THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. Ezekiel, the contemporary of Jeremiah, was also of the sacerdotal family, and is said to have been carried captive into Babylon with Jehoiachin. The district appointed for his residence, with others of his countrymen, was that part of Mesopotamia watered by the river Chebar, a stream flowing into the eastern side of the Euphrates, and on the banks of which he was favoured with those equally sublime and awful visions which form the subject of his mysterious volume. The book is generally considered as divided into distinct heads under the first division, which consists of the first three chapters, Ezekiel describes his call to the prophetical office; under the second, which extends to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, the state and intended punishment of the Jews which remained in Palestine are chiefly considered; the fate of the enemies of Israel is next described, and this portion of the book extends to the thirty-second chapter; from thence to the fortieth chapter the vices of the Jews, but their final restoration, are set forth; and the nine concluding chapters describe the vision in which were unfolded to the awe-struck eye of the prophet the glory of Christ's church and everlasting kingdom. It was the great object of Ezekiel to rouse his countrymen, by these mighty demonstrations of God's foreseeing wisdom, to a due sense of their guilt and danger, to bring them thereby to a sincere repentance, and at the same time to afford sufficient light with respect to the future designs of God to raise and comfort the drooping spirits of the contrite and believing. CHAPTER I. thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the mouth, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, (which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,) 3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. have Ver. 1. Commentators started numerous conjectures as to the period from which the thirtieth year is reckoned, but there is no certainty in their conclusions. The most probable suppositions are, that it was calculated either from the finding of the book of the law, 2 Kings, xxli. 8. from some public event noted in the Babylonish calendar, or from the year of the prophet's birth.Ver. 3. The name of Ezekiel was very significant of his character and office: it means in Hebrew the strength of God.Ver. 4. The obscurity of this mysterious vision was felt to be so great by the Jews themselves, that they stated it to be beyond the power of expositors or paraphrasers to unfold its hidden sense, and the writings of the prophet were interdicted in general to persons under thirty years of age. Christian theologians, however, have employed much sound learning and true spiritual reasoning on this and other difficult passages of Ezekiel; an in proportion as the traditional Jore of the East and of Egypt has become known, fresh glimpses of light have appeared to shine on the solemn depths of the prophet's meaning. But to pursue the results of this profound species of inquiry is a study in itself, and the most pious reader of Scripture may be fully satisfied if he know the intentions of the prophetical visions, and can apply them spiritually, though he may not be able to understand their abstruse and minute ailusions. We see at present through a glass darkly, and there are, it may be reasonably 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. il Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one surmised, many things in Scripture was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures rau and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now, as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides; and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their let down their wings. heads when they stood, and had 26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire-stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it; from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. CHAPTER II. AND he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. 4 For they are impudent children, and stiff-hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. 5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. 6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorus be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious. 8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee: Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. 9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; 10 And he spread it before me: and it was written within and without and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. CHAPTER III. MOREOVER, he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. Ver. 2. Ezekiel had been made to see a wonderful display of divine mysteries, as it were, with his outward eye the Holy Spirit now entered his soul, and by enabling him to understand the sublime intentions of the vision, gave him strength to undertake the arduous task which he was set apart to perform. Ver. 8. Rev. viii. 10. By eating the book was meant, thoroughly receiving and digesting the revelations which the Almighty had designed to make. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech, and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel: 6 Not to many people of a strange speech, and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 As an adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 10 Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GoD, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. 13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. 14 So the spirit lifted nie up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. 16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Ver. 3. It was sweet to the prophet, because, through the operation of divine grace, he was perfectly ready to accept and perform the heavenly commands.-Ver. 14. In bitterness, &c.: that is, from the afflicting sense of the people's wickedness and apostacy.-Ver 18. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die because thou hast not given. him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 Nevertheless, if thou warn the righteous man, that the righte ous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul. 22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thre. 23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. 24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. 25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: 26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear; for they are a rebellious house. CHAPTER IV. THOU also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before This verse contains a most important lesson, and plainly shews, that the wicked will by no means escape because they may not have any one to warn them especially of their sins, for the natural light of their conscience, and the common information every where scattered about, are sufficient to make them understand the guilt of disobeying their Maker and his laws while, on the other hand, those who are appointed to give the warning, will, if they neglect to do it to the utmost of their power, be punished as they deserve to be, who leave others to perish, who might by the means of grace have been saved. Ver. 19. Isa. xlix. 4, 5. The case here supposed is this: - A man who has been long acquainted with the rules and principles of righteousness, yields to temptation, and turns from God to the practice of iniquity: the Lord allows him to be tempted with greater temptations, seeing that he wilfully neglects the means of safety, and lays a stumblingblock before him; but he mercifully sends his ministers to give him warning of nis danger, and if they neglect to perform their duty in this respect, he shall perish, and they shall perish with him. Ver. 1. This is manifestly a thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: 2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering-rams against it round about. 3 Moreover, take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city; and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. CHAPTER V. lay siege against it. This shall be AND thou, son of man, take thee a sign to the house of Israel. 4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. 7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. S And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege. 9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side; three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. 10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels day from time to time shalt thou eat it. 11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. 12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 13 And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted; for from my youth up, even till now, have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. 15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 16 Moreover, he said unto me, figurative representation of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Ver. 4. The time of Israel's affliction, or of the Lord's patience with him, was very significantly shewn by this symbolical action of the prophet, who, it is not to be supposed, lay on his side throughout the whole period mentioned, but only at certain times, and when he was particularly exposed to the gaze of his countrymen, or simply in his sleep at night, or during his visions. a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head, and upon thy beard then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. 2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife; and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind: and I will draw out a sword after them. 3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. 4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD, This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Because ye multiplied more. than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I, even 1, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. 10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers: and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. 11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. 12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about Ver. 1. The hair was very generally used by the ancients in symbolical or religious rites. In this instance, the sharp knife, or the razor, represents, it is said, the divine anger; the balances, his justice; the hair, the Jews.- Ver. 10. Levit. xxvi. 29; Deut. xxviii. thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds; and I will draw out a sword after them. 13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken if in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. 14 Moreover, I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken if. 16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: 17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it. 2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, Behold, I, even 1, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places; 4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the dead car cases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. 6 In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 8Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath 53; 2 Kings, vi. 9; Jer. xix. 9.Ver. 15. Deut. xxviii. 37.-Ver. 16. Deut. xxxii. 23, 24. Ver. 1. This prophecy against Israel is supposed to have been de livered about the year before Christ 594. Ver. 8. How remarkable is the agreement, the perfect har mony, of the prophets among each other, respecting the remnant to be saved; while the mass of the people sinks deeper and deeper in guilt, and at last perishes altogether! departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 11 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for ail the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. 13 Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet Bavour to all their idols. 14 So will I stretch out my hand apon them, and make the land desolate; yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LonD. CHAPTER VII. MOREOVER, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GoD unto the land of Israel, An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD, An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. 7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee; and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. 10 Behold the day, behold, it is come; the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed; pride hath budded. Ver. 3. Upon thee: that is, upon the land, or the people of Israel.Ver. 7. The sounding; or, the echo: that is, it is not this time a mere report-an uncertain murmur or prognostication of evil, but the real approach of ruin.-Ver. II Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs; neither shall there be wailing for them. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. 16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels, because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity. 20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place; for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. 23 Make a chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. 25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. 26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet: but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled : I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will 26. The latter part of this verse appears to point particularly to the period when Israel's humiliation should be complete, and the gospel be established upon the law. I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. CHAPTER VIII. AND it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me, 2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins, even downward, fire; and from his loins, even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. 3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. 4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. 5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. 7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and, when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and, when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. 10 So I went in and saw; and, behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand: and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LouD hath forsaken the earth. 13 He said also unto me, Furn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S Ver. 3. It was manifestly the Son of God who was veiled under "the likeness as the appearance of fire;" and the prophet was, by the power of the Spirit, enabled to see Jerusalem and its Temple as perfectly as if he had been carried thither bodily.-Ver. 11. Seventy was the number of the senators who formed the Sanhedrim, or Great Council. Jaazaniah was probably the chief person in this assembly. house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LoaD's house; and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. HEC CHAPTER IX. E 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. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter-weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads. of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 2 Kings, xxii. 9.-Ver. 14. Tammuz was the Adonis mentioned by the Greek and Latin vriters: he is said to have been a beautiful youth, who was slain by a wild boar; and was worshipped in annual funeral rites by the Syrians.Ver. 16. The sun was the chief object of worship among the Persians. Ver. 17. Some idolatrous action is probably alluded to in the singular expression, they put the branch to their nose;" but commentators have not been able to explain its exact signification. Ver. 4. Happy are they who, seeing the wickedness of those among whom they dwell, can lament for it, and seek their own 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. CHAPTER X. THEN I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire-stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. 3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory. 5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. 6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. 7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen; who took it, and went out. 8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings. 9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl-stone. 10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a safety by humility and deep repentance!-Ver. 11. God's ministers must needs pray for sinners; but they cannot turn away his wrath when he has determined to punish. Ver. 8. The wings of the cherubims, it is remarked by the old commentators, denote swiftness; the hand, power and ability to execute the designs on which they were sent. wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they fol lowed it; they turned not as they went. 12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel! 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. 16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them; and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. 17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. 18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. 19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they I went out, the wheels also were beside them; and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. 21 Every one had four faces. apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which 1 saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward. CHAPTER XI. MOREOVER, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unte the east gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city; 3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. 4¶ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy. O son of man. 5 And the Spirit of the LORD fe!! upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD, Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. 6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the Elsin. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord Gop, Your slain, whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the |