1Und es kamen Männer von den Ältesten Israels zu mir, und sie setzten sich vor mir nieder. 2Und das Wort Jehovas geschah zu mir also: 3Menschensohn, diese Männer haben ihre Götzen in ihrem Herzen aufkommen lassen und den Anstoß zu ihrer Missetat vor ihr Angesicht gestellt; sollte ich mich wohl von ihnen befragen lassen? 4Darum rede mit ihnen und sprich zu ihnen: So spricht der Herr, Jehova: Jedermann aus dem Hause Israel, der seine Götzen in seinem Herzen aufkommen läßt und den Anstoß zu seiner Missetat vor sein Angesicht stellt, und zu dem Propheten kommt - ich, Jehova, werde ihm demgemäß antworten, gemäß der Menge seiner Götzen: 5damit ich das Haus Israel an seinem Herzen fasse, weil sie allesamt durch ihre Götzen von mir abgewichen sind. - 6Darum sprich zum Hause Israel: So spricht der Herr, Jehova: Kehret um, und wendet euch ab von euren Götzen, und wendet von allen euren Greueln euer Angesicht ab! 7Denn jedermann aus dem Hause Israel und von den Fremdlingen, die in Israel weilen, welcher sich von mir trennt und seine Götzen in seinem Herzen aufkommen läßt und den Anstoß zu seiner Missetat vor sein Angesicht stellt, und zu dem Propheten kommt, um mich für sich zu befragen - ich, Jehova, werde ihm in meiner Weise antworten. 8Und ich werde mein Angesicht wider selbigen Mann richten, und werde ihn zu einem Denkzeichen und zu Sprichwörtern machen ; und ich werde ihn ausrotten aus der Mitte meines Volkes. Und ihr werdet wissen, daß ich Jehova bin. - 9Wenn aber der Prophet sich bereden läßt und ein Wort redet, so habe ich, Jehova, diesen Propheten beredet; und ich werde meine Hand wider ihn ausstrecken und ihn aus der Mitte meines Volkes Israel vertilgen. 10Und so sollen sie ihre Schuld tragen; wie die Schuld des Fragenden, also wird die Schuld des Propheten sein: 11damit das Haus Israel nicht mehr von mir abirre und sie sich nicht mehr durch alle ihre Übertretungen verunreinigen; und sie werden mein Volk, und ich werde ihr Gott sein, spricht der Herr, Jehova. 12Und das Wort Jehovas geschah zu mir also: 13Menschensohn, wenn ein Land gegen mich sündigt, indem es Treulosigkeit begeht, und ich meine Hand wider dasselbe ausstrecke, und ihm den Stab des Brotes zerbreche und Hunger darein sende, und Menschen und Vieh darin ausrotte, 14und diese drei Männer wären in demselben: Noah, Daniel und Hiob - sie würden durch ihre Gerechtigkeit nur ihre eigene Seele erretten, spricht der Herr, Jehova. - 15Wenn ich böse Tiere in das Land bringe, damit sie es entvölkern und es eine Wüste werde, so daß wegen der Tiere niemand hindurchzieht: 16wären diese drei Männer in demselben, so wahr ich lebe, spricht der Herr, Jehova, sie würden weder Söhne noch Töchter erretten können; sie allein würden errettet, das Land aber würde eine Wüste werden. - 17Oder wenn ich das Schwert über selbiges Land bringe und spreche: Schwert, fahre durch das Land! und Menschen und Vieh darin ausrotte, 18und diese drei Männer wären in demselben: so wahr ich lebe, spricht der Herr, Jehova, sie würden weder Söhne noch Töchter erretten können; sondern sie allein würden errettet werden. - 19Oder wenn ich die Pest in selbiges Land sende, und meinen Grimm in Blut über dasselbe ausgieße, um Menschen und Vieh darin auszurotten, 20und Noah, Daniel und Hiob wären in demselben: so wahr ich lebe, spricht der Herr, Jehova, sie würden weder Sohn noch Tochter erretten können; sie würden durch ihre Gerechtigkeit nur ihre eigene Seele erretten. 21Denn so spricht der Herr, Jehova: Wieviel mehr, wenn ich meine vier bösen Gerichte, Schwert und Hunger und böse Tiere und die Pest, gegen Jerusalem entsenden werde, um Menschen und Vieh darin auszurotten! 22Doch siehe, Entronnene sollen darin übrigbleiben, die herausgeführt werden, Söhne und Töchter; siehe, sie werden zu euch hinausziehen, und ihr werdet ihren Weg und ihre Handlungen sehen; und ihr werdet euch trösten über das Unglück, welches ich über Jerusalem gebracht, alles, was ich über dasselbe gebracht habe. 23Und sie werden euch trösten, wenn ihr ihren Weg und ihre Handlungen sehen werdet; und ihr werdet erkennen, daß ich nicht ohne Ursache alles getan habe, was ich an ihm getan, spricht der Herr, Jehova.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 HYPOCRITICAL INQUIRERS ARE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO THEIR HYPOCRISY. THE CALAMITIES COMING ON THE PEOPLE; BUT A REMNANT IS TO ESCAPE. (Eze. 14:1-23)
elders--persons holding that dignity among the exiles at the Chebar. GROTIUS refers this to Seraiah and those sent with him from Judea (
Jer 51:59). The prophet's reply, first, reflecting on the character of the inquirers, and, secondly, foretelling the calamities coming on Judea, may furnish an idea of the subject of their inquiry.
sat before me--not at once able to find a beginning of their speech; indicative of anxiety and despondency.
3 heart . . . face--The heart is first corrupted, and then the outward manifestation of idol-worship follows; they set their idols before their eyes. With all their pretense of consulting God now, they have not even put away their idols outwardly; implying gross contempt of God. "Set up," literally, "aloft"; implying that their idols had gained the supreme ascendancy over them.
stumbling-block of . . . iniquity--See
Pro 3:21,
Pro 3:23, "Let not them (God's laws) depart from thine eyes, then . . . thy foot shall not stumble." Instead of God's law, which (by being kept before their eyes) would have saved them from stumbling, they set up their idols before their eyes, which proved a stumbling-block, causing them to stumble (
Ezek 7:19).
inquired of at all--literally, "should I with inquiry be inquired of" by such hypocrites as they are? (
Ps 66:18;
Pro 15:29;
Pro 28:9).
4 and cometh--and yet cometh, reigning himself to be a true worshipper of Jehovah.
him that cometh--so the Hebrew Margin reads. But the Hebrew text reading is, "according to it, according to the multitude of his idols"; the anticipative clause with the pronoun not being pleonastic, but increasing the emphasis of the following clause with the noun. "I will answer," literally, reflexively, "I will Myself (or for Myself) answer him."
according to . . . idols--thus, "answering a fool according to his folly"; making the sinner's sin his punishment; retributive justice (
Pro 1:31;
Pro 26:5).
5 That I may take--that is, unveil and overtake with punishment the dissimulation and impiety of Israel hid in their own heart. Or, rather, "That I may punish them by answering them after their own hearts"; corresponding to "according to the multitude of his idols" (see on
Ezek 14:4); an instance is given in
Ezek 14:9;
Rom 1:28;
2Thess 2:11, God giving them up in wrath to their own lie.
idols--though pretending to "inquire" of Me, "in their hearts" they are "estranged from Me," and love "idols."
6 Though God so threatened the people for their idolatry (
Ezek 14:5), yet He would rather they should avert the calamity by "repentance."
turn yourselves--CALVIN translates, "turn others" (namely, the stranger proselytes in the land). As ye have been the advisers of others (see
Ezek 14:7, "the stranger that sojourneth in Israel") to idolatry, so bestow at least as much pains in turning them to the truth; the surest proof of repentance. But the parallelism to
Ezek 14:3-
Ezek 14:4 favors English Version. Their sin was twofold: (1) "In their heart" or inner man; (2) "Put before their face," that is, exhibited outwardly. So their repentance is generally expressed by "repent," and is then divided into: (1) "Turn yourselves (inwardly) from your idols"; (2) "Turn away your faces (outwardly) from all your abominations." It is not likely that an exhortation to convert others should come between the two affecting themselves.
7 stranger--the proselyte, tolerated in Israel only on condition of worshipping no God but Jehovah (
Lev 17:8-
Lev 17:9).
inquire of him concerning me--that is, concerning My will.
by myself--not by word, but by deed, that is, by judgments, marking My hand and direct agency; instead of answering him through the prophet he consults. FAIRBAIRN translates, as it is the same Hebrew as in the previous clause, "concerning Me," it is natural that God should use the same expression in His reply as was used in the consultation of Him. But the sense, I think, is the same. The hypocrite inquires of the prophet concerning God; and God, instead of replying through the prophet, replies for Himself concerning Himself.
8 And I will set my face against that man--(See on
Lev 17:10).
and will make him a sign--literally, "I will destroy him so as to become a sign"; it will be no ordinary destruction, but such as will make him be an object pointed at with wonder by all, as Korah, &c. (
Num 26:10;
Deut 28:37).
9 I the Lord have deceived that prophet--not directly, but through Satan and his ministers; not merely permissively, but by overruling their evil to serve the purposes of His righteous judgment, to be a touchstone to separate the precious from the vile, and to "prove" His people (
Deut 13:3;
1Kgs 22:23;
Jer 4:10;
2Thess 2:11-12). Evil comes not from God, though God overrules it to serve His will (
Job 12:16;
Jas 1:3). This declaration of God is intended to answer their objection, "Jeremiah and Ezekiel are but two opposed to the many prophets who announce 'peace to us." "Nay, deceive not yourselves, those prophets of yours are deluding you, and I permit them to do so as a righteous judgment on your wilful blindness."
10 As they dealt deceitfully with God by seeking answers of peace without repentance, so God would let them be dealt with deceitfully by the prophets whom they consulted. God would chastise their sin with a corresponding sin; as they rejected the safe directions of the true light, He would send the pernicious delusions of a false one; prophets would be given them who should re-echo the deceitfulness that already wrought in their own bosom, to their ruin [FAIRBAIRN]. The people had themselves alone to blame, for they were long ago forewarned how to discern and to treat a false prophet (
Deut 13:3); the very existence of such deceivers among them was a sign of God's judicial displeasure (compare in Saul's case,
1Sam 16:14;
1Sam 28:6-7). They and the prophet, being dupes of a common delusion, should be involved in a common ruin.
11 Love was the spring of God's very judgments on His people, who were incurable by any other process (
Ezek 11:20;
Ezek 37:27).
12 The second part of the chapter: the effect which the presence of a few righteous persons was to have on the purposes of God (compare
Gen 18:24-
Gen 18:32). God had told Jeremiah that the guilt of Judah was too great to be pardoned even for the intercession of Moses and Samuel (
Ps 99:6;
Jer 14:2;
Jer 15:1), which had prevailed formerly (
Exod 32:11-
Exod 32:14;
Num 14:13-
Num 14:20;
1Sam 7:8-12), implying the extraordinary heinousness of their guilt, since in ordinary cases "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (for others) availeth much" (
Jas 5:16). Ezekiel supplements Jeremiah by adding that not only those two once successful intercessors, but not even the three pre-eminently righteous men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, could stay God's judgments by their righteousness.
13 staff of . . . bread--on which man's existence is supported as on a staff (
Ezek 4:16;
Ezek 5:16;
Lev 26:26;
Ps 104:15;
Isa 3:1). I will send a famine.
14 Noah, Daniel . . . Job--specified in particular as having been saved from overwhelming calamities for their personal righteousness. Noah had the members of his family alone given to him, amidst the general wreck. Daniel saved from the fury of the king of Babylon the three youths (
Dan 2:17-
Dan 2:18,
Dan 2:48-
Dan 2:49). Though his prophecies mostly were later than those of Ezekiel, his fame for piety and wisdom was already established, and the events recorded in Dan. 1:1-2:49 had transpired. The Jews would naturally, in their fallen condition, pride themselves on one who reflected such glory on his nation at the heathen capital, and would build vain hopes (here set aside) on his influence in averting ruin from them. Thus the objection to the authenticity of Daniel from this passage vanishes. "Job" forms the climax (and is therefore put out of chronological order), having not even been left a son or a daughter, and having had himself to pass through an ordeal of suffering before his final deliverance, and therefore forming the most simple instance of the righteousness of God, which would save the righteous themselves alone in the nation, and that after an ordeal of suffering, but not spare even a son or daughter for their sake (
Ezek 14:16,
Ezek 14:18,
Ezek 14:20; compare
Jer 7:16;
Jer 11:14;
Jer 14:11).
deliver . . . souls by . . . righteousness-- (
Pro 11:4); not the righteousness of works, but that of grace, a truth less clearly understood under the law (
Rom 4:3).
15 The argument is cumulative. He first puts the case of the land sinning so as to fall under the judgment of a famine (
Ezek 14:13); then (
Ezek 14:15) "noisome beasts" (
Lev 26:22); then "the sword"; then, worst of all, "pestilence." The three most righteous of men should deliver only themselves in these several four cases. In
Ezek 14:21 he concentrates the whole in one mass of condemnation. If Noah, Daniel, Job, could not deliver the land, when deserving only one judgment, "how much more" when all four judgments combined are justly to visit the land for sin, shall these three righteous men not deliver it.
19 in blood--not literally. In Hebrew, "blood" expresses every premature kind of death.
21 How much more--literally, "Surely shall it be so now, when I send," &c. If none could avert the one only judgment incurred, surely now, when all four are incurred by sin, much more impossible it will be to deliver the land.
22 Yet . . . a remnant--not of righteous persons, but some of the guilty who should "come forth" from the destruction of Jerusalem to Babylon, to lead a life of hopeless exile there. The reference here is to judgment, not mercy, as
Ezek 14:23 shows.
ye shall see their . . . doings; and . . . be comforted--Ye, the exiles at the Chebar, who now murmur at God's judgment about to be inflicted on Jerusalem as harsh, when ye shall see the wicked "ways" and character of the escaped remnant, shall acknowledge that both Jerusalem and its inhabitants deserved their fate; his recognition of the righteousness of the judgment will reconcile you to it, and so ye shall be "comforted" under it [CALVIN]. Then would follow mercy to the elect remnant, though that is not referred to here, but in
Ezek 20:43.
23 they shall comfort you--not in words, but by your recognizing in their manifest guilt, that God had not been unjustly severe to them and the city.
This chapter represents, in the way of a brief introduction, what the sixteenth chapter details minutely.
