Ezekiel chapter 7
The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. He focused on the people living in the land. Their end is near. UPDATED.
THE END IS NEAR
VERSE 1. Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
VERSE 2. “You, son of man, the Lord GOD says to Eretz-Israel, ‘An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.
VERSE 3. Now is the end on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.
VERSE 4. My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
NASB translation. For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will know that I am the Lord!’
your abominations. The people had compromised with the pagan culture around them. They had committed idolatry. They had committed abominations in the temple. So the LORD God will sift them in order to purify them.
Some Christians say that we New Testament people have erred similarly. We too have compromised with ungodly elements. We too have committed idolatry. We too have committed abomination in the modern-day temple of the church.
VERSE 5. “The Lord GOD says: ‘An evil! A unique evil! Behold, it comes.
NLT translation. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Disaster after disaster is coming your way!
Disaster after disaster is coming. Ezekiel’s message was not a “happy” message. It was full of doom-and-gloom.
VERSE 6. An end has come. The end has come! It awakes against you. Behold, it comes.
NLT translation. The end has come. It has finally arrived.
The end has come. In our day, this is a popular slogan among doomsayers.
VERSE 7. Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land! The time has come! The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains.
not of joyful shouting. This is not their time to rejoice.
VERSE 8. Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.
VERSE 9. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I, the LORD, strike.
VERSE 10. “ ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has gone out. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded.
doom has gone out. That is, “Doom has burst forth” (NIV translation).
Pride has budded. That is, “arrogance has blossomed” (NIV translation).
VERSE 11. Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness. None of them will remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth. There will be nothing of value among them.
VERSE 12. The time has come! The day draws near. Don’t let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all its multitude.
VERSE 13. For the seller won’t return to that which is sold, although they are still alive; for the vision concerns the whole multitude of it. None will return. None will strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.
the seller won’t return to that which is sold. When land was sold, the transaction was always temporary. Every 50 years, during the Year of Jubilee, the property reverted to its original owners.
However, the coming judgment would prevent original owners from reclaiming their properties. They would be in exile along with the buyers.
VERSE 14. They have blown the shofar, and have made all ready; but no one goes to the battle; for my wrath is on all its multitude.
VERSE 15. “ ‘The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within. He who is in the field will die by the sword. He who is in the city will be devoured by famine and pestilence.
The sword is outside. Israel cannot flee from the coming judgment. She is surrounded.
the famine within. Israel cannot defend itself from the coming judgment. It is within her boundaries.
VERSE 16. But those of those who escape, they will escape and will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, everyone in his iniquity.
VERSE 17. All hands will be feeble, and all knees will be weak as water.
VERSE 18. They will also clothe themselves with sackcloth, and horror will cover them. Shame will be on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.
VERSE 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 the LORD’s wrath. They won’t satisfy their souls or fill their bellies; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.
VERSE 20. As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein. Therefore I have made it to them as an unclean thing.
the beauty of his ornament. They were proud of their ornamentation.
VERSE 21. I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a plunder; and they will profane it.
VERSE 22. I will also turn my face from them, and they will profane my secret place. Robbers will enter into it, and profane it.
turn my face from them. In the Old Testament era, people hoped the face of the LORD God was turned toward them. And if his face was turned AWAY from them, it would be a disaster.
VERSE 23. “ ‘Make chains; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
VERSE 24. Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong to cease. Their holy places will be profaned.
the worst of the nations. To do his bidding, the LORD God will call upon the worst of the nations.
VERSE 25. Destruction comes! They will seek peace, and there will be none.
VERSE 26. Mischief will come on mischief, and rumor will be on rumor. They will seek a vision of the prophet; but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
NIV translation. Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will try to get a vision from the prophet; the teaching of the law by the priest will be lost, as will the counsel of the elders.
They will try to get a vision from the prophet. Many people do not seek out a word of prophecy from the Lord. That is, until it is too late.
the teaching of the law by the priest will be lost. When a population goes astray, the teaching of the leaders decays. Eventually the clerics forget about walking with the LORD God. Instead, they teach nothing but man-made rules and regulations.
VERSE 27. The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with desolation. The hands of the people of the land will be troubled. I will do to them after their way, and according to their own judgments I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ ”
EZEKIEL
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.