“Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.” ’
“Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into exile, into captivity.
“ ‘The prince who is among them will bear on his shoulder in the dark, and will go out. They will dig through the wall to carry things out that way. He will cover his face, because he will not see the land with his eyes. I will also spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there. I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his bands. I will draw out the sword after them.
“ ‘They will know that I am Yahweh when I disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries. But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv12–16 We have said that two things were shown, both…
We have said that two things were shown, both the people’s exile and their clandestine flight: the Prophet now speaks again about this trembling. He says therefore, that not only the vulgar and the dregs of the people would be so anxious that they would endeavor to escape secretly and carry their own baggage; but the prince himself, that is, their king would be subject to such ignominy: the prince himself, says he, shall carry on his shoulder. Many followed him, as we have seen, and at length he was seized with a great company, as the Prophet will shortly subjoin, and being’ caught in the desert of Jericho, he was dragged by the enemy before their king: but here mention is made of the king alone, because it was almost incredible that the enemy could not be reconciled. For surrender often appeases even the most hostile enemies; it often preserves kings, although an extended carnage may take place; and we know that kings are often preserved on account of their dignity, after they have been led in triumph. What therefore the Prophet pronounces concerning king Zedekiah does not imply any escape of the multitude from similar punishment: but because the king himself, together with his subjects in general, would be compelled to escape by stealth, and would be sure to fall into the hands of the enemy.
Next, the prince who is in the midst of them Here the words, the midst of them, are taken in a different sense from that in which the Israelites were lately said to be in the midst of the people who inhabited Jerusalem, because they had been mixed with the Jews from the time when they had dwelt within their territories. But he says their prince was in the midst in another sense, because in truth the eyes of all were turned towards him, as if when a standard is erected, it is beheld by all, and retains the whole multitude in their ranks, so also the king was in the midst, that the people might not disperse, for a miserable dispersion follows when the head is taken away. But the intention of the Holy Spirit must be observed. For the Jews, as we have formerly seen, were hardened in their wickedness by the false pretense that God would always maintain his dwelling among them. For it had been said of the throne of David, that it should stand as long as the sun and moon should shine in the heavens. (Psalm 89:36, 37.) And hence Jeremiah’s lamentable complaint: the Christ, or anointed of God, in whose breath our life consisted. (Lamentations 4:20.) The Prophet does not speak there after the usual mode, and obtrusively remind God of his promise, as hypocrites do, but he has respect to God’s counsel. For David, since he was a type of Christ, was truly the soul of the people, even among the Gentiles, as he is there reckoned to be. For they not only looked to their king for safety while included within the city walls, but although dispersed among the nations, they still hoped to be safe under their monarch’s shadow. But their confidence was perverse, since they had impiously departed from the true worship of God. Hence the Prophet, to deprive them of that vain source of pride and boasting, says, now their king was in the midst of them: but it would not always be so, for God would drive him out, and even compel him to fly into secret hiding-places.
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He afterwards adds, he shall hide his face, that he shall not see the ground with his eyes This also was accomplished, the sacred history narrates. For Zedekiah escaped through the gardens by subterraneous passages: he thought the enemy would be ignorant of his flight, but he was seized. (2 Kings 25:4, 5; and Jeremiah 39:4, 5.) We see, then, the meaning of this concealment of his face or countenance, namely, because Zedekiah distrusted any he might meet. But this was very bitter, and also base and disgraceful, for a king so to conceal himself, and not to dare to look upon the ground with his eyes. And now something far more disastrous follows.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 16 Or, prophecy.
Or, prophecy.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–16 Eze 12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the…
Eze 12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden [concerneth] the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that [are] among them.
Ver. 10. This burden concerneth the princes in Jerusalem.] There is an elegance in the original. Princes who overburden their people shall one day have their back burden of miseries. Potentes potenter torquebuntur.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–16 Though they regard not to inquire, yet give them…
Though they regard not to inquire, yet give them to know what I mean hereby.
Thus saith the Lord God: this to add weight and authority to the word.
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This burden; this dreadful prognostic; this prophecy is a burden which the kingdom shall groan under, and your king and the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him.
The prince; Zedekiah.
All the house; none may be excepted.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–16 And the prince that is among them,.... Zedekiah their…
And the prince that is among them,.... Zedekiah their king that reigned over them, in whom they trusted, and under whose government they thought themselves safe and secure:
shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth; out of Jerusalem, where his palace and throne were, leaving the main of his riches behind him; only should carry away what he could on his shoulder, a bundle of his most valuable effects, or provisions for his flight: or, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think, his clothes, for lighter march, and more speedy haste:
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they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby; it seems by this, that when the king, and his nobles and servants, made their escape, they not only went forth between two walls, but broke through one, in order to get away; which was done, not by the king himself, but by his servants; so the Targum,
"in a wall shall they dig to bring him out by it;''
and therefore the number is changed, not "he", but "they, shall dig", &c. though in the following words the singular is again used:
he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes; either through shame at leaving the city, his palace, and all his grandeur. The Targum is,
"he shall cover his face because he hath sinned:''
or that he might not be known and be discovered who he was; and so it was through fear of being betrayed by a false friend, or taken by the enemy: or else this may respect his having his eyes put out at Riblah, so that he could not see with them the land he was carried into; though it rather seems to refer to his first escape out of Jerusalem with a mask or vizor on him, which might hinder his seeing the ground he went upon; and which, in his fright, he could not attend to, looking out here and there, not being able to keep his eye long upon any place. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it, "that he may not be seen with the eye, and he shall not see the land".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 16 Say - Though they inquire not, yet tell them…
Say - Though they inquire not, yet tell them what I mean hereby, that this prophecy is a burden which the kingdom shall groan under. The prince - Zedekiah.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10, 13 Verse 10. This burden] This prediction concerning the prince.…
Verse 10. This burden] This prediction concerning the prince. By this I point out the capture, misery, and ruin of Zedekiah.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 16 Burden - A word used to indicate a prediction…
Burden - A word used to indicate a prediction of woe to be borne by some individual or people (Isa 13:1 note). Ezekiel, bearing his “stuff” on his shoulder was a sign of the weight of calamity coming upon king and people.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 14 Jerusalem. The people regarded not Jeremias. This prediction would…
Jerusalem. The people regarded not Jeremias. This prediction would be sent to them to confirm what he said, while it would tend to keep up the spirits of those who were in captivity. (Theodoret) (Calmet) --- Israel. The people, or those of the ten tribes who had retired thither. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 burden--that is, weighty oracle.
burden--that is, weighty oracle.
the prince--The very man Zedekiah, in whom they trust for safety, is to be the chief sufferer. JOSEPHUS [Antiquities, 10.7] reports that Ezekiel sent a copy of this prophecy to Zedekiah. As Jeremiah had sent a letter to the captives at the Chebar, which was the means of calling forth at first the agency of Ezekiel, so it was natural for Ezekiel to send a message to Jerusalem confirming the warnings of Jeremiah. The prince, however, fancying a contradiction between Eze 12:13; "he shall not see Babylon," and Jer 24:8-9, declaring he should be carried to Babylon, believed neither. Seeming discrepancies in Scripture on deeper search prove to be hidden harmonies.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 10. This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem —…
10. This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem — This is a very difficult phrase. Jeremiah had already used the word “burden” for a heavy and fear-inciting utterance of Jehovah (Jer_23:33), and this may be the meaning here. Or does it mean that this bearing, or leading, has reference to the prince (Eze_12:12), David’s son? This reference to the prince must have been very dangerous to the popularity of the prophet.
Reverence for the king, “the son of David,” the “anointed of Jehovah,” was highly developed in Israel. The religion and Messianic hope of everlasting dominion seemed bound up with the Davidic dynasty. But Ezekiel, except in one doubtful passage, never calls Zedekiah king. He considered the glory of the state as well as of the temple to have departed. This so-called king is but a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar, and deserves no kingly dignity or allegiance (Skinner). He, as well as the priests and the captains, is involved in the universal guilt and must meet the penalty.
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And all the house of Israel that are among them — R.V., “all the house of Israel, among whom they are,” or, all the house of Israel which is in the midst of it (Kautzsch, Davidson).
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–14 10, 11. The general meaning of these verses is…
10, 11. The general meaning of these verses is clear enough—the prophet’s action is a representation of what shall happen in Jerusalem in the case of prince and people, but Eze_12:10 is very obscure, and probably not in its original form.
This burden concerneth the prince] lit. the prince (is) this burden in Jerusalem. The term “burden” has also the sense of “oracle,” but Ez. does not use it in this sense and there is no reason to find any play upon the word as Jer_23:33. The allusion can only be to the last words of Eze_12:7—I bare it upon my shoulder; and the meaning would be: this bearing or loading has reference to the prince (Eze_12:12). With this sense the following words must run: and all the house of Israel which are in the midst of it (Jerusalem—with a change of one letter). The objection to this that if the relative were subject the pronoun would not be expressed after it (Hitz., Keil) is worthless. But there are other objections more valid: “all the house of Israel” could hardly be used of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the phrase usually refers to the larger Israel, existing in all places. R.V. “this burden concerneth the prince … and all the house of Israel among whom they are;” but concerneth is said of the “prince” and of “all the house of Israel” in different senses. Notwithstanding the objections to it the easiest course is to read: in the midst of it (Jerusalem) as above. Corn. omits the verse as a gloss.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 (10) All the house of Israel.—The burden (or message…
(10) All the house of Israel.—The burden (or message of woe) was directed immediately to the king and his princes, but the people were also necessarily involved. Israel is here, as elsewhere, used. for the then existing nation, which was considered as representing the whole, although composed chiefly of the tribe of Judah.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–14 Vers. 10, 11. This burden concerneth the prince in…
Vers. 10, 11. This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem; literally, the prince is this burden in Jerusalem. The word "burden," in the sense of "prophecy," so common in Isaiah and Jeremiah and other prophets, as Hosea (Hos_8:10) and Nahum, (Nah_1:1) is used by Ezekiel here only. Possibly he on the whole avoided it, as having fallen into discredit through its constant use by the false prophets, (Jer_23:33-38) and preferred the formula of "the word of Jehovah." As interpreted by Jer_39:4 and 2Ki_25:4, the "prince" is Zedekiah. Possibly Ezekiel avoided the title "king," as seeing in him one who was a ruler de facto, but not a king de jure. The facts related in Jer_39:4 exactly correspond with the symbolic act. Zedekiah and his men of war escape from the city by night, "by the way of the king"s garden, by the gate between the two walls," probably enough with faces covered, as David"s was in his flight, (2Sa_15:30) to avoid detection, or as a sign of mourning, and through some freshly made exit from the palace. The further significance of the covered face is found in the fact that Zedekiah was blinded at Riblah by Nebuchadnezzar"s orders, and from that time could not see the ground on which he trod. Those who see in every Old Testament prediction nothing but a prophecy ex eventu infer from this that this section of Ezekiel was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. I do not take that view, and place it in close connection with the preceding chapters. We note in ver. 11 the peculiar phrase," I am your sign." Ezekiel, in what he does in the presence of the exiles, is figuring that which, before long, will come to pass in Jerusalem. They were to go forth into captivity as he had gone. For they shall remove, the Revised. Version gives, they shall go into exile.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v10 See note 1, (See Scofield "Isa 13:1").
burden
See note 1, (See Scofield "Isa 13:1").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 14 I am a sign to you
I am a sign to you
Here the word "sign" refers to something that communicates a special warning to those who see it. Ezekiel speaks of himself and his actions as being this warning. AT: "I am a warning to you" (See: Metaphor)
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so it will be done to them
The word "them" refers to the people living in Jerusalem. This can be stated in active form. AT: "so others will do to them" (See: Active or Passive)
in the dark
"at night"
They will dig through the wall
The word "They" refers to the people living in Jerusalem.
He will cover his face
"The prince will cover his face"
I will spread out my net over him and he will be caught in my snare
Yahweh speaks of enabling the Chaldeans to capture the prince as if he himself were catching the prince in a trap that he had set. (See: Metaphor)
I will bring him to Babylon
Yahweh speaks of enabling the Chaldeans to bring the prince to Babylon as if he himself were bringing the prince there. AT: "I will cause the Chaldeans to bring him to Babylon" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
sign
exile
captive
prince
darkness
Babylon
Chaldea
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 16 12:12-13 King Zedekiah was unable to see the coming…
12:12-13 King Zedekiah was unable to see the coming judgment, so he would be unable to see either the land he is leaving or the land of the Babylonians. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Babylonians captured Zedekiah as he fled from besieged Jerusalem. After making him watch while his sons were tortured to death, the Babylonians gouged out his eyes (2 Kgs 25:1-7). This terrible fate for Judah’s last king was not simply due to the Babylonians’ imperial expansionist ambitions. More fundamentally, the Lord wanted to capture him in his snare.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.