Ezekielchapter 9
11 verses · KJVEzekiel book hub →
Key verse
He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
It stands in scene A of the chapter, verses 1 to 4.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The vision continues in judgment. Six men come from the upper gate with slaughter weapons, and among them one clothed in linen with a writer's inkhorn: 'Go through the midst of the city, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations.' The rest are struck without pity: 'and begin at my sanctuary.' So they began at the ancient men before the house. Ezekiel falls on his face with the cry the whole book keeps answering: 'Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?'
Context
Prophecy · Ezekiel · Ezekiel overview
Where the chapter sits
Ezekiel 9 falls in Symbolic acts and judgment on Jerusalem (chapters 4–24). Lying on his side for 430 days; shaving the head with a sword; eating food in anxiety; the glory departs in stages (8–11); the prophet survives his wife's death without mourning (24).
Before it: Call and wheels-vision, chapters 1–3. After it: Oracles against the nations, chapters 25–32.
The whole shape of Ezekiel→The world behind this chapter
Ezekiel 9The history
The six men who come from the upper gate carry what the text calls shattering weapons, heavy clubs or maces. A mace was a real infantry weapon, a stone or metal head on a short handle, and it was also the standard symbol of authority to execute a sentence.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The seventh man is dressed differently and equipped differently: linen clothing, and a writing case at his side. Scribes carried a palette, a slim wooden case holding reed pens, a small knife, and cakes of dried ink, slung from a belt or tucked in a sash. Egyptian tomb paintings show them exactly like this, and the Hebrew word here is a loan from Egyptian. He is an official recorder, not a soldier.
The mark he puts on foreheads is named as a letter: taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the older Hebrew script of Ezekiel's day taw was written as a simple cross or X. It was the mark an illiterate man made to sign a document, the ordinary sign of ownership and agreement.
The order of operations would have shaken any priest. Begin at my sanctuary. Not begin with the worst of the population, or with the outer suburbs, begin at the holy building, and with the elders in front of it. Judgment starts where the light was brightest.
What it meant to them
The exiles' theology of protection was tied to a place. This chapter replaces it with a mark on a person, and the people who get the mark are the ones who sigh and groan over what is being done in the city, the grieving minority nobody in power noticed.
Ezekiel's own reaction is the one the hearers would have had. He falls on his face and cries out, will you destroy the whole remnant of Israel? The answer he gets is not comfort but a reason: the land is full of blood and the city full of injustice. Still, the marked ones are not touched, and the exiles are left to ask which group they belong to.
Sources cited
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
A. The man with the writer's inkhorn marks the mourners
1. (vv. 1-2)
a.Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near: A loud voice commands the city's own appointed executioners to draw near, each with a destroying weapon, and six men answer from the north gate, the same gate where the image of jealousy stood in chapter 8. A seventh man is set apart among them, clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side, priestly dress and a scribe's tool rather than a weapon, and this man alone goes first to stand beside the brasen altar. Keil reads the seventh figure's distinct equipment as the chapter's own signal that judgment and mercy move together in this vision, one hand marking before six hands strike.
Ezekiel 9:1, 2 voicesWhat preachers and commentators have said about these verses, in their own words.
Ezekiel 9:1
“Cause them that have charge over the city - By those six men with destroying weapons the Chaldeans are represented, who had received commission to destroy the city; and when the north is mentioned in such cases, Chaldea and the Chaldean armies are generally intended. There appears to have been six men with a sort of slaughter-bills, and one man with an inkhorn. These may represent the seven counsellors of the eastern monarchs, who always saw the king’s face, and knew all the secrets of the government.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:1
“Them - Those whom God hath appointed to destroy the city: perhaps angels. Every man - Everyone; 'tis an Hebrew idiom. Each of these had a weapon proper for that kind of destruction which he was to effect; and so, some to slay with the sword, another with the pestilence, another with famine.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:2, 3 voices
Ezekiel 9:2
“And, behold, six men,.... Either angels the form of men; or the generals of Nebuchadnezzar's army, as Kimchi interprets it; whose names are, Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, Jer 39:3; these six executioners of God's vengeance are, in the Talmud (n), called "wrath, anger, fury, destruction, breach, and consumption:'' came from the way of the higher gate, Kimchi observes, from the Rabbins, that this is the eastern gate called the higher or upper gate, because it was above the court of the Israelites.”
Ezekiel 9:2
“Stood beside the brazen altar - To signify that the people against whom they had their commission were, for their crimes, to be sacrificed to the demands of Divine justice.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:2
“At that gate of the temple the destroying angels entered, to show what it was that opened the door to them. Note, That way that sin lies judgments may be expected to come. Observe where they placed themselves: They went in and stood beside the brazen altar, on which sacrifices were wont to be offered and atonement made.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2. (vv. 3-4)
a.the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub: The glory of the God of Israel moves for the first time in the vision, up from the cherub where it rested to the threshold of the house, a single step that begins the withdrawal the book will carry all the way to 11:23. From the threshold the Lord calls the man in linen and gives him his charge, set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations, protection reserved for those grieved by what surrounds them rather than for any other mark of status. Gill notes the Hebrew word for mark is the letter taw, written in the old script as a cross-shaped X, a detail the commentators record as text-critical observation rather than typology.
Ezekiel 9:3, 4 voices
Ezekiel 9:3
“And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was,.... That is, the glorious God of Israel; or the glorious Shechinah, and divine Majesty, which dwelt between the cherubim over the mercy seat in the most holy place, removed from thence, as a token of his being about to depart from the temple, which in a short time would be destroyed.”
Ezekiel 9:3
“Cherub - The singular is put collectively for the “cherubim,” which were upon the mercy-seat of the ark in the holy of holies, the proper seat of the glory of the Lord in the midst of Israel. God is represented as “arising” from between the cherubim to scatter His enemies Num 10:35.”
Ezekiel 9:3
“God--which had heretofore, as a bright cloud, rested on the mercy seat between the cherubim in the holy of holies (2Sa 6:2; Ps 80:1); its departure was the presage of the temple being given up to ruin; its going from the inner sanctuary to the threshold without, towards the officers standing at the altar outside, was in order to give them the commission of vengeance.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Ezekiel 9:3
“Orders given to one of the persons employed, who is distinguished from the rest, for the marking of a remnant to be preserved from the common destruction,”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 9:4, 3 voices
Ezekiel 9:4
“Thus he suffers and is dishonoured; and although he still ventures with shameless confidence to disguise himself, yet now, wretched spirit, he is detected the rather by them that bear the Sign on their foreheads; yea, more, he is rejected of them, and is humbled, and put to shame. For even if, now that he is a creeping serpent, he shall transform himself into an angel of light, yet his deception will not profit him; for we have been taught that `though an angel from heaven preach unto us any other gospel than that we have received, he is anathema.'”
Athanasius of Alexandria· written before 373· LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT 1:2patristic
Ezekiel 9:4
“Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh - This is in allusion to the ancient every-where-used custom of setting marks on servants and slaves, to distinguish them from others. It was also common for the worshippers of particular idols to have their idol’s mark upon their foreheads, arms, etc. These are called sectarian marks to the present day among the Hindoos and others in India.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:4
“But nowhere in Scripture are the words which are now employed as names of letters used to denote the letters themselves or their figures [VITRINGA]. The noun here is cognate to the verb, "mark a mark." So in Re 7:3 no particular mark is specified.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
B. Begin at my sanctuary: the slaughter goes out
1. (vv. 5-7)
a.Go ye after him through the city, and smite: The other six are sent after the man in linen with the opposite charge, let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity, sweeping in old and young, maids, children and women alike, sparing only those who carry the mark. The command begin at my sanctuary turns the slaughter to the ancient men before the house first, the leaders responsible for the temple's own corruption in chapter 8 struck before the wider city, and the courts themselves are to be filled with the slain and thereby defiled. Fairbairn reads the order, sanctuary first, as judgment following the same path the abominations took, closest to the altar and therefore first to answer for it.
Ezekiel 9:5, 3 voices
Ezekiel 9:5
“You have given a sign, the blood itself of a lamb without blemish, slain for the sin of the world. And Ezekiel says that a sign was given on the foreheads of the persons.”
Basil of Caesarea· written before 379· HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 20:3 (PS 59)patristic
Ezekiel 9:5
“And, to the others he said in mine hearing,.... To the other six men that had the slaughter weapons in their hands: go ye after him through the city; that is, after the man clothed with linen; for he was sent out first to take care of the righteous, and preserve them; and the rest were not suffered to stir till he was gone; and then they are bid to go after him.”
Ezekiel 9:5
“They are warned not to do the least hurt to those that were marked for salvation: " Come not near any man upon whom is the mark; do not so much as threaten or frighten any of them; it is promised them that there shall no evil come nigh them, and therefore you must keep at a distance from them." The king of Babylon gave particular orders that Jeremiah should be protected.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 9:6, 4 voices
Ezekiel 9:6
“And what follows: 'And begin from my sanctuary,' or as the Seventy have translated, 'begin from my saints,' which means the priests who served in the temple and worshipped idols; or those who were called holy due to their merit in the priesthood among the people, and who were the first to deserve punishment for the sins of the people. For it is time, as it is written in I Corinthians 7, that judgment begin from the house of God.”
Jerome· written before 420· Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
Ezekiel 9:6
“Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women,.... All, of them objects of compassion, because of their age and sex; and yet none to be spared; and which orders were exactly obeyed; see 2Ch 36:17; but come not near any man on whom is the mark; these were not to be slain; and though some were carried captive, as Daniel, and others; yet it was for their good and God's glory; see Rev 7:3; and begin at my sanctuary; the temple, the house of God, and the priests and Levites that dwelt there.”
Ezekiel 9:6
“Begin at my sanctuary - Let those who have sinned against most mercy, and most privileges, be the first victims of justice. Those who know their Lord’s will, and do it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. The unfaithful members of Christ’s church will be first visited and most punished. But let not those who belong to the synagogue of Satan exult in this, for if judgment begin at the house of God what will the end be of them who obey not the Gospel! However, the truly penitent of all descriptions in such cases shall be safe.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:6
“God's heaviest wrath falls on those who have sinned against the highest privileges; these are made to feel it first (1Pe 4:17, 18). He hates sin most in those nearest to Him; for example, the priests, &c. ancient men--the seventy elders.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
C. Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel?
1. (v. 8)
a.I fell upon my face, and cried: As the slaughter proceeds the prophet is left alone and falls on his face, crying out the one prayer of protest the book gives him, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel? The plea assumes the exile has already reduced the nation to a residue and asks whether judgment will now finish what captivity began. Henry reads Ezekiel's outcry here beside Abraham's intercession for Sodom, a servant of God pleading against total destruction even while standing inside a vision that shows him its necessity.
Ezekiel 9:8, 3 voices
Ezekiel 9:8
“And when the slaughter was complete, I remained: and I fell upon my face, and crying out I said: Alas, Lord God, wilt thou then destroy all the remnant of Israel, pouring out thy fury upon Jerusalem? For when all those who did not have the seal were slain, the prophet fell down on his face, thinking that no one except himself had remained among the dead. And because this seemed to be contrary to the commandment that the Lord had given, that the men with sealed foreheads should not be slain, it was therefore removed from the Vulgate edition.”
Jerome· written before 420· Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
Ezekiel 9:8
“Wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel, On thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? - These destroyers had slain the seventy elders, the twenty-five adorers of the sun, and the women that mourned for Tammuz; and on seeing this slaughter the prophet fell on his face, and began to make intercession.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:8
“I was left--literally, "there was left I." So universal seemed the slaughter that Ezekiel thought himself the only one left [CALVIN]. He was the only one left of the priests "in the sanctuary." fell upon my face--to intercede for his countrymen (so Nu 16:22). all the residue--a plea drawn from God's covenant promise to save the elect remnant.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2. (vv. 9-10)
a.The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great: The answer names both kingdoms together, Israel and Judah, and repeats the charge of chapter 7 in its own words, the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness, tying the temple's abominations to social violence rather than idolatry alone. The people's own reasoning is quoted a second time, the Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not, the practical atheism already heard from the seventy elders now given as the ground for judgment rather than an excuse against it. Verse 10 closes with the same formula as chapter 7, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, the refrain binding the two chapters into one continuous sentence.
Ezekiel 9:9, 3 voices
Ezekiel 9:9
“But the cause of such great crimes is that they believed there is no providence over the earth, nor does God care about mortal things...”
Jerome· written before 420· Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
Ezekiel 9:9
“For they say, The Lords hath forsaken the earth - את הארץ eth haarets, “this land.” He has no more place in Israel; he has quite abandoned it; he neither sees nor cares, and he can be no longer the object of worship to any man in Israel. This seems to be the meaning; and God highly resents it, because it was bringing him on a level with idols and provincial deities, who had, according to supposition, regency only in some one place.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:9-10
“Nothing could be said in extenuation of this sin. God was willing to show mercy as the prophet could desire; he always is so. But here the case will not admit of it; it is such that mercy cannot be granted without wrong to justice; and it is not fit that one attribute of God should be glorified at the expense of another.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 9:10, 2 voices
Ezekiel 9:10
“And as for me also,.... As they have not spared the poor and the needy, the widow and the fatherless, but have perverted their judgment, and shed innocent blood: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompence their way upon their head; deal with them by the law of retaliation, and reward them according to their deserts; see Eze 7:4.”
Ezekiel 9:10
“Mine eye shall not spare - They say, the Lord seeth not: this is false; I have seen all their iniquities, and do see all their abominations; and I will bring deserved judgment upon them, and then that eye which now sees will neither pity nor spare.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3. (v. 11)
a.reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me: The man clothed with linen returns and reports simply, I have done as thou hast commanded me, the vision's last word given to the one figure sent to mark rather than to strike. The chapter closes without describing the slaughter itself, only its completion reported in the fewest possible words, which the commentators read as the text keeping its own restraint even inside so severe a vision. Gill notes the report answers the command of verse 4 precisely, obedience recorded in the same terms it was given.
Ezekiel 9:11, 2 voices
Ezekiel 9:11
“I have done as thou hast commanded me - Angels and men must all give account of their conduct to God; for although he is every where, and his eye sees all things, yet they must personally account for all that they have done. I have done as thou hast commanded me. The penitents are all signed; the penitents are all safe. This is good news for them that mourn.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 9:11
“Or this report was made now because the thing was finished, whereas the destroying work would be a work of time, and when it was brought to an end then the report should be made. See how faithful Christ is to the trust reposed in him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Ezekiel 9. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on 11 works. Open for the list.
This page draws on Adam Clarke; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF EGYPT 1:2; Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 20:3 (PS 59); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765); Matthew Henry and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.
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