Ezekiel — Chapter 6
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1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
3You are to say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
4Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will cast down your slain before your idols.
5I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols and scatter your bones around your altars.
6Wherever you live, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and desecrated, your idols smashed and obliterated, your incense altars cut down, and your works blotted out.
7The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
8Yet I will leave a remnant, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the nations and throughout the lands.
9Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.
10And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.
11This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague.
12He who is far off will die by the plague, he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains will die by famine. So I will vent My fury upon them.
13Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—the places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.
14I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
3And 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 I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6In all your dwellingplaces 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.
7And 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.
9And 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 departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12He 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.
13Then 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 savour to all their idols.
14So will I stretch out my hand upon 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 LORD.
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy unto them,
3and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
4And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
6In 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 sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be abolished.
7And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
8Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
9And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12He 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 wrath upon them.
13And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
14And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
1The Lord’s message came to me:
2“Son of man, turn toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
3Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
4Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.
5I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.
6In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.
7The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord.
8“‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands.
9Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart that turned from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.
10They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.
11“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence.
12The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them.
13Then you will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak—the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols.
14I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
1Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,
3and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: “Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.
4Your altars will become desolate, and your incense altars will be broken. I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars.
6In all your dwelling places, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
7The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.
8“‘“Yet I will leave a remnant, in that you will have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.
9Those of you that escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols. Then they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10They will know that I am Yahweh. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”’
11“Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas!” Because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they will fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
12He who is far off will die of the pestilence. He who is near will fall by the sword. He who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus I will accomplish my wrath on them.
13You will know that I am Yahweh, when their slain men are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered pleasant aroma to all their idols.
14I will stretch out my hand on them, and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’”
Summary
Ezekiel delivers an oracle against the mountains and high places of Israel where idols are worshiped (vv. 1-3). God promises to destroy the altars and incense stands and scatter the bones of the slain around their own idols, leaving the land desolate (vv. 4-7). Yet a remnant will survive in exile among the nations, where they will remember God, be broken over their unfaithfulness, and loathe themselves for their sin (vv. 8-10). The repeated refrain underscores the purpose of the judgment: that Israel will know God is the LORD (vv. 11-14).
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Ezekiel -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- High Places Torn Down (v.4) — God targets not just the people of Israel but the very altars and idols where their worship went wrong, tearing down the physical sites of compromise. What "high place" in your own routine or habits needs to be dismantled rather than just avoided?
- A Broken-Hearted Remnant (v.9) — Scattered among the nations, the survivors finally remember God and loathe themselves for the evil they once loved. Has your own repentance ever gone beyond regretting consequences to genuinely grieving the sin itself?
- So They Will Know (v.10) — God says His judgment isn't random but purposeful: so that people come to know He is the Lord, and that His warnings were never empty. Do you take God's words, both His warnings and His promises, as seriously as He intends them?
- Grief That Matches the Moment (v.11) — Ezekiel is told to clap his hands, stamp his feet, and cry out over the evils Israel has done, modeling genuine grief rather than detached observation. Do you let yourself feel the weight of sin around you, or does it just pass by unnoticed?