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Ezekiel9

God commands six executioners to approach Jerusalem, one of whom is to mark the foreheads of the righteous who lament the city's abominations. The other five are then ordered to utterly slay all inhabitants without the mark, beginning at the sanctuary. Ezekiel intercedes, but God justifies the judgment due to Israel's great iniquity and their belief that God has forsaken them.

The Executioners Are Summoned

1
Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause those who are in charge of the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. ​
2
Behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lies toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in their midst clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. They went in, and stood beside the bronze altar. ​

The Mark of Preservation

3
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. ​
4
The LORD said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in its midst. ​

The Judgment Commences

5
To the others he said in my hearing, Go through the city after him, and strike: don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity; ​
6
kill utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. ​
7
He said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” They went out, and struck in the city. ​

Ezekiel Intercedes for Israel

8
While they were killing, and I was left, I fell on my face, and cried, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your wrath on Jerusalem?” ​
9
Then 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, ‘the LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD doesn’t see.’ ​
10
As for me also, my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way on their head.” ​
11
Behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, “I have done as you have commanded me.” ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 9

Verse 1

The 'charge over the city' refers to the six divine agents of destruction, highlighting that the coming judgment upon Jerusalem is divinely mandated, not merely a political or military accident.

Verse 2

The six men represent the instruments of God's wrath. The seventh man, clothed in linen, is distinct; he holds the writer’s inkhorn, symbolizing his role in preservation and record-keeping, separating the righteous from the wicked.

Verse 3

The movement of the Glory of God (the *kavod*) from the inner sanctuary to the Temple threshold foreshadows its complete departure (Ch. 10), leaving the structure undefended and vulnerable to destruction.

Verse 4

The mark (*tav* in Hebrew, originally shaped like a cross or 'X') identifies the faithful remnant—those who mourn the rampant idolatry and injustice in Jerusalem—thereby separating them from those appointed for judgment.

Verse 5

The command is absolute and severe, emphasizing that God’s patience has ended. This non-discriminating judgment reflects the total corruption of the city, where judgment is required for the entire populace.

Verse 6

Judgment beginning 'at my sanctuary' (compare 1 Pet. 4:17) signifies that those closest to God, who should have maintained holiness (the elders and priests), were the most responsible for the nation’s spiritual failure.

Verse 7

The command to defile the Temple with corpses is the ultimate sign of God’s rejection. Since the Lord’s presence has departed (v. 3), the building is stripped of its holiness and treated as common ground.

Verse 8

Ezekiel’s intercession echoes the pleas of Moses (Ex. 32:11). Despite witnessing the terrible sins, he remains deeply concerned for the covenant people, pleading that God not utterly destroy the 'residue' or small remnant.

Verse 9

God justifies the severity of the judgment by citing two primary sins: widespread bloodshed (violence and murder) and the cynical rejection of divine authority, captured in the belief that 'The LORD seeth not.'

Verse 10

This verse reiterates the divine commitment to justice, confirming that God will not compromise his holiness by overlooking the extreme wickedness and idolatry committed by his people.

Verse 11

The final report confirms the successful execution of the divine decree, concluding the vision of immediate judgment and signaling the irreversible nature of Jerusalem's fate.

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