldeans, who were sent by the Lord, and, when they took the city, put many to death by the sword, and carried captive others.”
deliver you into the hands of foreigners: The leaders who trusted the city as their shelter will be brought out of it and handed over to foreigners. Adam Clarke applies this chiefly to Zedekiah and his family. Their judgment comes at foreign hands.
Ezekiel 11:9
“And I will bring you out of the midst thereof,.... Jerusalem, the cauldron, as they said it was, and where they thought they should be safe; this is repeated, to express the certainty of it, and to excite their attention to it, and remove their vain confidence: and deliver you into the hands of strangers; the Chaldeans: and will execute judgments among you; punishments for sin, such as famine, pestilence, sword, and captivity.”
even to the borders of Israel: The leaders will fall by the sword at the borders of Israel. Albert Barnes points to Riblah, on the northern border, where the king of Babylon judged Zedekiah and the princes, as Jeremiah 52:9 and 10 record. There they will know that He is the LORD.
Ezekiel 11:10
“In the border of Israel - Hamath was the northern border of Israel (margin reference). At Riblah in Hamath the king of Babylon judged and condemned Zedekiah and the princes of Judah Jer 52:9-10.”
The city will not be a pot for you: The pot will give the leaders no shelter. Adam Clarke notes that Riblah, where they were judged, lay in Syria on the edge of Israel. There the sons of Zedekiah were killed and his own eyes put out.
Ezekiel 11:11
“Judge you - I will do more against you at Riblah, where the captive king had his children, and others with them, first murdered before his eyes, and then his own eyes put out; Riblah is called the border of Israel: for Syria was adjoining to Israel on the north, and Riblah was on the frontiers of Syria.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
The leaders have neither followed the statutes of the LORD nor practiced His ordinances, and they have taken up the ways of the nations. Matthew Henry names two kinds of judgments: those who refuse the judgments of His mouth, His laws, meet the judgments of His hand.
Ezekiel 11:12
“Those shall be made to know by the sword of the Lord who would not be taught by his word what a hatred he has to sin, and what a fearful thing it is for impenitent sinners to fall into his hands. I will execute judgments, and then you shall know that I am the Lord, for the Lord is known by the judgments which he executes upon those that have not walked in his statutes.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Pelatiah son of Benaiah died: As Ezekiel prophesies, “Pelatiah son of Benaiah died,” one of the leaders in verse 1, and the word acts as visibly as any sign. The prophet falls facedown and cries, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?” the plea he made in 9:8.
Ezekiel 11:13
“The people regarded Pelatiah as a mainstay of the city. His name (derived from a Hebrew root, "a remnant," or else "God delivers") suggested hope. Is that hope, asks Ezekiel, to be disappointed?”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 11:13
“The death of Pelatiah was an earnest of the complete accomplishment of this prophecy. Note, God is pleased often-times to single out some sinners, and to make them monuments of his justice, for warning to others of what is coming; and some that thought themselves very safe and snatched away suddenly, and drop down dead in an instant, as Ananias and Sapphira at Peter's feet when he prophesied.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 11:13
“The death of Pelatiah was communicated in this vision, which represented ideally the idolatry in which Pelatiah had actually been foremost.”
A sanctuary for the scattered, a heart of flesh promised
Ezekiel 11:14-16
Then the word of the LORD came to me: The Lord answers, “for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.” The Hebrew can mean a sanctuary in small measure or for a short time, and either way God is present to exiles without a temple.
Ezekiel 11:14
“Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,.... In answer to his prayer. The Targum calls it, "the word of prophecy from the Lord;'' this was by way of comfort to the captives in Babylon, as the former was by way of threatening to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
The people left in Jerusalem scorn the exiles taken with Jeconiah, saying they are far away from the LORD. Adam Clarke reads their words as a claim on the land left behind. The LORD calls those exiles the brothers and relatives of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 11:15
“Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred,.... Or, "of thy redemption" (l); to whom the right of redemption of his lands and possessions belonged, as it did to those that were next akin. The Septuagint, by a mistake of the word, render it, "the men of thy captivity"; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions, following them.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:15
“Thy kindred - The original word is derived from a root, suggesting the ideas of “redeeming” and “avenging” as connected with the bond of “kindred.” The word, therefore, conveys here a special reproach to the proud Jews, who have been so ready to cast off the claims of blood-relationship, and at the same time a hope of restoration to those who have been rudely thrown aside.”
a sanctuary for them: The exiles had lost the temple. The LORD answers that He Himself has been their sanctuary for a little while in the lands of their exile. Albert Barnes preferred this reading to the older rendering, a little sanctuary, and saw a blessing that looked ahead to a fuller one.
Ezekiel 11:16
“Yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary - Though thus exiled from their own land, yet not forgotten by their God. While in their captivity, I will dispense many blessings to them; and I will restore them to their own land, Eze 11:17, from which they shall put away all idolatry, Eze 11:18.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 11:16
“Scattered - Dispersed them in many countries which are under the king of Babylon: yet they are dear to me. A little sanctuary - A little one in opposition to that great temple at Jerusalem. To him they shall flee, and in him they shall be safe, as he was that took hold on the horns of the altar.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Ezekiel 11:16
“They shall there see God's power and his glory, as they used to see them in the sanctuary; they shall have the tokens of God's presence with them, and his grace in their hearts shall sanctify their prayers and praises, as well as ever the altar sanctified the gift, so that they shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 11:17-20
The promise follows, and the exiles “will remove all its detestable things.” God will “give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them,” the promise chapter 36 repeats. It closes on the covenant formula: “Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.”
they will remove all its detestable things: When the exiles return, they will clear the land of its detestable things and abominations. Matthew Henry notes that a return to good times is a mercy only when it leaves the old sins behind. The next verse tells where the new heart comes from.
Ezekiel 11:18
“And when you have entered, you shall remove all idols, because of which you have offended God, and I will give you a unified heart of fear and servitude to God, so that you may not serve diverse idols, or any other than what you had before. And I will give a new spirit in your midst, according to what is written: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:12).”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 3:11.17-21patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:18
“But still the Shekinah glory had departed, the ark was not restored, nor was the second temple strictly inhabited by God until He came who made it more glorious than the first temple (Hag 2:9); even then His stay was short, and ended in His being rejected; so that the full realization of the promise must still be future.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
a heart of flesh: The LORD promises singleness of heart and a new spirit. He will remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. Augustine cited this verse to argue that the grace of God can take away even the hardness of the human heart.
Ezekiel 11:19
“All that are sanctified have a new spirit, quite different from what it was; they act from new principles, walk by new rules, and aim at new ends. A new name, or a new face, will not serve without a new spirit. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. [3.] That he will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, out of their corrupt nature.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:19
“This might lead one to suppose that it was God who gave the power to walk in his commandments and to keep his judgments, if it was he who removed the stony heart, which hindered them from keeping the commandments, and who implanted in them the better and more sensitive one, which is here called a heart of flesh.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On First Principles 3:1.7patristic
they will be My people: The new heart has a purpose. It leads the people to follow the statutes of the LORD and keep His ordinances, and then they will be His people. Adam Clarke says their holy lives would show the work of God in their hearts.
Ezekiel 11:20
“That they may walk in my statutes - The holiness of their lives shall prove the work of God upon their hearts. Then it shall appear that I am their God, because I have done such things in them and for them; and their holy conduct shall show that they are my people. See on Eze 36:25 (note), etc.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads: A warning stands beside it: “as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads.” Chapter 18 argues this personal accountability at length. The promise and the warning stand together, and neither cancels the other.
Ezekiel 11:21
“There needs no more than this to speak God righteous, that he does but render to men according to their deserts: and yet such are the deserts of sin that there needs no more than this to speak the sinner miserable. The Visions of the Divine Glory. 22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:21
“But as for them whose heart walketh - Them whose affections are attached to idolatry, they shall have such reward as their idols can give them, and such a recompense as Divine justice shall award them.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The glory leaves the city and rests on the mountain
Ezekiel 11:22-23
spread their wings: Then “the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city,” the Mount of Olives. The glory that filled the temple now stands outside the walls, and its return in chapter 43 comes from the same east side.
Ezekiel 11:22
“Then did the cherubim lift up their wings,.... In order to remove, as in Eze 10:19; and the wheels beside them; which were lifted up also along with the cherubim: and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above; both cherubim and wheels.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 11:22
“Gradually, the glory of the Lord departed from Jerusalem. First leaving the temple, it stood in the courtyard or at the threshold of the house, and afterwards at the entrance of the Eastern Gate; finally, with its wings and accompanying wheels lifted up, it stood upon the mountain, which is towards the east of the city, no doubt signifying the Mount of Olives, from where the Savior ascended to the Father.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 3:11.22-23patristic
stood over the mountain east of the city: The glory of the LORD leaves the city and stands over the mountain east of it. Albert Barnes names it as the Mount of Olives. He records a rabbinic saying that the glory waited there three years, calling the people to repent.
Ezekiel 11:23
“It was from this mountain that Christ beheld the city and wept over it, in the foresight of its last destruction by the Romans. The glory of the Lord removed thither, to be as it were yet within call, and ready to return if now at length, in this their day, they would have understood the things that belonged to their peace.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 11:23
“The mountain which is on the east side of the city - The Mount of Olives. The rabbis commenting on this passage said the Shechinah retired to this Mount, and there for three years called in vain to the people with human voice that they should repent. On that mountain, Christ stood, when He wept over the fair city so soon to be utterly destroyed. From that mountain he descended, amid loud Hosannas, to enter the city and temple as a Judge.”
Ezekiel 11:23
“So it was from it that Jesus ascended to heaven when about to send His judgments on the Jews; and from it He predicted its overthrow before His crucifixion (Mt 24:3). It is also to be the scene of His return in person to deliver His people (Zec 14:4), when He shall come by the same way as He went, "the way of the east" (Eze 43:2).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
ConnectionsEzekiel 10:18
Ezekiel 11:24-25
the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea: Then “the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea,” ending the tour where it began, among the elders of 8:1. The whole tour was seen “in the vision given by the Spirit of God” while the prophet sat in his house.
Ezekiel 11:24
“They have glimpses of that glory, which they soon lose again, visions which go up from them, tastes of divine pleasures, but not a continual feast. It was from the mount of Olives that the vision went up, typifying the ascension of Christ to heaven from that very mountain, when those that had seen him manifested in the flesh saw him no more. It was foretold ( Zech. xiv.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
I told the exiles everything: The vision ends, and Ezekiel tells the exiles everything the LORD had shown him. Matthew Henry notes that the prophet passed on all he was shown, and nothing more. He received the word so he could give it.
Ezekiel 11:25
“Both of which signify not that the prophet was physically transported from Jerusalem to Babylon, but in spirit, the vision that had led him in spirit to Jerusalem was taken away, and he returned to himself and spoke to the transmigration all that had been shown to him, namely, about those of whom it is written above: I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting beside me, and there the hand of the Lord God fell upon me, and I saw.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
Keep studying
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 29; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.