15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.

16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them.

17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.

19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them: and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.

21 Every one had four faces apiece,

СНАР. Х.

[the divine glory. and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward. (L)

CHAP. XI.

MOREOVER, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:

3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.

4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.

5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye

(L) The vision of the cherubim repeated, and the departure of the Divine glory.-The same august vision which appeared to the Prophet at first is here repeated, and coals of fire are scattered over the city to intimate that it was to be burned. The symbol of the Divine presence is represented (ver. 4, 18, 19.) as removing gradually from the Temple, to signify that God's protection was about to be wholly withdrawn from it and it requires no argument to prove the wretchedness of that nation or individual whom God forsakes.

On the mysterious wheels, or rolling

spheres here exhibited, we shall not repeat our former observations (see ch. i.); but we farther remark, that they are here addressed as in themselves intelligent, (for they were full of eyes,) and subject to the Great Supreme-Revolve, O wheel!The same almighty fiat which called the universe into being, gave it laws; and what is Providence but the superintendence of those laws? Thus roll on the wheels of nature and of providence, in obedience to that spirit by which they are animated and directed; and still will they roll on till all the prophecies shall be fulfilled-tili all God's designs of mercy to mankind shall be accomplished!

Ver. 19. And every one stood-that is, the prophet saw, in vision, the congregation gazing with astonishment at the glory now departing.

CHAP. XI. Ver. 1. The spirit lifted me up.-See Note on chap. viii. 3.-At the door (or entrance) of the gate five and twenty men.-See Note on ch. viii. 16.

Ver. 3. It is not near- that is, the destruction

of the city. Let us, therefore,' say they, repair and rebuild the ruins. This city is the caldron, &c. The proverb means," We will share her fate, whether we are preserved or perish." Michaelis.-This is an evident allusion to the mas ner of preparing the Jewish sacrifices, 1 Sam. 13. 14. Boothroyd.

Ver. 7. Your siain, &c.—that is, many of you shall perish in the city; but others shall be carried away to a foreign land, and there slain. See Jer, lii..

=said, O house of Israel: for I know

the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the street, thereof with the slain.

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you fortà out of the midst of it.

8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.

9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel.

12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments; but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round

[shall be saved.

15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.

16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord Gon; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence.

19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside

Ver. 12. For Newcome, "Because" not, &c.

ye have Ver. 13. When I prophesied. It appears from this verse, that Jeremiah did prophecy to these men, as commanded ver. 4, and that Pelatiah died as he was addressing them. See Acts v. 5.-I fell down. -See chap. ix. 8.

Ver. 15. Thy brethren, even thy brethren.- Mr. Levi understands this of those of Judah and of the ten tribes. But we rather understand the term brethren, 1. Of his countrymen the Jews, who had been carried captive into Babylon; and, 2. more strictly, of his immediate kin: "Thy brethren, the men of thy kindred." These having left Jerusalem, were

treated by the Jews who remained, as having no farther interest in the holy city.

Ver. 16. A little sanctuary-in their absence from the temple; or, as Newcome, a sanctuary for "a little time." even to the end of the 70 years' captivity. The word is used Ps. viii. 5.

Ver. 19. Within you- the ancients, many MSS and Editions, read, Within them." Newcome. Ver. 21. After the heart-that is, in the true spirit of their detestable idolatries. D Levi.

Ver.23. On the east-namely, the Mount of Olives. Zech. xiv. 4.

Ver. 24. The vision that I had seen-namely, in the two preceding chapters.

CHAP. XI.

[ordered to remove,

4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.

5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

6 In their sight shalt thou bear il upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

7 And I did so as I was com manded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my der in their sight.

shoul

8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,

9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GoD; This burden concern. eth the prince in Jerusalem, and all

(M) Judgments announced against those who neglected the Divine warnings; particularly against those rulers who made a mock of the types and predictions of the Prophets. (Comp. ver. 3, with Jer. i. 13.) When sinners go to the length of scoffing at religion, the judgments of God seldom slumber. Pelatiah, who is accused of this in the 1st. verse, is suddenly cut off in the 13th.-God promises to favour those who were gone to captivity, and intimates the general restoration and conversion of the nation in aftertimes.

Ver. 23. The Shechinah, or symbol of the Divine presence, is then represented as forsaking the city, as in the foregoing

chapter it did the Temple; and the Prophet returns to the place from which he was carried, and by the same extraordinary means, in order to communicate his instructions to his brethren of the captivity. To these he was sent with promises, not only of return, but of a new heart and a new spirit, when effectually cured of their attachment to idolatry.

From the circumstance that the glory of the Lord rested on the Mount of Olives after it had left the temple, the Jews formed an expectation that the Messiah would frequent this Mount, as in fact he did, and there predicted the last destruc tion of the city and temple. (Luke xis. 42, &c.)

CHAP. XII. Ver. 3, Prepare thee stuff-Marg. "Instruments," or utensils. SirJ. Chardin explains this in reference to the eastern caravans. Those who were to start in the evening, brought out their goods in open day, for packing; those who started in the middle of the night, brought out theirs in the evening. Michaelis thinks that the former refers to the removal of the greater part of the people, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah; the latter, to the subsequent captivity of the king and his adherents, who at first fled, but were overtaken by the Chaldeans,

Jer. lii. 7, 8.
See Newcome and Orient. Cast.
No. 1113.
Ver. 4. As they that go, &c.-Heb. "As the go-
ings forth of captivity."

Ver. 5. Dig thou-Heb. "Dig for thee." All the principal houses in Jerusalem were built square, and surrounded with a wall; this digging through the wall in the evening, may therefore intimate Zedekiah's attempt to escape clandestinely, probably, as Newcome suggests, through a breach in the wall, Ver. 6. Bear it-that is, the staff, ver. 4.

the house of Israel that are among them.

11 Say, I am your sign: like as I I have done, so shall it be done unto them; they shall remove and go into captivity.

12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes.

13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.

16 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 heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water, with trembling and with carefulness;

19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GoD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with earefulness, and drink their

[the captivity.

water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.

20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

23 Tell them, therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.

24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.

25 For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.

28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GoD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more; but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GoD. (N)

CHAP. XII. (N) Ezekiel again typically predicts the

captivity of Zedekiah and the people.-In this and the following chapters, the Pro

Ver. 11. I am your sign-that is, says Bp. Chandler, a pattern of what shall befall you," as is here explained. They shall remove, &c. Heb." By removing they shall go into captivity."

Ver. 12. He shall not see the ground-This is a tyrical intimation (though obscure) that he should never see the land to which he went, as in ver. 13.

Ver. 13. My net also will I spread-that is, he shall be taken, as in the snare of a hunter.

Ver. 16. A few men-Heb. " Men of number;" i. e. easily numbered.

Ver. 19. All that is therein-Heb. " The fulness thereof."

Ver. 22. The days are prolonged.-See chap. xi. 3, &c. and compare ver. 27, below.

Ver. 27. He seeth, &c.-Abp. Newcome remarks, "In ver. 21-25 there is a reference to the visions of all prophets; but ver. 26-28 refer particularly to Ezekiel's prophecy.

Judgments]

AN

CHAP. XIII.

ND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

3 Thus saith the Lord GoD; Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

40 Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

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.

6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?

8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity,

[against false prophets

and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.

9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:

11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.

phet endeavours, by a variety of types and parables, to convince those of the captivity, who are here called "a rebellious house," because of their unbelief, that their brethren, who were left behind to sustain the miseries of a siege and the insults of a conqueror, would be in a much worse condition than themselves, who were already settled in a foreign land. In the beginning of this chapter he signifies the approaching captivity of Judah, by removing his stuff,"as it is called; intimating the removal of the people into captivity, and particularly of Zedekiah and his adherents. He is commanded to eat his food with trembling and signs of terror, as

an emblem of the consternation of the Jews when surrounded by their enemies. He then reproves the objections and byewords of scoffers and infidels, who either disbelieved his threatenings, or supposed the accomplishment of them very distant.

Josephus (Antiq. xi. 10.) tells us that Zedekiah thought this prophecy of Eze kiel (ver. 13.) inconsistent with that of Jer. xxxiv. 3, and therefore resolved to believe neither. Both, however, in the issue were literally fulfilled. Thus, blinded by infidelity, sinners often "kick against the pricks," and rush on to that destruction against which they have repeatedly been

warned.

CHAP. XIII. Ver. 2. Them that prophesy, &c.Heb. "Them that are prophets out of their own hearts." See Nehem. vi. 8.

Ver. 3. That follow-Heb. "That walk after." Ver. 4. Foxes-Newcome, "Jackalls." Ver. 5. Made up the hedge- Heb. "Hedged up the hedge:" or, " walled up the wall."

Ver. 6. Vanity (i. e. falsehood) and lying divination-Heb. Divination of a lie."- -Hope to con

firm the word-that is, they hoped that their predictions might prove true. Ver. 9. Assembly The writing-Newcome, shall return."

Marg. "Secret council.”

The roll of those who

Ver. 10. One built up a wall, &c.—that is, one gave out a pretended oracle, and the others attempted to support it. See ver. 16.

Ver. 11. A stormy wind-Heb. “A wind of storms."

So ver. 13.