Ezekiel — Chapter 9
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1He 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.
2And, 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.
3And 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;
4And 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.
5And 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:
6Slay 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.
7And 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.
8And 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?
9Then 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.
10And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
11And, 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.
1Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
2And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer`s inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
3And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer`s inkhorn by his side.
4And Jehovah 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 over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.
5And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity;
6slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, 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 old men that were before the house.
7And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city.
8And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?
9Then 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 wrestling [of judgment]: for they say, Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah seeth not.
10And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way upon their head.
11And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
1Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach, you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!”
2Next I noticed six men coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each with his war club in his hand. Among them was a man dressed in linen with a writing kit at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
3Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub where it had rested to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.
4The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”
5While I listened, he said to the others, “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare anyone!
6Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women—wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
7He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they went out and struck people down throughout the city.
8While they were striking them down, I was left alone, and I threw myself face down and cried out, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! Will you destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?”
9He said to me, “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of murder, and the city is full of corruption, for they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’
10But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.”
11Next I noticed the man dressed in linen with the writing kit at his side bringing back word: “I have done just as you commanded me.”
1Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Cause those who are in charge of the city to draw near, each man with his destroying weapon in his hand.”
2Behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lies toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand. One man in the middle of them was clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. They went in, and stood beside the bronze altar.
3The glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house; and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn by his side.
4Yahweh said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
5To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity.
6Kill utterly the old man, the young man, the virgin, little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” Then they began at the old men who were before the house.
7He said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” They went out, and struck in the city.
8While they were killing, and I was left, I fell on my face, and cried, and said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perversion; for they say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn’t see.’
10As for me also, my eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way on their head.”
11Behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, “I have done as you have commanded me.”
Summary
God summons six executioners and one scribe. The scribe (man in linen with inkhorn) marks the foreheads of those who GRIEVE over Jerusalem's abominations. The executioners are told: kill everyone WITHOUT the mark — starting at the sanctuary. "Begin at my sanctuary." The slaughter begins with the elders. Ezekiel cries out: "Wilt thou destroy all the residue?"
Authorship & Background
- Six Executioners and One Scribe Summoned (vv.1-2)
- The Glory Rises; the Command Given (vv.3-4)
- The Slaughter: Begin at the Sanctuary (vv.5-7)
- Ezekiel's Protest and God's Answer (vv.8-11)
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem (v.4, v.8): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "'Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry.' The mark isn't for those who PREACH against sin (though that matters) — it's for those who GRIEVE over sin. A broken heart over corporate evil is God's identifying mark on the righteous."
Reflection
- 1. The mark is for those who GRIEVE (v.4). Not those who fight sin politically, not those who preach against it publicly — those who SIGH AND CRY internally. Does the sin around you break your heart — or have you become numb to it?
- 2. "Begin at my sanctuary" (v.6). Judgment starts with CHURCH LEADERSHIP. Those closest to God bear greatest accountability. If you serve in spiritual leadership, you face stricter judgment (James 3:1).
- 3. No exceptions in the slaughter (v.6). Old, young, women, children — if unmarked, killed. The severity reveals the severity of the sin. God's holiness doesn't grade on a curve.
- 4. Ezekiel protests (v.8). Even the prophet questions God's severity — and God allows the question. You can ASK God hard questions about judgment. He answers (not always comfortingly — v.9 — but He answers).
- 5. The man in linen does his work FIRST (v.11). Mercy precedes judgment. The marker finishes BEFORE the executioners begin. God ensures EVERY righteous person is identified and protected before wrath falls.