Ezekiel 14:1-3

Well-Deserved Judgment

14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 14:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ¹  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ²  me?

Ezekiel 33:30-33

33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people ³  (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, ⁴  ‘Come hear the word that comes ⁵  from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, ⁶  and they sit in front of you as ⁷  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ⁸  them. For they talk lustfully, ⁹  and their heart is set on ¹⁰  their own advantage. ¹¹  33:32 Realize ¹²  that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. ¹³  They hear your words, but they do not obey them. ¹⁴  33:33 When all this comes true – and it certainly will ¹⁵  – then they will know that a prophet was among them.”

Ezekiel 33:1

Ezekiel Israel’s Watchman

33:1 The word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 14:2-6

14:2 The word of the Lord came to me: 14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ¹⁶  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ¹⁷  me? 14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. ¹⁸  14:5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’

14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.

Ezekiel 22:15-28

22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. ¹⁹  22:16 You will be profaned within yourself ²⁰  in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; ²¹  they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you ²²  have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. ²³  22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there ²⁴  and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”

22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain ²⁵  or showers in the day of my anger.’ ²⁶  22:25 Her princes ²⁷  within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows ²⁸  within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, ²⁹  or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore ³⁰  my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ³¹  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

Ezekiel 22:2

22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ³²  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ³³  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Ezekiel 3:13

3:13 and the sound of the living beings’ wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound.

Isaiah 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ³⁴  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ³⁵ 

they say wonderful things about me, ³⁶ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ³⁷ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ³⁸ 

Isaiah 58:2

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ³⁹ 

like a nation that does what is right

and does not reject the law of their God.

They ask me for just decrees;

they want to be near God.

Jeremiah 37:17

37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, ⁴⁰  “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, ⁴¹  “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” ⁴² 

Matthew 22:16

22:16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, ⁴³  saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ⁴⁴  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. ⁴⁵ 

[14:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

[14:3]  ² tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).

[33:30]  ³ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

[33:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”

[33:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “comes out.”

[33:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ⁷ tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ¹¹ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[33:32]  ¹² tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[33:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”

[33:32]  ¹⁴ sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.

[33:33]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “behold it is coming.”

[14:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the stumbling block of their iniquity.” This phrase is unique to the prophet Ezekiel.

[14:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I will not reveal myself to them.” The Hebrew word is used in a technical sense here of seeking an oracle from a prophet (2 Kgs 1:16; 3:11; 8:8).

[14:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in accordance with the multitude of his idols.”

[22:15]  ¹⁹ sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.

[22:16]  ²⁰ tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.

[22:18]  ²¹ tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.

[22:19]  ²² tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.

[22:19]  ²³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[22:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.

[22:24]  ²⁵ tc The MT reads “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context, and a poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).

[22:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in a day of anger.”

[22:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.

[22:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.

[22:26]  ²⁹ tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”

[22:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).

[22:28]  ³¹ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

[22:2]  ³² tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

[22:2]  ³³ tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.

[29:13]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ³⁸ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”

[58:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[37:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him and the king asked him privately [or more literally, in secret] and said.”

[37:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Then he said.”

[37:17]  ⁴² sn Jeremiah’s answer even under duress was the same that he had given Zedekiah earlier. (See Jer 34:3 and see the study note on 34:1 for the relative timing of these two incidents.)

[22:16]  ⁴³ sn The Herodians are mentioned in the NT only once in Matt (22:16 = Mark 12:13) and twice in Mark (3:6; 12:13; some mss also read “Herodians” instead of “Herod” in Mark 8:15). It is generally assumed that as a group the Herodians were Jewish supporters of the Herodian dynasty (or of Herod Antipas in particular). In every instance they are linked with the Pharisees. This probably reflects agreement regarding political objectives (nationalism as opposed to submission to the yoke of Roman oppression) rather than philosophy or religious beliefs.

[22:16]  ⁴⁴ sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

[22:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “And it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”