A.C. 587.

29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:

Heb. souls. *

30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

CHAPTER IV.

Events at Babylon, between the Destruction of Jerusalem, and the return from the Captivity.

SECTION I.

Ezekiel being informed of the Destruction of Jerusalem, predicts the utter Desolation of Judea, and the Judgments of God against the surrounding Nations, Enemies to the Jews.

EZEKIEL XXXIII. VER. 21, TO THE END. 21 ¶ And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that

33 From comparing Ezek. xxxii. 1. with Ezek. xxxiii. 21. it is evident that this part of chap. xxxiii. comes before chap. xxxii. Chapters xxv. xxvi. xxvii. and xxviii. are added in this section, on the authority of Archbp. Newcome, who observes, that "the date in the text (chap. xxvi. ver. 2.) must be posterior to whatever is the true date, chap. xxxiii. 21; because this prophecy was delivered after the taking of Jerusalem was known to Ezekiel and his people." According to Archbp. Usher, and Josephus, the predictions against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines, in chap. xxv. were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophecy against Tyre, contained in chap. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii. was accomplished nineteen years after its delivery, by Nebuchadnezzar, in the reign of Ithobal prince of Tyre, chap. xxviii. 2. after a siege of thirteen years. In chap. xxviii. from ver. 20 to 24, the destruction of Sidon, the mother city of Tyre, is denounced, and the chapter ends with promises to the house of Israel of deliverance from all their enemies, and a happy restoration to their own land. The overthrow of Tyre is likewise foretold by Isaiah, chap. xxiii. and by Jeremiah, chap. xlvii. The united testimonies of modern travellers concur in proving the literal accomplishment of this prophecy, (chap. xxvi. 14.) that Tyre should "be a place to spread nets upon," and be "built no more :" and, according to Maundrell, its present inhabitants are only a few wretches harbouring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting themselves chiefly upon fishing, who seem intended by Divine Providence to be a visible argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre. The power and opulence of Tyre, in the prosperous age of its commerce, must have attracted general attention. In these chapters Ezekiel gives a most particular account of the nature and variety of its commercial transactions, which con

one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, say- A.C. 587. ing, a The city is smitten.

a 2 Kings

22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the even- xxv. 4. ing, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth bch. xxiv. 27. was opened, and I was no more dumb.

b

23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for an inheritance.

25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?

26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife and shall ye possess the land?

27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.

28 For I will lay the land + most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

I

29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Heb. to de

vour him.

Heb. desolalation.

c ch. vii. 24. & xxiv. 21. &

XXX. 6, 7.

30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors Or, of thee. of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.

Heb. dc. coming of the for, my peo

cording to the

people.

31 And they come unto thee § as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth * they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of Heb. they

veys a most magnificent idea of the extensive power of that state. It is supposed that these prophecies appertain both to Old and New Tyre, some expressions being applicable only to the former, and others only to the latter. New Tyre was destroyed by Alexander the Great 260 years after the time of Ezekiel. For a further account of the fulfilment of these prophecies, vide Newton on the Prophecies, vol. i. p. 190-212; D'Oyly and Mant in loc.; Archbp. Newcome; Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. 10. chap. xi. § 1; Horne's Crit. Introd.

ple sit before thee.

make loves, or, jests. + Heb. a song of loves.

A.C. 587. one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

f Jer. xlviii. 1,

&c.

*Heb. shorl. der of Moab.

+ Or, against

33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

the children of Ammon,

EZEKIEL XXV.

1 God's vengeance, for their insolence against the Jews, upon the Ammonites; Moab and Seir; 12 upon Edom, 15 and upon the Philistines.

8

upon

d

1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;

3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;

4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.

5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine + hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in § heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;

7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

8

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;

9 Therefore, behold, I will open the * side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,

10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom ne hath dealt against the house of Judah ‡by taking ven

venging revengement.

geance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself A.C. 587. upon them;

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

*

they Or, they

14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it + for the old hatred;

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the

coasts.

sea

17 And I will execute great § vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

The Destruction of Tyre.

EZEKIEL XXVI.

1 Tyrus, for insulting against Jerusalem, is threatened. 7 The power of Nebuchadrezzar against her. 15 The mourning and astonishment of the sea at her fall.

1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste :

3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.

4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

shall fall by the sword unto Dedan.

+Or, with perpetual hatred.

6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7¶ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of

or, aven of

the sea.

Heb. ven

geances.

A.C. 587. kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: *Or, pour out and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

the engine of shot.

9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, † as men enter into a city wherein cording to the enterings of a is made a breach. city broken up.

+ Heb. ac

11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.

12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy Heb. houses walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the

of thy desire.

g Is. xxiv. 8

Jer. vii. 34. & xvi. 9.

water.

13 & And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?

16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their Heb. trem- broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with § trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

blings.

h Rev. xviii. 9.

17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited Heb. of the of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!

seas.

18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee