Ezekiel — Chapter 6
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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
Oracle against the MOUNTAINS of Israel — the high places where idols are worshipped. God will scatter dead bodies around the altars, destroy the incense-stands, and spread slain Israelites among their idols. Yet a remnant will survive among the nations and REMEMBER God — broken-hearted over their own sin. "Then shall they know that I am the LORD."
Authorship & Background
- Set Your Face Against the Mountains (vv.1-2)
- God Destroys the High Places and Altars (vv.3-7)
- A Remnant Survives and Remembers (vv.8-10)
- Stamp Your Foot: Sword, Famine, Pestilence (vv.11-14)
Map & Geography
- No specific geographic locations are referenced in this chapter.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "'They shall lothe themselves.' This is the deepest repentance: not just regretting consequences but LOATHING yourself for what you chose. When you're disgusted by your own sin — not just frightened by its results — THEN God's work of restoration begins."
Reflection
- 1. God judges the PLACES of sin (vv.3-6). Not just people but SYSTEMS, SITES, and STRUCTURES of idolatry. What "high places" exist in your life — patterns, locations, habits — that need to be demolished?
- 2. "They shall loathe themselves" (v.9). Genuine repentance isn't just fear of consequences — it's DISGUST with the sin itself. Have you reached the point where you HATE what you once loved? That's real transformation.
- 3. "They shall KNOW that I am the LORD" (v.10). Everything God does — judgment and mercy — serves one purpose: that people KNOW Him. All of history is a classroom. God is the lesson.
- 4. The remnant remembers (v.9). In exile, among the nations, SCATTERED — they remember. Sometimes you don't appreciate God until you're far from everything familiar. Distance can produce memory.
- 5. God's word is not "in vain" (v.10). Every threat God makes, He carries out. Every promise God makes, He fulfills. He has not spoken in vain. Take His word seriously — BOTH warnings and promises.