Ezekiel 21:24

Translation
King James Version
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
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KJV (with Strong's)
Therefore thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD H3069; Because ye have made your iniquity H5771 to be remembered H2142, in that your transgressions H6588 are discovered H1540, so that in all your doings H5949 your sins H2403 do appear H7200; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance H2142, ye shall be taken H8610 with the hand H3709.
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Complete Jewish Bible
"Therefore this is what Adonai ELOHIM says: 'Because you have caused your guilt to be remembered, with your misdeeds revealed and the sins in all your actions evident - since you have been remembered, you will be captured.'
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Berean Standard Bible
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds—because you have come to remembrance—you shall be taken in hand.
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American Standard Version
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
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World English Bible Messianic
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God, Because ye haue made your iniquitie to bee remembred, in discouering your rebellion, that in al your workes your sinnes might appeare: because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
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Young's Literal Translation
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your causing your iniquity to be remembered, In your transgressions being revealed, For your sins being seen, in all your doings, Because of your being remembered, By the hand ye are caught.
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See also
Hosea 4:2Jeremiah 5:27Jeremiah 5:28Ezekiel 23:5Ezekiel 23:21Micah 3:10Micah 3:12
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In the KJVVerse 20,969 of 31,102

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SUMMARY

Ezekiel 21:24 delivers a profound and unyielding divine pronouncement from the Lord GOD, articulating the precise and inescapable justification for the impending judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem. It asserts that their persistent, pervasive, and overtly displayed sinfulness—encompassing deep-seated iniquity, rebellious transgressions, and manifest sins in all their actions—has reached a critical threshold. This accumulation of wickedness has actively "come to remembrance" before God, compelling Him to respond decisively to their rebellion. This divine remembrance necessitates a swift and unavoidable intervention, culminating in their certain capture and delivery into the hands of their enemies.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is strategically placed within the larger "Sword of the Lord" prophecy in Ezekiel 21. Immediately preceding this pronouncement, Ezekiel 21:18-23 vividly describes Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, at a crucial juncture, employing pagan divination (arrows, teraphim, liver inspection) to determine his military objective. God reveals that, despite the pagan nature of these practices, He is sovereignly directing Nebuchadnezzar's decision to target Jerusalem. The leaders in Jerusalem, blinded by their own self-deception and false prophecies (as hinted in Ezekiel 21:23), believed their covenant with God and the Temple's presence guaranteed their immunity. However, Ezekiel 21:24 shatters this illusion, providing the divine rationale for the impending catastrophe: their own egregious sins have sealed their fate, directly linking the external military threat to Judah's profound internal moral corruption and covenant infidelity.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The prophecy of Ezekiel was delivered during one of the most traumatic periods in Judah's history: the Babylonian exile. Ezekiel himself was among the first group of exiles deported to Babylon in 597 BC after Nebuchadnezzar's initial siege of Jerusalem. Those who remained in Jerusalem, including false prophets and a significant portion of the populace, clung to a desperate and misguided hope of imminent divine deliverance and protection, largely ignoring the consistent warnings from true prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Culturally, Judah had become deeply syncretistic, blending the worship of Yahweh with rampant idolatry, engaging in severe social injustice, and demonstrating widespread covenant unfaithfulness—practices explicitly forbidden by their unique covenant relationship with God. Geographically, Jerusalem was considered virtually impregnable by its inhabitants, fortified by its natural defenses and the symbolic presence of the Temple. This verse starkly demolishes that false sense of security, revealing that their spiritual state, rather than their physical fortifications, was the true determinant of their destiny. The "hand" mentioned here unequivocally refers to the formidable Babylonian army, which God, in His sovereign justice, employed as His instrument of judgment, a recurring motif in prophetic literature (Isaiah 10:5-6).
  • Key Themes: Ezekiel 21:24 profoundly contributes to several overarching themes central to the book of Ezekiel and broader biblical theology. Firstly, it powerfully underscores the theme of Divine Justice and Retribution, asserting that God is not a passive observer of sin but actively remembers and responds to it, ensuring that unrepentant wickedness incurs severe and inevitable consequences. This aligns perfectly with the principle of divine recompense found throughout Scripture, such as in Romans 6:23. Secondly, the verse highlights the Pervasiveness and Publicity of Sin, emphasizing that Judah's iniquity was not a hidden or isolated phenomenon but was "discovered" and "appeared" in "all their doings," signifying a deep-seated, systemic moral decay that permeated every facet of their national life. This refutes any notion of secret sin or superficial piety. Thirdly, it reinforces the theme of Divine Sovereignty over Nations, demonstrating that even the actions of pagan kings like Nebuchadnezzar are ultimately orchestrated by the Lord GOD to fulfill His righteous purposes of judgment, as seen in Daniel 2:21. Finally, the repeated emphasis on God's "remembrance" speaks to the theme of God's Active Memory and Covenant Faithfulness, where His remembering of sin leads to judgment, just as His remembering of His covenant leads to deliverance (e.g., Genesis 8:1).

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • iniquity (Hebrew, ʻâvôn', H5771): This term (H5771) derives from a root meaning "to bend, twist, distort." It refers to perversity, moral evil, and the guilt or punishment associated with such deviation from God's standard. It signifies a crookedness of character and action, often implying a deliberate departure from the straight path of righteousness. In this context, it highlights the inherent moral corruption and the resulting guilt of Judah, which has accumulated to demand divine attention.
  • remembered (Hebrew, zâkar', H2142): The verb (H2142) implies more than passive recollection; it denotes an active calling to mind that prompts divine intervention or action. When God "remembers" sin, it signifies that the accumulated weight of transgression has reached a point where His patience is exhausted, and He is moved to execute judgment. This is an active, decisive remembrance that leads to punitive action, not a mere mental note or a sudden recall from forgetfulness. It underscores God's purposeful engagement with the consequences of human sin.
  • taken (Hebrew, tâphas', H8610): This verb (H8610) means to manipulate, seize, or capture. It conveys the idea of being apprehended or grasped by force. In this context, "ye shall be taken with the hand" powerfully depicts the unavoidable and forceful capture of Judah by their enemies, emphasizing their utter helplessness and the certainty of their impending subjugation. The "hand" (H3709, kaph') here symbolizes the irresistible power and control of the divine instrument of judgment.

Verse Breakdown

  • "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;": This is the quintessential prophetic oracle formula, serving as an authoritative declaration that the words which follow are not human opinion but a direct, infallible message from the sovereign God. The combination of "Lord" (H136, ʼĂdônây', emphasizing God's absolute mastery and authority) and "GOD" (H3069, Yᵉhôvih', the covenant name YHWH, highlighting His faithfulness to His word and His omnipotence) underscores the gravity, certainty, and divine origin of the message.
  • "Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered,": This clause directly attributes the impending judgment to Judah's own actions. It is not that God forgot their sins and now suddenly recalls them, but rather that their persistent, increasing, and flagrant "iniquity" (moral perversity, guilt, and the punishment due for it) has reached a critical mass. Their sin has actively brought itself to divine attention, demanding a righteous response and necessitating God's intervention.
  • "in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear;": This expands upon the nature and visibility of their remembered sin. Their "transgressions" (H6588, peshaʻ' - rebellious acts, breaches of covenant) are not hidden but "discovered" (H1540, gâlâh' - revealed, uncovered, laid bare). Furthermore, their "sins" (H2403, chaṭṭâʼâh' - missing the mark, moral failure, offense) "do appear" (H7200, râʼâh' - seen, manifest, visible) in "all your doings" (H5949, ʻălîylâh' - actions, deeds, performances). This emphasizes the comprehensive, undeniable, and public nature of their moral corruption; it was evident in every aspect of their national and individual lives, leaving no room for denial, excuse, or self-deception.
  • "because, [I say], that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.": This final clause reiterates the cause and pronounces the inevitable consequence. The repetition of "ye are come to remembrance" (H2142, zâkar') powerfully reinforces that their accumulated sin has triggered God's active, decisive response. The climactic declaration, "ye shall be taken with the hand," is the unyielding pronouncement of judgment. It signifies their unavoidable capture, their delivery into the power of their enemies, symbolizing their complete subjugation, the loss of their autonomy, and the direct execution of divine judgment through God's appointed instrument.

Literary Devices

Ezekiel 21:24 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its urgent and severe message. The most striking is Repetition, particularly the phrase "made your iniquity to be remembered" and "ye are come to remembrance." This reiteration serves to emphatically underscore the central point: Judah's persistent and pervasive sin is the undeniable and active cause of their impending downfall, directly provoking God's decisive judgment. The accumulation of terms for sin—iniquity (ʻâvôn), transgressions (peshaʻ), and sins (chaṭṭâʼâh)—creates a comprehensive and overwhelming picture of moral failure. This technique, known as Synonymia or Accumulation, intensifies the overall message, highlighting the multifaceted and pervasive nature of Judah's rebellion against God. The phrase "in all your doings your sins do appear" utilizes Hyperbole to emphasize the totality and undeniable visibility of their corruption, suggesting that their wickedness was so widespread it permeated every aspect of their existence. Finally, the concluding phrase, "ye shall be taken with the hand," is a powerful Metonymy, where "the hand" represents the power, agency, and instrument of the Babylonian army, serving as God's chosen means of executing judgment. This concise yet vivid imagery powerfully conveys the certainty, forcefulness, and inevitability of their impending capture.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Ezekiel 21:24 profoundly articulates the biblical principle that persistent and unrepentant sin inevitably leads to divine judgment. It unveils God's active memory of human actions, demonstrating that His patience, while vast and merciful, is not infinite. When a people's iniquity becomes pervasive, openly manifest, and deeply ingrained, it reaches a tipping point where God's perfect justice demands a response. This is not a capricious act but a righteous consequence of covenant infidelity, moral decay, and outright rebellion. The verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty, even over the actions of pagan nations and their leaders, using them as instruments to execute His just decrees. It serves as a stark reminder that true security and flourishing lie not in physical defenses, political alliances, or false hopes, but in righteousness, obedience, and faithful adherence to the Lord GOD.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Ezekiel 21:24 serves as a profound and sobering mirror for individuals and communities today. It compels us to confront the uncomfortable reality that sin, especially when unacknowledged, unconfessed, and unrepented, does not simply dissipate or go unnoticed; it accumulates and becomes "remembered" in the divine economy, eventually leading to unavoidable consequences. The pervasiveness of Judah's sin, evident in "all their doings," challenges us to engage in radical self-examination and honestly assess the hidden corners of our own lives, as well as the collective practices and priorities of our societies and churches. Are our transgressions "discovered" and "appearing" through our actions, words, and even our inactions? This verse is a powerful call to genuine, heartfelt repentance and a turning back to God, reminding us that God sees all and that His justice is an inherent and immutable part of His character. It urges us to seek reconciliation with God and to walk in integrity before the weight of our iniquity brings us to a point of unavoidable judgment, recognizing that God's ultimate desire is always for repentance, restoration, and life, not destruction.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what specific ways might my "iniquity" or "transgressions" be "made to be remembered" in God's sight today, even if I perceive them as minor or hidden?
  • How might the "doings" of my daily life or the collective practices of my community reveal "sins" that are openly appearing, despite efforts to rationalize or conceal them?
  • What specific areas of my life or our collective life require immediate and genuine repentance and transformation in light of God's active remembrance of sin and His desire for righteousness?

FAQ

Does God literally "forget" our sins and then "remember" them, as the verse implies?

Answer: No, the biblical concept of God "remembering" (H2142, zâkar') is not about a change in His omniscience or a lapse in His divine memory. Rather, it is an anthropomorphism—a way of describing God's actions in human terms—that signifies an active turning of His attention to something, often leading to a decisive and consequential action. When God "remembering" sin, it means His patient forbearance has reached its limit, and He is now moving to execute judgment or bring about the deserved consequences. Conversely, when He "remembers" His covenant or His people, it means He is acting to fulfill His promises of deliverance, blessing, or restoration. It underscores God's purposeful engagement with human history and His unwavering commitment to justice and righteousness.

Who is "the hand" that will take them?

Answer: "The hand" (H3709, kaph') in this context refers to the instrument of God's judgment, specifically the formidable Babylonian army under King Nebuchadnezzar. Throughout the prophetic books, God frequently uses foreign nations, even pagan ones, as His "rod," "sword," or "servant" to discipline His own people or to execute judgment upon other nations. While Nebuchadnezzar acted according to his own imperial ambitions and strategic calculations, Ezekiel reveals that he was ultimately an unwitting agent in God's sovereign plan to bring about the promised judgment upon Judah for their persistent rebellion, idolatry, and covenant unfaithfulness. This is consistent with other passages where God claims absolute sovereignty over historical events and the actions of kings, as seen in Jeremiah 25:9.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Ezekiel 21:24, with its stark declaration of unavoidable judgment due to remembered iniquity and pervasive sin, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The "hand" of divine judgment that was to "take" Judah for their accumulated wickedness ultimately fell upon the sinless Lamb of God. Humanity's collective iniquity, transgressions, and sins, which continually "appeared" and "came to remembrance" before a holy God, were fully accounted for and dealt with in Christ. On the cross, Jesus bore the full weight of divine remembrance concerning humanity's sin, willingly becoming sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). He allowed Himself to be "taken with the hand" of human authorities and, more profoundly, to experience the full force of divine wrath, not for His own sin, but for ours, thereby satisfying the demands of God's perfect justice. Through His atoning sacrifice, the damning record of our iniquity is not merely forgotten by God, but permanently blotted out, and our sins are remembered no more against us (Hebrews 8:12). Thus, what was a terrifying pronouncement of judgment for Old Testament Judah becomes, through Christ, the very foundation of our hope and salvation, offering a path to reconciliation where sin no longer condemns but is covered by God's abundant grace and mercy (Romans 8:1).

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Commentary on Ezekiel 21 verses 18–27

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

The prophet, in the verses before, had shown them the sword coming; he here shows them that sword coming against them, that they might not flatter themselves that by some means or other it should be diverted a contrary way.

I. He must see and show the Chaldean army coming against Jerusalem and determined by a supreme power so to do. The prophet must appoint him two ways, that is, he must upon a paper draw out two roads (Eze 21:19), as sometimes is done in maps; and he must bring the king of Babylon's army to the place where the roads part, for there they will make a stand. They both come out of the same land; but when they come to the place where one road leads to Rabbath, the head city of the Ammonites, and the other to Jerusalem, he makes a pause; for, though he is resolved to be the ruin of both, yet he is not determined which to attack first; here his politics and his politicians leave him at a loss. The sword must go either to Rabbath or to Judah in Jerusalem. Many of the inhabitants of Judah had now taken shelter in Jerusalem, and all the interests of the country were bound up in the safety of the city, and therefore it is called Judah in Jerusalem the defenced; so strongly fortified was it, both by nature and art, that it was thought impregnable, Lam 4:12. The prophet must describe this dilemma that the king of Babylon is at (Eze 21:21); for the king of Babylon stood (that is, he shall stand considering what course to take) at the head of the two ways. Though he was a prince of great foresight and great resolution, yet, it seems, he knew neither his own interest nor his own mind. Let not the wise man then glory in his wisdom nor the mighty man in his arbitrary power, for even those that may do what they will seldom know what to do for the best. Now observe, 1. The method he took to come to a resolution; he used divination, applied to a higher and invisible power, perhaps to the determination of Providence by a lot, in order to which he made his arrows bright, that were to be drawn for the lots, in honour of the solemnity. Perhaps Jerusalem was written on one arrow and Rabbath on the other, and that which was first drawn out of the quiver he determined to attack first. Or he applied to the direction of some pretended oracle: he consulted with images or teraphim, expecting to receive audible answers from them. Or to the observations which the augurs made upon the entrails of the sacrifices: he looked in the liver, whether the position of that portended good or ill luck. Note, It is a mortification to the pride of the wise men of the earth that in difficult cases they have been glad to make their court to heaven for direction; as it is an instance of their folly that they have taken such ridiculous ways of doing it, when in cases proper for an appeal to Providence it is sufficient that the lot be cast into the lap, with that prayer, Give a perfect lot, and a firm belief that the disposal thereof is not fortuitous, but of the Lord, Pro 16:33. 2. The resolution he was hereby brought to. Even by these sinful practices God served his own purposes and directed him to go to Jerusalem, Eze 21:22. The divination for Jerusalem happened to be at his right hand, which, according to the rules of divination, determined him that way. Note, What services God designs men for he will be sure in his providence to lead them to, though perhaps they themselves are not aware what guidance they are under. Well, Jerusalem being the mark set up, the campaign is presently opened with the siege of that important place. Captains are appointed for the command of the forces to be employed in the siege, who must open the mouth in the slaughter, must give directions to the soldiers what to do and make speeches to animate them. Orders are given to provide every thing necessary for carrying on the siege with vigour; battering rams must be prepared and forts built. O what pains, what cost, are men at to destroy one another!

II. He must show both the people and the prince that they bring this destruction upon themselves by their own sin.

1.The people do so, Eze 21:23, Eze 21:24. They slight the notices that are given them of the judgment coming. Ezekiel's prophecy is to them a false divination; they are not moved or awakened to repentance by it. When they hear that Nebuchadnezzar by his divination is directed to Jerusalem, and assured of success in that enterprise, they laugh at it and continue secure, calling it a false divination; because they have sworn oaths, that is, they have joined in a solemn league with the Egyptians, and they depend upon the promise they have made them to raise the siege, or upon the assurances which the false prophets have given them that it shall be raised. Or it may refer to the oaths of allegiance they had sworn to the king of Babylon, but had violated, for which treachery of theirs God had given them up to a judicial blindness, so that the fairest warnings given them were slighted by them as false divinations. Note, It is not strange if those who make a jest of the most sacred oaths can make a jest likewise of the most sacred oracles; for where will a profane mind stop? But shall their unbelief invalidate the counsel of God? Are they safe because they are secure? By no means; nay, the contempt they put upon divine warnings is a sin that brings to remembrance their other sins, and they may thank themselves if they be now remembered against them. (1.) Their present wickedness is discovered. Now that God is contending with them so perverse and obstinate are they that whatever they offer in their own defence does but add to their offence; they never conducted themselves so ill as they did now that they had the loudest call given them to repent and reform: "So that in all your doings your sins do appear. Turn yourselves which way you will, you show a black side." This is too true of every one of us; for not only there is none that lives and sins not, but there is not a must man upon earth that does good and sins not. Our best services have such allays of weakness, and folly, and imperfection, and so much evil is present with us even when we would do good, that we may say, with sorrow and shame, In all our doings, and in all our sayings too, our sins do appear, and witness against us, so that if we were under the law we were undone. (2.) This brings to mind their former wickedness: "You have made your iniquity to be remembered, not by yourselves that it might be repented of, but by the justice of God that it might be reckoned for. Your own sins make the sins of your fathers to be remembered against you, which otherwise you should never have smarted for." Note, God remembers former iniquities against those only who by the present discoveries of their wickedness show that they do not repent of them. (3.) That they may suffer for all together, they are turned over to the destroyed, that they may be taken (v. 23): "You shall be taken with the hand that God had appointed to seize you and to hold you and out of which you cannot escape." Men are said to be God's hand when they are made use of as the ministers of his justice, Psa 17:14. Note, Those who will not be taken with the word of God's grace shall at last be taken by the hand of his wrath.

2.The prince likewise brings his ruin upon himself. Zedekiah is the prince of Israel, to whom the prophet here, in God's name, addresses himself; and, if he had not spoken in God's name, he would not have spoken so boldly, so bluntly; for is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? (1.) He gives him his character, Eze 21:25. Thou profane and wicked prince of Israel! He was not so bad as some of his predecessors, and yet bad enough to merit his character. He was himself profane, lost to every thing that is virtuous and sacred. And he was wicked, as he promoted sin among his people; he sinned, and made Israel to sin. Note, Profaneness and wickedness are bad in any, but worst of all in a prince, a prince of Israel, who as an Israelite should know better himself, and as a prince should set a better example and have a better influence on those about him. (2.) He reads him his doom. His iniquity has an end; the measure of it is full, and therefore his day has come, the day of his punishment, the day of divine vengeance. Note, Though those who are wicked and profane may flourish awhile, yet their day will come to fall. The sentence here passed is, [1.] That Zedekiah shall be deposed. He has forfeited his crown, and he shall no longer wear it; he has by his profaneness profaned his crown, and it shall be cast to the ground (Eze 21:26): Remove the diadem. Crowns and diadems are losable things; it is only in the other world that there is a crown of glory that fades not away, a kingdom that cannot be moved. The Chaldee paraphrase expounds it thus: Take away the diadem from Seraiah the chief priest, and I will take away the crown from Zedekiah the king; neither this nor that shall abide in his place, but shall be removed. This shall not be the same, not the same that he has been; this not this (so the word is); profane and wicked perhaps he is as he has been. Note, Men lose their dignity by their iniquity. Their profaneness and wickedness remove their diadem, and take off their crown, and make them the reverse of what they were. [2.] That great confusion and disorder in the state shall follow hereupon. Every thing shall be turned upside down. The conqueror shall take a pride in exalting him that is low and abasing him that is high, preferring some and degrading others, at his pleasure, without any regard either to right or merit. [3.] Attempts to re-establish the government shall be blasted and come to nothing, Gedaliah's particularly, and Ishmael's who was of the seed-royal (to which the Chaldee paraphrase refers this); neither of them shall be able to make any thing of it. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, first one project and then another; for who can build up what God will throw down? [4.] This monarchy shall never be restored till it is fixed for perpetuity in the hands of the Messiah. There shall be no more kings of the house of David after Zedekiah, till Christ comes, whose right the kingdom is, who is that seed of David in whom the promise was to have its full accomplishment, and I will give it to him. He shall have the throne of his father David, Luk 1:32. Immediately before the coming of Christ there was a long eclipse of the royal dignity, as there was also a failing of the spirit of prophecy, that his shining forth in the fulness of time both as king and prophet might appear the more illustrious. Note, Christ has an incontestable title to the dominion and sovereignty both in the church and in the world; the kingdom is his right. And, having the right, he shall in due time have the possession: I will give it to him; and there shall be a general overturning of all rather than he shall come short of his right, and a certain overturning of all the opposition that stands in his way to make room for him, Dan 2:45; Co1 15:25. This is mentioned here for the comfort of those who feared that the promise made in David would fail for evermore. "No," says God, "that promise is sure, for the Messiah's kingdom shall last for ever."

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 18–27. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 35, 36, and following) And I will bring you into a desert of peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. Just as I contended with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, says the Lord. And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, and I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked: from their place of residence I will bring them out, and they will not enter the land of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord: I will do for you who are in Babylon, and now serve idols, what I did for your ancestors in Egypt. I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face, just as I contended with them in judgment when they came out of Egypt. And after I have judged you, I will subject you to my scepter and rule, and I will make a covenant with you and bring you into your land with the bonds of love, so that bound by my love, you will never be able to depart from me. But I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked, who persist in the hardness of their hearts in evil deeds, not for possession, but for rejection. And I will indeed bring them out of the land of their dwelling, so that when they are brought out, they will not enter the land of Israel; but they will perish in various regions. And by the distinction between good and evil, you shall know that I am the Lord, who judges all things. The rest of the discourse hastens, and we briefly go through each point, in order to provide only the meaning to the readers.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Ver. 23, 24 onwards) Again, I raised my hand against them in the wilderness, to scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the lands, because they had not performed my judgments, and had rejected my commandments, and had violated my Sabbaths, and their eyes had been after the idols (or thoughts) of their fathers. Therefore, I also gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they would not live, and I defiled them in their offerings (or transgressions), as they offered (or led astray) everything that opens the womb because of their sins (for which the Septuagint translated, to destroy them and what they had overlooked): and they will know that I am the Lord. Where in the Old Testament, against their children, who fell in the wilderness, the Lord lifted up His hand to scatter them among the nations, Scripture does not say; but it is to be believed that this was done in accordance with what is reported here. Or he signifies by this, that after they entered the promised land, they were given over at various times, for many sins, to different nations and kings, and at that time the commandments of the Lord, which were good according to their nature, and the judgments by which believers could live, were made not good for them, since they were in no way able to keep the precepts of the law in captivity, and to do what the divine word commanded. He did not say, 'I gave them evil commandments,' but, 'not good commandments.' For it does not immediately follow that what is not good is evil, as the Apostle teaches, it is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of incontinence, let each possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (I Cor. VII). And if he does not do this, it is neither good nor evil. Therefore, God gave them, dispersed among the nations, not good commandments, that is, he allowed them to follow their own thoughts and desires, to do what is not appropriate. And he defiled them in his gifts: just as a Priest separates lepers from the people, and shows that they are defiled; while they offer to idols what they should offer to God. And they pass everything that opens the womb through the fire of Baal, that is, the firstborn; so that after they have deserted God and been handed over to the worship of idols, then they may understand that He is the Lord whom they have provoked to anger by their own fault. Symmachus interpreted this passage more explicitly, treating the future as past. Therefore, I will also give them bad precepts and judgments for which they will not live, and I will defile them because of their gifts, as they consecrate and offer everything that opens the womb, so that I may destroy them, and they will know that I am the Lord. And the meaning is this: because I have seen the sons of the fathers equaling the wickedness of their ancestors and doing the same things for which they offended God, I wanted to divide them into nations and disperse them throughout the whole world, and give them bad precepts and judgments in which they would not live, so that I may defile them with their gifts, for they consecrated everything that opens the womb to idols, and I may destroy them forever, and they will know that I am the Lord. Through which he showed that he had not given them good commandments who dwelt in the wilderness, but to those whom he wanted to scatter among the nations, and to make foreigners in the whole world, he gave them a desire for things that he did not give: so that there they would do good commandments of God, not good because of their own fault, while they exhibited to idols what God had commanded to be exhibited. This can also be said, that before the offense, they received only the Ten Commandments; but after idolatry and blasphemy, they received multiple ceremonies of the law, so that they would offer victims to God rather than to demons, and by comparison with sacrilege, what was not good in itself became lighter, and by no means evil, because it was offered to God, and yet not good, because they offended the author of good.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 18 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, set before yourself two ways, and let the sword of the king of Babylon come. From one land they will both go out, and by hand he will take a decision: he will cast lots at the head of the city's road. You shall set a road, so that the sword may come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah, and to Jerusalem, the fortified. For the king of Babylon stood at the crossroads, at the head of the two roads, seeking divination, mixing arrows. He questioned the idols, consulted the entrails. To his right, a divination was made concerning Jerusalem, to set up battering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to raise the voice in lamentation, to set up battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, to build fortifications. And it will be as if he is consulting in vain their oracle, imitating the rest of the sabbath, but he himself will remember the iniquity in order to capture it. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your iniquities to memory and have revealed your transgressions, and your sins have appeared in all your thoughts; because of this, I say, you will be taken captive by the hand. I know that in this place, according to the Septuagint interpreters, I have read the diverse exposition of a certain law, Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, referring to the Gentile people. But to Judah and Jerusalem, to those who gather under the name of Christ, and to those who give dignity to his name, the king of confusion, the devil, stands at the head of every road and lies in wait in secret. And he fulfills that verse: 'They have placed a stumbling block in my path' (Ps. 139). And he stands at the crossroads, desiring to hold onto those who are his, or to acquire new servitude for himself. And he always goes to the right, namely, to those who are situated on the right side, in order to conquer them, to exult in their destruction, to take miserable Jerusalem by force and by the gathering of earthly works. And first of all, so that it seems that he is doing nothing, and striving in vain. But by recalling their iniquities, those who dwell in the Church, indeed even bring to mind the opposing powers with their evil works, they bring to light all the sins of the people and their thoughts, and for this reason they are captured, because they have heaped up old crimes with new ones. Another person may have said this: the truth of the history begun by us must be pursued. When, he said, the divine word had spoken to me: Prophesy, son of man, and speak to the sword and say: Sword, sword, and the rest that the prophecy of the sword contains; a second time the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Do you want, son of man, to know who this sword is, and to learn more clearly the person of the raging sword? Listen to what I say: set up two roads, so that through them the sword of the king of Babylon may come, who will indeed go by one route of the Chaldeans, but when he comes through the desert and wilderness to the crossroads of the land of Arabia, which is called the sons of Ammon, one road leads to Jerusalem on the right side, but the left leads to Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, which is the capital city and is now called Philadelphia: remember, he says, the annihilation that happened to the Assyrian king when 185,000 were killed in one night, he will fear to turn to the right and go against the heavily fortified Jerusalem; but he will stand at that junction, and according to the customs of his people, he will consult the oracle, to send his arrows into the quiver, and mix them, or label them with the names of each, to see whose arrow comes out, and which city he should besiege first. Now the Greeks call this kind of divination belomancy, or rhabdomancy. Therefore, he consulted the idols and examined the entrails. The divination pointed to his right, indicating that he should march against Jerusalem, besiege it, build ramparts, set up battering rams, construct fortifications, surround the city, open his mouth for slaughter, and stir up the roaring and howling of his exultant army. By doing this, he said, he would appear to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to consult an oracle in vain and, like someone spending his time on Sabbath leisure, to engage in play and accomplish nothing. But the king of Babylon, not relying on his own strength, but on the wickedness of the people, which he knows has offended God, and has added sins of the fathers to new offenses, and all their transgressions have been revealed; and for this reason he will not hesitate in victory, because he trusts in the wickedness of Jerusalem. These things, according to the Hebrew, from which the Septuagint diverge in many places not so much in meaning as in words.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 27, 29 onwards) Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: Moreover, your fathers have blasphemed against me and have treated me with contempt, even as they spurned me. And I brought them into the land that I had lifted my hand to give them ((Vulgate adds: that land)): they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices and presented there the irritation of their offerings, and they placed there the fragrance of their sweetness, and they poured out their ((Vulgate is silent on this)) libations there. And I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you are going?' And its name was called the High Place until this day. Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: As for your fathers, they have provoked Me to anger by their iniquities, by the fact that they have fallen away from Me. So I brought them into the land that I had lifted My hand in an oath to give them.' They saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. They also presented there the provocation of their gifts, and they set there their pleasing aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings. And I said to them: What is abbana, because you enter there? And they called its name abbana until this day. I wanted, he said, to scatter them in the wilderness, and to give them not good precepts, so that they would sacrifice to idols what they should have offered to me, and consecrate all their first-fruits to them by fire, so that I might kill them and destroy them. But when he says, I wanted, he shows that he did not do what he wanted. And that which follows: 'And they shall know that I am the Lord,' is not found in the Septuagint. For it did not seem fitting to them to know after their destruction that he himself is the Lord. But you, son of man, speak again to them, that is, to the elders of the house of Israel, who have come to inquire of you: Your fathers, from whom you have descended, have also blasphemed against me and held me in contempt; after I brought them into the land which I had given them to possess, they turned against me to provoke me. For when they saw every high hill and leafy tree, they would sacrifice on the mountains and in the groves and thickets, and offer victims to the idols, and pour out libations. And when I saw this, I said to them: What is this, Bama? for it is called high: or why do you enter into such a place which you have chosen for yourselves in all the hills, so that even today these places are called Bamoth, and the ancient error retains its original name? Regarding Bama, which we translate as excelsum, there is an error in the Septuagint edition, where it is written as ἀββανὰ, which does not resonate in the Hebrew language. Bama can mean 'in which' if the two syllables are divided into two words, but in the present context, that sense does not fit. However, wherever it is written in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: 'The people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places,' Bama in the singular and Bamoth in the plural mean 'high places.'
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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