You have not gone up into the gaps or built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in Yahweh’s day.
Parallel Translations
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You have not gone up into the gaps or built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in Yahweh’s day.
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Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
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Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
Cross-references (36)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 13:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 22:30 “I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
- Psalms 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
- Isaiah 58:12 Those who will be of you will build the old waste places. You will raise up the foundations of many generations. You will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for Yahweh’s day is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of Yahweh comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it.
- Jeremiah 23:22 But if they had stood in my council, then they would have caused my people to hear my words, and would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
- Jeremiah 27:18 But if they are prophets, and if Yahweh’s word is with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Armies, that the vessels which are left in Yahweh’s house, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don’t go to Babylon.
- Lamentations 2:13-14 What shall I testify to you? What shall I liken to you, daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare to you, that I may comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as big as the sea. Who can heal you? Your prophets have seen false and foolish visions for you. They have not uncovered your iniquity, to reverse your captivity, but have seen for you false revelations and causes of banishment.
- Ezekiel 7:19 They will cast their silver in the streets, and their gold will be as an unclean thing. Their silver and their gold won’t be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath. They won’t satisfy their souls or fill their bellies; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.
- Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, even Yahweh’s day is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
- Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh comes, for it is close at hand:
- Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
- Amos 5:18-20 “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light. As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him. Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
- Zephaniah 1:14-18 The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
- Zephaniah 2:2-3 before the appointed time when the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh comes on you, before the day of Yahweh’s anger comes on you. Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the land, who have kept his ordinances. Seek righteousness. Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of Yahweh’s anger.
- Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Ephesians 6:13-14 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
- 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
- Revelation 6:17 for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
- Revelation 16:14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.
- Revelation 20:8-9 and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them.
- Exodus 17:9-13 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset. Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
- Exodus 32:11-12 Moses begged Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth?’ Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil against your people.
- Numbers 16:21-22 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
- Numbers 16:47-48 Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
- 1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
- Job 40:9 Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
- Psalms 76:7 You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
- Isaiah 2:12 For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and arrogant, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
- Isaiah 27:4 Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together.
- Isaiah 34:8 For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- Jeremiah 15:1 Then Yahweh said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not turn toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go out!
- Malachi 1:9 “Now, please entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With this, will he accept any of you?” says Yahweh of Armies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Hence he pursues the same sentiment, but presses the…
Hence he pursues the same sentiment, but presses the false prophets harder. He has said generally that they were sacrilegious, making a false use of God’s name when speaking entirely in their own. He now separates them by another mark from the approved and faithful servants of God, namely, they had not gone up into the breach, nor built up a hedge to protect the house of Israel, that they might stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah. This verse is variously explained: some refer what is here said to prayer; others twist it according to different imaginations, but I restrict it to their teaching. Ezekiel not only blames their inner and hidden perfidy, he not only strikes their minds, so as to convince them that they had no desire for piety, and no zeal for God’s glory, but he shows that their teaching must be altogether rejected, because they did not propose to themselves the right object. But what is the mark at which all God’s servants thought to aim? Surely to consult the public safety; and when they see signs of God’s wrath, to meet them, and prevent the urgent calamity. These impostors saw the people not only impious, but rebellious, so that there was no hope of their repentance. On the other hand, they saw God threatening; and although they were blind, yet they could behold the signs of God’s reproaching vengeance. Hence it was their duty to go up to the breaches. Hence, also, we understand what the Prophet means by “breaches,” namely, as an approach is open to an enemy to storm a city when a breach is made in the wall, so also, when the iniquity of the people overflows like a deluge, a rupture is already made, by means of which God’s wrath is able to penetrate immediately, and to lay everything waste till it is reduced to nothing.
As often, then, as we see God offended by the people’s wickedness, let us learn that a breach has been made, as if we had been destined to destruction. Hence those who desire to discharge the office of teaching faithfully ought to hasten to the breach, to recall the people from their impiety, and to exhort them to repentance. Thus the wall becomes restored, because God is appeased, and we are able to rest in quietness and security. What follows has the same object — they have not restored the hedge. For when a people breaks through all rights, and violates God’s law, it is just as if they laid themselves bare in every part from the protection of God, as Moses reproves them when speaking of the molten calf: Behold, says he, this day you are naked; that is, because they had hurled themselves into destruction. (Exodus 32:25.) So the Prophet says that these traitors did not run up to restore the hedge when the house of Israel was exposed to robbers, thieves, and wild beasts, because it was no longer protected by the hand of God. What follows has the same object, that they should stand in the battle in the day of the Lord; that is, to oppose themselves to God’s vengeance. This relates to prayers, when mention is made of Phinehas, in Psalm 106:30, and also in the same psalm, Psalm 106:23, where it is said of Moses, Unless Moses had stood in the breach to turn away God’s wrath. Here also, as I have said, the Prophet looks rather to doctrine. For here he sharply rebukes the folly of false prophets who had promised wonderful things. Now, when God approached in earnest, all their prophecies vanished: he says, therefore, they stood not in the battle in the day of Jehovah; for, if they had diligently exhorted the people to repentance, those sinners had reconciled God to themselves: for we turn aside his judgment beforehand when we turn to him in time, as Paul teaches. (1 Corinthians 11:31.) If, therefore, the people had been thus diligently advised, they had stood in the battle; that is, their teaching would have been a bulwark against the breaking out of God’s wrath to destroy them utterly. Now, therefore, we see the meaning of Ezekiel, namely, to show how the fallacies of the false prophets could be perceived, since by their blandishments and flatteries they destroyed the people,. Now it 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 He speaketh to the governors, and true ministers that…
He speaketh to the governors, and true ministers that should have resisted them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the…
Eze 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
Ver. 5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps.] Reclaimed the people from their impieties, those inlets of plagues, nor interceded for them by your prayers to God to turn away wrath, but hastened it. Ye have built indeed a wall, and daubed it with mortar, but such as is untempered, {Eze 13:10} arena sine calce, like ill architects.
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Neither made up the hedge.] To keep foxes out of God’s vineyard; it is even opentide.
To stand in the battle.] As David’s three worthies did in the barley field and delivered it. {1Ch 11:14} Or as Marulla the maid of Lemnos, who, like a fierce amazon, desperately fought with the Turks in defence of her country, Coccinum, a city in that island, and kept them out till more company came to her relief, moved with the alarm. {a}
{a} Turkish History, 417.
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 Ye, vulpine prophets. As in a besieged city whose…
Ye, vulpine prophets. As in a besieged city whose wall is broken down and the enemy ready to enter, a valiant, faithful, and vigilant soldier would run up into the breach to repel the enemy; so true prophets do partly by prayer, and partly by doctrine, and partly by personal reformation, labour to preserve God’s people. But, fox-like, they have shifted out of harm’s way.
Neither made up the hedge: the house of Israel is the Lord’s vineyard, through the hedge whereof many breaches are made, through which wild and wasting beasts come in and devour the grapes, and spoil the vines; but you have not stopped those breaches, but, fox-like, come in and pulled off the tender grapes, and done the most mischief; you have increased sin and danger thereby. And when the Lord’s wrath shall give up the city, you will not stand to oppose the enemy breaking in; so useless will these be at last.
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To stand; not with arms, but with fasting, prayers, repentance, laying hold on the arm of the Lord, and interceding for his people.
In the battle, which God will by the Chaldeans fight against the house of Israel. In that day of the Lord the weapons of war will not prevail against the Chaldeans, unless prayers, tears, and amendment prevail with the Lord to withdraw the battle, and be at peace with Israel.
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 Have ye not seen a vain vision,.... A vision…
Have ye not seen a vain vision,.... A vision only in pretence, and not in reality; the effect of their own fancy, and not anything shown them by the Lord:
and have ye not spoken a lying divination; delivered out a known lie, saying they had it from the Lord, when they had it not; or a prophecy that will deceive, and be without effect, and in the issue prove a falsehood:
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whereas ye say, the Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? this is a proof that what they gave out for a vision and prophecy was a vain and false one; seeing they pretended they had it from the Lord, when he never spoke a word to them, or by them.
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 Ye - Vain prophets. Gone up - As in…
Ye - Vain prophets. Gone up - As in a besieged city, whose wall is broken down, a valiant soldier would run up into the breach to repel the enemy; so true prophets partly by prayer, and partly by doctrine, labour to preserve God's people. Hedge - The house of Israel is the Lord's vineyard, through the hedge whereof many breaches are made. To stand - Not with arms, but with fasting, prayer, and repentance.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. Ye have not gone up into the…
Verse 5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps] Far from opposing sinners, who are bringing down the wrath of God upon the place, you prevent their repentance by your flattering promises and false predictions. Ye have neither by prayers, example, nor advice, contributed any thing for the preservation of the place, or the salvation of the people's souls.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Eze 13:5. Ye have not gone up into the…
Eze 13:5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps — Or stood in the gap, or breach, as it is expressed Eze 22:30; Psa 106:23. Ye have not exercised your prophetical office, and framed your own conduct, so as to stop the wrath of Jehovah, by admonitions and exhortations to the people, and by personal piety and prayer to God. The place alludes to the intercession which Moses made for the Israelites, whereby he withheld God’s hand, as it were, when it was just stretched out to take vengeance upon the people for their heinous sin in making the golden calf, Exo 32:10-11. The phrase is taken from those who put a stop to the enemy, when he is just entering in at a breach. In like manner it was the office and duty of those prophets, if they had truly been what they pretended to be, by their endeavours to reform the people, and their intercessions with God, to avert his displeasure, and prevent the vengeance which was just ready to be poured out on a sinful people. Neither made up the hedge — The Vulgate renders it, neque opposuistis murum pro domo Israel, nor made up a wall for the house of Israel; another expression taken from people besieged in a city, who, if a breach be made in the wall, presently make it up, or build up a new one within it, to prevent the enemy from entering and becoming masters of the place. To stand in the battle in the day of the Lord — When God shall come, like a general at the head of his army, to execute his judgment upon his enemies.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For - Or, before. In a time of siege…
For - Or, before. In a time of siege when there are gaps or breaches in the walls, it is the part of the leaders to go up to defend them, and to throw up works to stop the in-road of the enemy. Yahweh is now assailing His people as an enemy (compare Isa 63:10; Job 16:11-13), and where are those who claim to be prophets, leaders of the 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 Enemy. You do not admonish sinners of their evil…
Enemy. You do not admonish sinners of their evil ways, nor strive to avert God’s indignation, in imitation of true prophets, (Exodus xxxii. 10.) but rather undermine the wall like foxes.
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 not gone up into . . . gaps--metaphor from…
not gone up into . . . gaps--metaphor from breaches made in a wall, to which the defenders ought to betake themselves in order to repel the entrance of the foe. The breach is that made in the theocracy through the nation's sin; and, unless it be made up, the vengeance of God will break in through it. Those who would advise the people to repentance are the restorers of the breach (Eze 22:30; Psa 106:23, Psa 106:30).
hedge--the law of God (Psa 80:12; Isa 5:2, Isa 5:5); by violating it, the people stripped themselves of the fence of God's protection and lay exposed to the foe. The false prophets did not try to repair the evil by bringing back the people to the law with good counsels, or by checking the bad with reproofs. These two duties answer to the double office of defenders in case of a breach made in a wall: (1) To repair the breach from within; (2) To oppose the foe from without.
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to stand--that is, that the city may "stand."
in . . . day of . . . Lord--In the day of the battle which God wages against Israel for their sins, ye do not try to stay God's vengeance by prayers, and by leading the nation to repentance.
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 5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps,…
5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for — These false prophets, whom Ezekiel now addresses, do not protect or construct; they only succeed in tearing down. They cannot repair the gap (breach) nor build such a hedge for (before) the house of Israel as will save them in the day of battle (Isa_5:5; Isa_58:12). They never have done this, notwithstanding their patriotic pretensions; they never can do it. (See Eze_22:30.)
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 5. gone up into the gaps] Or, breaches. Ezekiel…
5. gone up into the gaps] Or, breaches. Ezekiel turning to the prophets themselves uses “ye”—a frequent change of person in animated speech.
made up the hedge] Or, fence, R.V. If they had been true prophets they would have done two things: stood in the breach, and made a wall of defence for Israel. Without figure: these prophets knew neither what measures to adopt to stop the way of the invading dangers, nor what protective methods to recommend that the state might be successfully defended. They are hardly charged with want of personal courage when it is said they go not up into the breach; rather they wanted wisdom and insight, they had no measures to suggest which would repair or protect the fortunes of the people. Another prophet with more pathos describes the incompetence of Israel’s leaders in the day of her distress: “there was none to guide her among all the sons which she had brought forth; neither was there any to take her by the hand of all the sons that she had brought up” (Isa_51:18). No doubt the one measure to adopt was repentance and trust in the Lord; Amo_5:14, “Seek good, and not evil … and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye say.”
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 (5) Ye have not gone up into the gaps.—The…
(5) Ye have not gone up into the gaps.—The change of person is frequent enough in prophecy, and especially common in Ezekiel. It is changed back in Eze_13:6, and changed again in Eze_13:7. The gaps refer to the breaches in the wall made by the enemy, which became the rallying point of every brave leader (see Eze_22:30), and the following words express essentially the same thought. The word “hedge” should rather be translated wall—“neither have ye built up the wall.” The false prophets, like the hireling shepherds of Joh_10:12, were only selfish, and had no care for the flock. The whole language is figurative, the breaches in the material walls representing the moral decay of the people.
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 The verse contains two distinct images. There were breaches…
The verse contains two distinct images. There were breaches in the walls of Jerusalem, literally and spiritually, and the false prophets had not been as "repairers of the breach". (Isa_58:12; Psa_106:23) The hedge of the vineyard of Israel had been broken through, (Isa_5:5) and they had done nothing to restore it. (Eze_22:30) The day of battle, the day of the Lord, had come, and they were betraying the people instead of helping.
The breaches of sin, and the duty of closing them.
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have not gone up, into the gaps," etc. Our text suggests the following observations.
I THE PRACTICE OF SIN EXPOSES MEN TO THE GREATEST DANGERS. The text suggests the figure of a besieged city, in the walls of which breaches have been made, through which the enemy rushes in to fight with its inhabitants and to take possession of its treasures. There is perhaps a reference to the approaching siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, in which that city would fall because of the sins of its inhabitants. So sin makes wide gaps in the defences of a people, deprives them of the Divine protection, and exposes them to the assaults of their enemies. The sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah made the wide breaches which let in the fiery flood which consumed them. The sins of the Israelites in the wilderness on one occasion made a gap in their defences through which the plague entered and slew fourteen thousand and seven hundred persons. (Num_16:41-50) The sin of Achan in coveting, stealing, and concealing some of the spoils of Jericho, in defiance of express commands, opened a wide breach through which the enemies of Israel rushed, and put them to ignominious flight, and slew six and thirty of them. (Jos 7) And when David sinned in numbering the people he made a gap through which the pestilence entered and destroyed severity thousand men. (2Sa 24; cf. Isa_42:24, Isa_42:25)
II THE CONTINUED PRACTICE OF SIN LEADS ON TO A CRISIS IN WHICH JUDGMENT WILL BE EXECUTED UPON SLYNESS. That crisis is here called "the day of the Lord." "The day of Jehovah," says Schroder, "is the time fixed by him with reference to the reckoning to be given in to him." It seems to us more correct to say that it is "the time of the arrival of the judgment." This crisis was rapidly drawing near to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. If sinners persist in making the gaps, it is certain that their punishment will enter thereat and seize upon them. Sinful character and conduct advance towards maturity, and when that is attained, if not before, the sinner, or the community of sinners, will meet with just retribution. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The forbearance and long suffering of God with The wicked are very great; but if these be trifled with and presumed upon, he will cease to exercise them, and will appear for the execution of his judgment. (cf. Rom_2:4-11)
III IT IS THE DUTY OF THE FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF GOD TO ENDEAVOUR TO GUARD THE IMPERILLED PEOPLE AGAINST THE DANGERS WHICH THREATEN THEM. When the people by their sins have exposed themselves to their enemies, it behoves the faithful to go up into the gaps, and to make "up the fence for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." This may be done:
1. By preaching repentance to the guilty people. When the people of Nineveh repented, the destruction of their city, which had been threatened because of their sins, was averted. If the prophets bad summoned the people to repentance, and the people had responded truly to that summons, then would the broach in the fence have been made up, and they would have been able "to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." "There is no better wall than reformation of life." "If they have stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words," etc.. (Jer_23:22)
2. By presenting intercession for the guilty people. There are a number of impressive examples in the sacred Scriptures of the servants of God stepping into the gap and saving the imperilled people by their prayers. (cf. Exo_32:11-14, Exo_32:31-34; Psa_106:23; Num_14:13-24 Num_16:41-48; 1Sa_7:8-10) God has often graciously heard the cry of his faithful servants on behalf of the guilty, and turned aside from them the stroke of his judgment. He has spared the wicked for the sake of the righteous.
IV FALSE PROPHETS AND UNWORTHY LEADERS IN THE CHURCH OF GOD ALTOGETHER FAIL IN THIS IMPORTANT DUTY. These false prophets had "not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the fence for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." They had neither preached repentance to the people, nor pleaded with God on their behalf; but had positively encouraged them in their sinful and false security; therefore the judgment of the Lord fell upon them to their utter overthrow. "I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none," etc.. (cf. Eze_22:30, Eze_22:31) "False prophets cannot pray." They have neither "interest in heaven nor intercourse with heaven." And they have no heart to make a stand against the sins of their people, and so save them from ruin.
CONCLUSION.
1. How great a curse to a community are corrupt religious teachers andleaders! They lure the people to ruin, while they assure them that all is well.
2. How great a blessing to a community is the presence of godly and praying persons! They are "the salt of the earth;" they are saviours of society. W.J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the wall around the house of Israel
the wall around the house of Israel
This refers to the wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem.
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the house of Israel
The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house, in this case the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob over many years. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 3:1. AT: "the Israelite people group" (See: Metonymy)
resist in battle
You can supply the implicit information here. AT: "resist the enemy armies" or "defend the city" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the day of Yahweh
This refers to the time when Yahweh will judge his people by means of an enemy army. AT: "the day of Yahweh's judgment" or "the day when Yahweh judges you by sending enemy armies to attack you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Have you not had false visions ... when I myself have not spoken?
Yahweh uses a question to rebuke the false prophets. AT: "You have had false visions ... because I myself have not spoken." (See: Rhetorical Question)
had false visions and made false predictions
Since the false prophets have not really received a message from Yahweh, what they predict about the future is not true.
Such and such
This is a phrase used to refer to anything the prophet may have said. Your language may have another way to say this. (See: Idiom)
Yahweh's declaration
"is what Yahweh has declared"
translationWords
day of the Lord
people group
vision
Yahweh
declare
send
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.