Ezekiel 11:2
in Ezekiel 11And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city;
KJV
Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
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This verse in Ezekiel 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseLastly, 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.
This site's exposition
twenty-five men
on Ezekiel 11:1-4
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.
This site's exposition
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2 onwards) And behold, at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and in their midst I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the princes of the people. And he said to me, Son of man, these men devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, saying, 'The houses have been recently built. This is the pot, but we are the meat.' Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Then said he unto me, son of man,....
And, when mischief is done, God knows at whose door to lay it, and, in the day of discovery and recompence, will be sure to lay it at the right door, and will say, These are the men that devised it, though they are great men, and pass for wise men, and must not now be contradicted or controlled.
A message of comfort to those who were carried captives into Babylon and were there in the depth of despondency, thinking they should never rise. And, as the former are assured that God has judgments in store for them notwithstanding their present security, so the later are assured that God has mercy in store for them notwithstanding their present distress,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and behold at the entrance of the gate [twenty-five men] They are the very same ones that he mentioned above (ad loc.): “their backs to the Temple of the Lord” except that he did not explain there who they were, and here he delineates the names of two of them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֑י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֵ֣לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֞ים | haanashim | [are] the people | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַחֹשְׁבִ֥ים | hachoshevim | who plan | H2803 → | |
| אָ֛וֶן | ʾaven | wickedness | H205 → | |
| וְהַיֹּעֲצִ֥ים | vehaiyoatzim | and who counsel | H3289 → | |
| עֲצַת־ | ʾatzat- | counsel of | H6098 → | |
| רָ֖ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בָּעִ֥יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֑יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֵ֣לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֞ים[are] the people
haanashimH582 →566 times
הַחֹשְׁבִ֥יםwho plan
hachoshevimH2803 →
אָ֛וֶןwickedness
ʾavenH205 →
וְהַיֹּעֲצִ֥יםand who counsel
vehaiyoatzimH3289 →
עֲצַת־counsel of
ʾatzat-H6098 →
רָ֖עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
בָּעִ֥ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:2
All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,
- Isaiah 1:2
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Hosea 7:13
Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
- Isaiah 29:15
Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
- Isaiah 65:2
Through
Isaiah 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
it leads to
- Job 15:35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
- Micah 7:2–5
The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
- James 1:15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- Job 15:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.