Ezekiel 11 commentary

EZEKIEL 11 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
God’s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem
1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to
the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east.
There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five
men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of
Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the
people.
BARNES, "The gate - The gate of the templecourt. The gate was the place of
judgment.
Five and twenty men - Not the same men as in Eze_8:16. There they were
representatives of the “priests,” here of the “princes.” The number is, no doubt,
symbolic, made up, probably, of 24 men and the king. The number 24 points to the
tribes of undivided Israel.
Jaazaniah ... Pelatiah - We know nothing more of these men. The former name
was probably common at that time Eze_8:11. In these two names there is an allusion to
the false hopes which they upheld. “Jaazaniah” (Yah (weh) listeneth) “son of Azur” (the
Helper); “Pelatiah” (Yah (weh) rescues) “son of Benaiah” (Yah (weh) builds). In the
latter case, death Eze_11:13 turned the allusion into bitter irony.
CLARKE, "At the door of the gate five and twenty men - The same persons,
no doubt, who appear, Eze_8:16, worshipping the sun.
Jaazaniah the son of Azur - In Eze_8:16, we find a Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan.
If Shaphan was also called Azur, they may be the same person. But it is most likely that
there were two of this name, and both chiefs among the people.
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GILL, "Moreover, the spirit lifted me up,.... From the inner court of the temple,
where the prophet was, according to the last account of him, Eze_8:16; it was the same
Spirit that took him by the lock of his head, and lifted him up, as in Eze_8:3; and
perhaps in the same manner:
and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh
eastward; where were the cherubim, and the wheels, and the glory of God above them,
Eze_10:19;
and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; not the same as in Eze_
8:16; for they were in a different place, between the porch and the altar; and about
different service, they were worshipping there; and seem to be men of a different order,
priests; whereas these were at the door of the eastern gate, sitting as a court of
judicature, and were civil magistrates; though Jarchi and Kimchi take them to be the
same. Some say Jerusalem was divided into twenty four parishes, districts, or wards, and
everyone had its own head, ruler, and governor; and that there was one who was the
president over them all, like the mayor and aldermen of a city;
among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur; not the same that is mentioned in
Eze_8:11; he was the son of Shaphan, this of Azur; he was one of the seventy of the
ancients of Israel, this one of the twenty five heads or rulers of the people; he seems to
have been a prince; by having a censer in his hand, this was a priest: the Septuagint and
Arabic versions call him Jechoniah:
and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah; these two are mentioned by name, as being
principal men, and well known by the prophet; and the latter is observed more especially
for what befell him, hereafter related:
princes of the people; men who were entrusted with power and authority to exercise
the laws of the nation; and who should have been reformers of the people, and ought to
have given them good advice, and set them good examples; whereas they were the
reverse, as follows:
HENRY 1-3, “We have here,
I. The great security of the prince's of Jerusalem, notwithstanding the judgements of
God that were upon them, The prophet was brought, in vision, to the gate of the temple
where these princes sat in council upon the present arduous affairs of the city: The Spirit
lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of the Lord's house, and behold twenty-
five men were there. See how obsequious the prophet was to the Spirit's orders and how
observant of all the discoveries that were made to him. It should seem, these twenty-five
men were not the same with those twenty-five whom we saw at the door of the temple,
worshipping towards the east (Eze_8:16); those seen to have been priests or Levites, for
they were between the porch and the altar, but these were princes sitting in the gate of
the Lord's house, to try causes (Jer_26:10), and they are here charged, not with
corruptions in worship, but with mal-administration in the government; two of them are
named, because they were the most active leading men, and perhaps because the
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prophet knew them, though he had been some years absent - Pelatiah and Jaazaniah,
not that mentioned Eze_8:11, for he was the son of Shaphan, this is the son of Azur.
Some tell us that Jerusalem was divided into twenty-four wards, and that these were the
governors or aldermen of those wards, with their mayor or president. Now observe, 1.
The general character which God gives of these men to the prophet (Eze_11:2): “These
are the men that devise mischief; under pretence of concerting measures for the public
safety they harden people in their sins, and take off their fear of God's judgements which
they are threatened with by the prophets; they gave wicked counsel in this city,
counselling them to restrain and silence the prophets, to rebel against the king of
Babylon, and to resolve upon holding the city out to the last extremity.” Note, It is bad
with a people when the things that belong to their peace are hidden from the eyes of
those who are entrusted with their counsels. And, when mischief is done, God knows at
whose door to lay it, and, in the day of discovery and recompence, will be sure to lay it at
the right door, and will say, These are the men that devised it, though they are great
men, and pass for wise men, and must not now be contradicted or controlled. 2. The
particular charge exhibited against them in proof of this character. They are indicted for
words spoken at their council-board, which he that stands in the congregation of the
mighty would take cognizance of (Eze_11:3); they said to this effect, “It is not near; the
destruction of our city, that has been so often threatened by the prophets, is not near,
not so near as they talk of.” They are conscious to themselves of such an enmity to
reformation that they cannot but conclude it will come at last; but they have such an
opinion of God's patience (though they have long abused it) that they are willing to hope
it will not come this great while. Note, Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon
the judgement to come as a thing doubtful and uncertain, yet he gains his point by
persuading them to look upon it as a thing at a distance, so that it loses its force: if it be
sure, yet it is not near; whereas, in truth, the Judge stands before the door. Now, if the
destruction is not near, they conclude, Let us build houses; let us count upon a
continuance, for this city is the caldron and we are the flesh. This seems to be a
proverbial expression, signifying no more than this, “We are as safe in this city as flesh in
a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, and shall receive no
more damage from the besiegers about it than the cauldron does from the fire under it.
Those that think to force us out of our city into captivity shall find it to be as much at
their peril as it would be to take the flesh out of a boiling pot with their hands.” This
appears to be the meaning of it, by the answer God gives to it (Eze_11:9): “I will bring
you out of the midst of the city, where you think yourselves safe, and then it will appear
(Eze_11:11) that this is not your caldron, neither are you the flesh.” Perhaps it has a
particular reference to the flesh of the peace-offerings, which it was so great an offence
for the priests themselves to take out of the caldron while it was in seething (as we find
1Sa_2:13, 1Sa_2:14), and then it intimates that they were the more secure because
Jerusalem was the holy city, and they thought themselves a holy people in it, not to be
meddled with. Some think this was a banter upon Jeremiah, who in one of his first
visions saw Jerusalem represented by a seething pot, Jer_1:13. “Now,” say they, in a way
of jest and ridicule, “if it be a seething pot, we are as the flesh in it, and who dares
meddle with us?” Thus they continued mocking the messengers of the Lord, even while
they suffered for so doing; but be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong.
Those hearts are indeed which are made more secure by those words of God which were
designed for warning to them.
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JAMISON, "Eze_11:1-25. Prophecy of the destruction of the corrupt “princes of the
people;” Pelatiah dies; Promise of grace to the believing remnant; Departure of the
glory of God from the city; Ezekiel’s return to the captives.
east gate — to which the glory of God had moved itself (Eze_10:19), the chief
entrance of the sanctuary; the portico or porch of Solomon. The Spirit moves the
prophet thither, to witness, in the presence of the divine glory, a new scene of
destruction.
five and twenty men — The same as the twenty-five (that is, twenty-four heads of
courses, and the high priest) sun-worshippers seen in Eze_8:16. The leading priests
were usually called “princes of the sanctuary” (Isa_43:28) and “chiefs of the priests”
(2Ch_36:14); but here two of them are called “princes of the people,” with irony, as
using their priestly influence to be ringleaders of the people in sin (Eze_11:2). Already
the wrath of God had visited the people represented by the elders (Eze_9:6); also the
glory of the Lord had left its place in the holy of holies, and, like the cherubim and
flaming sword in Eden, had occupied the gate into the deserted sanctuary. The judgment
on the representatives of the priesthood naturally follows here, just as the sin of the
priests had followed in the description (Eze_8:12, Eze_8:16) after the sin of the elders.
Jaazaniah — signifying “God hears.”
son of Azur — different from Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan (Eze_8:11). Azur means
“help.” He and Pelatiah (“God delivers”), son of Benaiah (“God builds”), are singled out
as Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, in the case of the seventy elders (Eze_8:11, Eze_8:12),
because their names ought to have reminded them that “God” would have “heard” had
they sought His “help” to “deliver” and “build” them up. But, neglecting this, they
incurred the heavier judgment by the very relation in which they stood to God
[Fairbairn].
K&D 1-4, “Judgment upon the rulers of the nation. - Eze_11:1. And a wind lifted me
up, and took me to the eastern gate of the house of Jehovah, which faces towards the
east; and behold, at the entrance of the gate were five and twenty men, and I saw
among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the chiefs of
the nation. Eze_11:2. And he said to me: Son of man, these are the men who devise
iniquity, and counsel evil counsel in this city; Eze_11:3. Who say, It is not near to build
houses; it is the pot, and we are the flesh. Eze_11:4. Therefore prophesy against them;
prophesy, son of man. - Ezekiel is once more transported from the inner court (Eze_
8:16) to the outer entrance of the eastern gate of the temple (‫א‬ָ‫שּׂ‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ַ‫,רוּח‬ as in Eze_8:3), to
which, according to Eze_10:19, the vision of God had removed. There he sees twenty-five
men, and among them two of the princes of the nation, whose names are given. These
twenty-five men are not identical with the twenty-five priests mentioned in Eze_8:16, as
Hävernick supposes. This is evident, not only from the difference in the locality, the
priests standing between the porch and the altar, whereas the men referred to here stood
at the outer eastern entrance to the court of the temple, but from the fact that the two
who are mentioned by name are called ‫י‬ ֵ‫ר‬ָ‫שׂ‬ ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ (princes of the people), so that we may
probably infer from this that all the twenty-five were secular chiefs. Hävernick's opinion,
that ‫י‬ ֵ‫ר‬ָ‫שׂ‬ ‫ם‬ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ is a term that may also be applied to princes among the priests, is as
erroneous as his assertion that the priest-princes are called “princes” in Ezr_8:20; Neh_
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10:1, and Jer_35:4, whereas it is only to national princes that these passages refer.
Hävernick is equally incorrect in supposing that these twenty-five men take the place of
the seventy mentioned in Eze_8:11; for those seventy represented the whole of the
nation, whereas these twenty-five (according to Eze_11:2) were simply the counsellors of
the city - not, however, the twenty-four duces of twenty-four divisions of the city, with a
prince of the house of Judah, as Prado maintains, on the strength of certain Rabbinical
assertions; or twenty-four members of a Sanhedrim, with their president (Rosenmüller);
but the twelve tribe-princes (princes of the nation) and the twelve royal officers, or
military commanders (1 Chron 27), with the king himself, or possibly with the
commander-in-chief of the army; so that these twenty-five men represent the civil
government of Israel, just as the twenty-four priest-princes, together with the high
priest, represent the spiritual authorities of the covenant nation. The reason why two are
specially mentioned by name is involved in obscurity, as nothing further is known of
either of these persons. The words of God to the prophet in Eze_11:2 concerning them
are perfectly applicable to representatives of the civil authorities or temporal rulers,
namely, that they devise and give unwholesome and evil counsel. This counsel is
described in Eze_11:3 by the words placed in their mouths: “house-building is not near;
it (the city) is the caldron, we are the flesh.”
These words are difficult, and different interpretations have consequently been given.
The rendering, “it (the judgment) is not near, let us build houses,” is incorrect; for the
infinitive construct ‫ת‬ ‫נ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ cannot stand for the imperative or the infinitive absolute, but
must be the subject of the sentence. It is inadmissible also to take the sentence as a
question, “Is not house-building near?” in the sense of “it is certainly near,” as Ewald
does, after some of the ancient versions. For even if an interrogation is sometimes
indicated simply by the tone in an energetic address, as, for example, in 2Sa_23:5, this
cannot be extended to cases in which the words of another are quoted. Still less can ‫ֹא‬‫ל‬
‫ב‬ ‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫ב‬ mean non est tempus, it is not yet time, as Maurer supposes. The only way in
which the words can be made to yield a sense in harmony with the context, is by taking
them as a tacit allusion to Jer_29:5. Jeremiah had called upon those in exile to build
themselves houses in their banishment, and prepare for a lengthened stay in Babylon,
and not to allow themselves to be deceived by the words of false prophets, who predicted
a speedy return; for severe judgments had yet to fall upon those who had remained
behind in the land. This word of Jeremiah the authorities in Jerusalem ridiculed, saying
“house-building is not near,” i.e., the house-building in exile is still a long way off; it will
not come to this, that Jerusalem should fall either permanently or entirely into the
hands of the king of Babylon. On the contrary, Jerusalem is the pot, and we, its
inhabitants, are the flesh. The point of comparison is this: as the pot protects the flesh
from burning, so does the city of Jerusalem protect us from destruction.
(Note: “This city is a pot, our receptacle and defence, and we are the flesh enclosed
therein; as flesh is preserved in its caldron till it is perfectly boiled, so shall we
continue here till an extreme old age.” - Hülsemann in CaloV. Bibl. Illustr.)
On the other hand, there is no foundation for the assumption that the words also contain
an allusion to other sayings of Jeremiah, namely, to Jer_1:13, where the judgment about
to burst in from the north is represented under the figure of a smoking pot; or to Jer_
19:1-15, where Jerusalem is depicted as a pot about to be broken in pieces by God; for
the reference in Jer_19:1-15 is simply to an earthen pitcher, not to a meat-caldron; and
the words in the verse before us have nothing at all in common with the figure in Jer_
1:13. The correctness of our explanation is evident both from Eze_24:3, Eze_24:6, where
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the figure of pot and flesh is met with again, though differently applied, and from the
reply which Ezekiel makes to the saying of these men in the verses that follow (Eze_
11:7-11). This saying expresses not only false confidence in the strength of Jerusalem, but
also contempt and scorn of the predictions of the prophets sent by God. Ezekiel is
therefore to prophesy, as he does in Eze_11:5-12, against this pernicious counsel, which
is confirming the people in their sins.
CALVIN, “Here the Prophet admonishes the people that perverse leaders would be
the cause of their destruction. For if the blind lead the blind both will fall into the
ditch (Matthew 15:14; Luke 6:39.) Since, therefore, the elders of the city were such
wicked apostates, they drew with them the whole body of the people into the same
ruin. Now, therefore, the Prophet shows that the state of the city was so corrupt that
no hope of pardon remained, since those who ought to be the eyes of the whole
people were involved in darkness. But he names the five and twenty seniors Whence
it is probable, that this number was chosen in the midst of confusion, or that a
definite number is put for an indefinite; and I rather embrace this second view.
Whatever it is, it implies that those who held the reins of government were impious
despisers of God, and hence it is not surprising that impiety and defection from God
and his law had begun to increase among the whole people. But we must remark the
Prophet’s intention. For common soldiers are accustomed to consider their
commanders as a shield, as we this day see in the Papacy. For this is their last
refuge, since they think themselves guilty of no fault when they obey their holy
Mother Church. Such also formerly was the obstinacy of the people.
Lastly, men always throw off all blame from themselves, under pretense of error or
ignorance. Hence the Prophet now shows that the city was not free from God’s
wrath, since it was corrupted by its leaders and rulers; nay, that this was a cause of
its destruction, since the people were too easily led astray by perverse examples.
Meanwhile, we must notice the Prophet’s freedom, because he here fearlessly
attacks the most noble princes. He was, indeed, out of danger, because he was an
exile: but it seems that he was at Jerusalem when he uttered this prophecy. He
shows, therefore, his strength of mind, since he does not spare the nobles. Hence this
useful doctrine is collected, that those who excel in reputation and rank are not free
from blame if they conduct themselves wickedly, as we see happens in the Papacy.
For, as to the Pope himself, it is in his power to condemn the whole world, while he
exempts himself from all blame. And as to the Bishops, now twenty or thirty
witnesses are required, and afterwards even seventy: hence one of those horned
beasts could not be convinced, unless the whole people should rise up: so also it was
6

formerly. But here the Prophet shows, that however eminent are those who are
endued with power over the people, yet they are not sacred nor absolved from all
law by any peculiar privilege, since God freely judges them by his Spirit, and
reproves them by his Prophets. Lastly, if we wish to discharge our duty rightly,
especially when it consists of the office of teaching, we should avoid all respect of
persons, for those who boast that they excel others are yet subject to the censures of
God. For this reason it follows —
COFFMAN, “Verse 1
THE DEPARTURE OF GOD'S GLORY
This chapter concludes the section of Ezekiel 8-11 with the departure of God's glory.
That momentous event is recorded in the last paragraph of the chapter; and prior to
that there are recorded two very important messages: (1) for those remaining in
Jerusalem, and (2) for the exiles in Babylon, in Ezekiel 11:1-13, and in Ezekiel
11:14-25 respectively.
Howie expressed a view held by some that, "This is not a continuation of the vision
that began in Ezekiel 8, but another vision is included here because of its
content."[1] We reject this altogether; because, (1) there has been no record thus far
in these chapters of Ezekiel's having been transported back to the Chebar; (2) when
he was transported back to the Chebar, the elders were still waiting there for his
vision to end and for the explanation of it that Ezekiel then shared with them; and
(3) the dramatic double message of these first 21 verses was extremely pertinent to
Ezekiel's ability to answer the questions of the elders that had brought them to
Ezekiel in the first place.
These reasons, which to us seem unanswerable, entitle us to receive this whole
chapter as the concluding section of these four chapters describing Ezekiel's vision-
journey to Jerusalem.
7

The practical divisions of the chapter are:
(1) God's Spirit takes Ezekiel to the outer eastern gate of the temple where he sees a
group of twenty-five men, apparently the and governmental leaders of the nation,
two of whom are named (Ezekiel 11:1-2);
(2) their light-hearted parable reflecting their false sense of security is turned
around upon them and made to reflect a prophecy of their doom (Ezekiel 11:3-12);
(3) Ezekiel's vision is confirmed by the sudden death of Pelatiah (Ezekiel 11:13);
(4) God comforted the exiles with a message of blessing and protection, recognizing
them as the "righteous remnant," actually, the "true Israel of God," thus
completely negating the claims of the crooked leaders in Jerusalem (Ezekiel
11:14-21);
(5) God's glory is forever separated from the secular temple of Israel (Ezekiel
11:22-23); and
(6) God's Spirit transports Ezekiel back to his residence on the Chebar in Babylon
where the elders are still there waiting to hear his message.
Ezekiel 11:1-2
"Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of Jehovah's
house, which looketh eastward: and behold, by the door of the gate five and twenty
men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the
son of Benaiah, princes of the people. And he said unto me, Son of man, these are
the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city."
8

The mention of Jaazaniah and Pelatiah in that group of twenty-five men, along with
their designation as "princes of the people" leads to the conclusion that all of these
men were governmental and leaders of the people. The particular meaning of the
four proper names in 1 was given by Plumptre. Jaazaniah means God hearkens;
Azzur means The Helper, Pelatiah means God rescues, and Benaiah means God
builds.[2] It has been suggested that the reason behind the giving of these names was
to show the contrast between what their names meant and the wickedness of their
counsel. Jaazaniah is distinguished from other persons with that name. We have no
further information about either one of them beyond what is given here.
COKE, “Ezekiel 11:1. Five and twenty men— The same who are represented in
chap. Ezekiel 8:16 as worshipping the sun. They were princes of the people; that is
to say, most probably members of the great Sanhedrim. Compare Jeremiah 26:10.
PETT, “Introduction
Chapter 11. The Reason Why Yahweh Must Depart - And His Final Departure.
Having described the commencement of Yahweh’s departure from Jerusalem,
Ezekiel now adds further reasons why it is necessary and well deserved, but adds to
it the certain hope that one day Israel will return with changed hearts and minds.
Then the mighty chariot of God finally leaves the city and hovers over the mountain
outside Jerusalem to the east, and Ezekiel is carried back to Babylon to tell those in
captivity what he has seen.
Verse 1
‘Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s
house, which looks eastward. And behold at the door of the gate five and twenty
men. And I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the
9

son of Benaiah, princes of the people.’
Ezekiel was now also transported to the east gate by the Spirit Who lifted him up as
before and brought him there. The east gate was the main gate of the temple which
was sited from east to west. At the door of the gate were twenty five men. These
were not the same as the ‘about twenty five’ of Ezekiel 8:16 but the repetition of the
number must be significant. Five is the number of covenant, and five times five may
therefore again signify representatives of the whole covenant community. They
include at least two of the princes of the people. Possibly the idea is also that they
have replaced the men who were in vision destroyed in the temple as the debased
leaders of Israel, or possibly they are the lay version of the twenty five in the inner
court, thus demonstrating that both priesthood and laity were defiled.
Among the twenty five were at least two especially prominent men, princes of the
people, although in fact they were all prominent men (Ezekiel 11:2). Most would be
replacements for those who had been carried off into exile. Thus they were mainly
not men of long experience. The gate would be large and have a spacious area where
men could gather. It was common for the leaders of a community to meet in such a
place (compare Jeremiah 26:10). Space was at a rare commodity in most ancient
cities which tended to be an unplanned huddle of houses.
Jaazaniah was a fairly common name. It was found on ostraca (inscribed pieces of
broken earthenware) at Lachish and Arad, and the name is also found in 2 Kings
25:23; Jeremiah 35:3. Thus we need not identify this Jaazaniah with that in Ezekiel
8:11. These two men had clearly been prominent in Ezekiel’s younger days, and he
recognised them.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 11:1 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.
Ver. 1. Moreover the Spirit lifted me up.] The same Spirit of God that lifted up and
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acted the living weights and the wheels; like as the same breath causeth the diverse
sounds in the organs.
Unto the east gate.] Of the outward court. [Ezekiel 10:19]
Five and twenty men.] Proceres populi, the senators of the city, with their prefect or
president. The like number is now at Rome, and likewise at London; an alderman in
each of the twenty-four wards, and a mayor. See Revelation 4:4.
Among whom I saw Jaazaniah.] I saw them, and knew them by name; but for no
good.
“ Iudex locusta civitatis est malus. ” - Scaliger.
EBC, “The second part of the vision (chapter 11) is hut loosely connected with the
first. Here Jerusalem still exists, and men are alive who must certainly have
perished in the "visitation of the city" if the writer had still kept himself within the
limits of his previous conception. But in truth the two have little in common, except
the Temple, which is the scene of both, and the cherubim, whose movements mark
the transition from the one to the other. The glory of Jehovah is already departing
from the house when it is stayed at the entrance of the east gate, to give the prophet
his special message to the exiles.
Here we are introduced to the more political aspect of the situation in Jerusalem.
The twenty-five men who are gathered in the east gate of the Temple are clearly the
leading statesmen in the city; and two of them, whose names are given, are expressly
designated as "princes of the people." They are apparently met in conclave to
deliberate on public matters, and a word from Jehovah lays open to the prophet the
nature of their projects. "These are the men that plan ruin, and hold evil counsel in
this city." The evil counsel is undoubtedly the project of rebellion against the king of
Babylon which must have been hatched at this time and which broke out into open
revolt about three years later. The counsel was evil because directly opposed to that
11

which Jeremiah was giving at the time in the name of Jehovah. But Ezekiel also
throws invaluable light on the mood of the men who were urging the king along the
path which led to ruin. "Are not the houses recently built?" they say, congratulating
themselves on their success in repairing the damage done to the city in the time of
Jehoiachin. The image of the pot and the flesh is generally taken to express the
feeling of easy security in the fortifications of Jerusalem with which these light-
hearted politicians embarked on a contest with Nebuchadnezzar. But their mood
must be a gloomier one than that if there is any appropriateness in the language
they use. To stew in their own juice, and over a fire of their own kindling, could
hardly seem a desirable policy to sane men, however strong the pot might be. These
councillors are well aware of the dangers they incur, and of the misery which their
purpose must necessarily bring on the people. But they are determined to hazard
everything and endure everything on the chance that the city may prove strong
enough to baffle the resources of the king of Babylon. Once the fire is kindled, it will
certainly be better to be in the pot than in the fire; and so long as Jerusalem holds
out they will remain behind her walls. The answer which is put into the prophet’s
mouth is that the issue will not be such as they hope for. The only "flesh" that will
be left in the city will be the dead bodies of those who have been slain within her
walls by the very men who hope that their lives will be given them for a prey. They
themselves shall be dragged forth to meet their fate far away from Jerusalem on the
"borders of Israel." It is not unlikely that these conspirators kept their word.
Although the king and all the men of war fled from the city as soon as a breach was
made, we read of certain high officials who allowed themselves to be taken in the
city. [Jeremiah 52:7] Ezekiel’s prophecy was in their case literally fulfilled; for these
men and many others were brought to the king of Babylon at Riblah, "and he smote
them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath."
While Ezekiel was uttering this prophecy one of the councillors, named Pelatiah,
suddenly fell down dead. Whether a man of this name had suddenly died in
Jerusalem under circumstances that had deeply impressed the prophet’s mind, or
whether the death belongs to the vision, it is impossible for us to tell. To Ezekiel the
occurrence seemed an earnest of the complete destruction of the remnant of Israel
by the wrath of God, and, as before, he fell on his face to intercede for them. It is
then that he receives the message which seems to form the Divine answer to the
perplexities which haunted the minds of the exiles in Babylon.
In their attitude towards the exiles the new leaders in Jerusalem took up a position
12

as highly privileged religious persons, quite at variance with the scepticism which
governed their conduct at home. When they were following the bent of their natural
inclinations by practising idolatry and perpetrating judicial murders in the city,
their cry was, "Jehovah hath forsaken the land; Jehovah seeth it not." When they
were eager to justify their claim to the places and possessions left vacant by their
banished countrymen, they said, "They are far from Jehovah: to us the land is given
in possession." They were probably equally sincere and equally insincere in both
professions. They had simply learned the art which comes easily to men of the world
of using religion as a cloak for greed, and throwing it off when greed could be best
gratified without it. The idea which lay under their religious attitude was that the
exiles had gone into captivity because their sins had incurred Jehovah’s anger, and
that now His wrath was exhausted and the blessing of His favour would rest on
those who had been left in the land. There was sufficient plausibility in the taunt to
make it peculiarly galling to the mind of the exiles, who had hoped to exercise some
influence over the government in Jerusalem, and to find their places kept for them
when they should be permitted to return. It may well have been the resentment
produced by tidings of this hostility towards them in Jerusalem that brought their
elders to the house of Ezekiel to see if he had not some message from Jehovah to
reassure them.
In the mind of Ezekiel, however, the problem took another form. To him a return to
the old Jerusalem had no meaning; neither buyer nor seller should have cause to
congratulate himself on his position. The possession of the land of Israel belonged to
those in whom Jehovah’s ideal of the new Israel was realised, and the only question
of religious importance was, Where is the germ of this new Israel to be found?
Amongst those who survive the judgment in the old land, or amongst those who
have experienced it in the form of banishment? On this point the prophet receives
an explicit revelation in answer to his intercession for "the remnant of Israel." "Son
of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy fellow-captives, and the whole house of
Israel of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, They are far from Jehovah:
to us it is given-the land for an inheritance! Because I have removed them far among
the nations, and have scattered them among the lands, and have been to them but
little of a sanctuary in the lands where they have gone, therefore say, Thus saith
Jehovah, so will I gather you from the peoples, and bring you from the lands where
ye have been scattered, and will give you the land of Israel." The difficult expression
"I have been but little of a sanctuary" refers to the curtailment of religious
privileges and means of access to Jehovah which was a necessary consequence of
exile. It implies, however, that Israel in banishment had learned in some measure to
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preserve that separation from other peoples and that peculiar relation to Jehovah
which constituted its national holiness. Religion perhaps perishes sooner from the
overgrowth of ritual than from its deficiency. It is a historical fact that the very
meagreness of the religion which could be practised in exile was the means of
strengthening the more spiritual and permanent elements which constitute the
essence of religion. The observances which could be maintained apart from the
Temple acquired an importance which they never afterwards lost; and although
some of these, such as circumcision, the Passover, the abstinence from forbidden
food, were purely ceremonial, others, such as prayer, reading of the Scriptures, and
the common worship of the synagogue, represent the purest and most indispensable
forms in which communion with God can find expression. That Jehovah Himself
became even in small measure what the word "sanctuary" denotes indicates an
enrichment of the religious consciousness of which perhaps Ezekiel himself did not
perceive the full import.
The great lesson which Ezekiel’s message seeks to impress on his hearers is that the
tenure of the land of Israel depends on religious conditions. The land is Jehovah’s,
and He bestows it on those who are prepared to use it as His holiness demands. A
pure land inhabited by a pure people is the ideal that underlies all Ezekiel’s visions
of the future. It is evident that in such a conception of the relation between God and
His people ceremonial conditions must occupy a conspicuous place. The sanctity of
the land is necessarily of a ceremonial order, and so the sanctity of the people must
consist partly in a scrupulous regard for ceremonial requirements. But after all the
condition of the land with respect to purity or uncleanness only reflects the
character of the nation whose home it is. The things that defile a land are such
things as idols and other emblems of heathenism, innocent blood unavenged, and
unnatural crimes of various kinds. These things derive their whole significance from
the state of mind and heart which they embody; they are the plain and palpable
emblems of human sin. It is conceivable that to some minds the outward emblems
may have seemed the true seat of evil, and their removal an end in itself apart from
the direction of the will by which it was brought about. But it would be a mistake to
charge Ezekiel with any such obliquity of moral vision. Although he conceives sin as
a defilement that leaves its mark on the material world, he clearly teaches that its
essence lies in the opposition of the human will to the will of God. The ceremonial
purity required of every Israelite is only the expression of certain aspects of
Jehovah’s holy nature, the bearing of which on man’s spiritual life may have been
obscure to the prophet, and is still more obscure to us. And the truly valuable
element in compliance with such rules was the obedience to Jehovah’s expressed will
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which flowed from a nature in sympathy with His. Hence in this chapter, while the
first thing that the restored exiles have to do is to cleanse the land of its
abominations, this act will be the expression of a nature radically changed, doing the
will of God from the heart. As the emblems of idolatry that defile the land were the
outcome of an irresistible national tendency to evil, so the new and sensitive spirit,
taking on the impress of Jehovah’s holiness through the law, shall lead to the
purification of the land from those things that had provoked the eyes of His glory.
"They shall come thither, and remove thence all its detestable things and all its
abominations. And I will give them another heart, and put a new spirit within them.
I will take away the stony heart from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh: that
they may walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them: and so shall
they be My people, and I will be their God". [Ezekiel 11:18-20]
Thus in the mind of the prophet Jerusalem and its Temple are already virtually
destroyed. He seemed to linger in the Temple court until he saw the chariot of
Jehovah withdrawn from the city as a token that the glory had departed from
Israel. Then the ecstasy passed away, and he found himself in the presence of the
men to whom the hope of the future had been offered, but who were as yet
unworthy to receive it.
WHEDON, “Verse 1
THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE PEOPLE GIVE WICKED COUNSEL,
AND ARE INVOLVED IN THE CITY’S RUIN, Ezekiel 11:1-21.
1. The spirit lifted me — See notes Ezekiel 3:12; Ezekiel 3:14; Ezekiel 8:3.
Brought me unto the east gate — Jehovah and the chariot of his glory had
previously removed to this place (Ezekiel 10:18-19). This was probably the outer
gate of the temple and faced the rising sun. The gate in oriental cities was the place
of judgment.
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Five and twenty men — Are these the twenty-five sun worshipers mentioned in
Ezekiel 8:16? No; these are not priests. These are the princes, or, literally,
“captains,” of the people. The army and laity, as well as the priesthood, are now
seen to be involved in rebellion against God. The number twenty-five may represent
two from each tribe, or two from each division of the army, or two from each of the
twelve regions of the city, led by the king or the general; or, being the usual
symbolical number of solidarity, it may merely represent pictorially “the whole
house of Israel” (Ezekiel 11:5).
Jaazaniah… and Pelatiah — Jaazaniah is a different man from the one mentioned
in Ezekiel 8:11. These were no doubt men well known in Jerusalem and also to the
exiles. Their names make the allusion peculiarly striking: Jaazaniah — “Jehovah
listens” — son of Azur, “the helper”; Pelatiah — “God delivers” — son of Benaiah,
“Jehovah builds”! No wonder Ezekiel became unpopular when he pointed out by
name the chief leaders of Israel and exposed their wickedness. These men were
probably regarded by many as the leaders of the patriotic party in Jerusalem. They
believed the holy city could never be captured, and advised rebellion against
Babylon and alliance with Egypt. (See chap. 17.) Ezekiel and Jeremiah and all
others who prophesied the conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon were called false
prophets (Jeremiah 18:18; Micah 3:11), and were no doubt declared to be in the pay
of the Babylonian court.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 11:1
Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, etc. It is noticeable that the position to which
Ezekiel was thus transported in his vision from his place in the inner court (Ezekiel
8:14), was identical with that which he had just seen occupied by the cherub chariot
before its departure (Ezekiel 10:19). What he is about to see will throw light on the
significance of their departure. The gate is probably, here as there, that of the court
of the temple. Five and twenty men. The number at first reminds us of the
worshippers of the sun, in Ezekiel 8:16; but that, as we saw, was probably a
company of priests. On the other hand, the two who are named are styled princes of
the people, which suggests a lay rather than a priestly status, and they are seen in a
different locality. Conjectures as to the significance of the number vary.
BI. “Prophesy against them.
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Evil in high places
The spirit told Ezekiel that the princes were the men that devised mischief and gave
wicked counsels to the city. How often have we seen this prostitution of great mental
power and great official authority through the service of evil! Imagine the picture of five-
and-twenty men, the princes of Israel, all given over to the conception of evil policies and
the execution of selfish designs! We shall miss the whole purpose of Divine revelation if
we suppose that evil is local, or that it is confined to the ignorant and the poor. Evil is
universal: it is in the thrones of the nations, as well as in the hovels and huts of poverty;
the king has wandered as far from the standard of righteousness as has the meanest
subject of his crown. Education when not sanctified is simply an instrument of evil.
Great social station, when it is divorced from the action of a healthy conscience, only
gives a man leverage, by the working of which he can do infinite social mischief. Moral
security, therefore, is not in circumstances, but in character. When princes are right and
just, wise and patriotic, it does not follow that the people will follow their example, or
reproduce their excellences; but when the princes are of a contrary mind it is easy to
imagine how their great influence may contribute vastly to the spread of wrong thinking
and mischievous action. Religious apostasy means social anarchy. When the princes
ceased to pray they ceased to regard human nature as of any value: slaughter became a
pastime; heaps of slain men were passed by as mere commonplaces, and the whole city
became as but a cauldron in which the flesh of men might be boiled. But God Himself
says He will make this use of the city; He will make it a cauldron, and they who supposed
it was a place of security shall find what uses providence can make of human
arrangements. The Lord says that He is proceeding on account of the sins of the people,
saying, “I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.” The empire of
the mind is supposed to be the exclusive property of the individual: what brother can
take out of his brother’s heart all the thoughts that live there? What man can read the
mind of his dearest friend, and be as familiar with that friend’s motives as he is with that
friend’s conduct? The mind can shut out the closest observer, yet the one observer that it
cannot exclude is the living God. The things that come into the mind determine the real
character of the mind of man, Conduct is but a short measure by which to estimate a
man’s character. (J. Parker, D. D.)
A vision of priesthoods
I. The destruction of a corrupt priesthood. The evil of the priesthood of that city and day
is seen in this vision to consist in—
1. Their unhallowed designs and influence. The inventions of the genius of evil are,
as they were then, often manifold and deep.
2. Their contempt of sacred things. They actually play about “the cauldron” that
Jeremiah had seen in a vision of retribution. Familiarity with sacred things is
perilous to men who lose true sacredness of living, for they are tempted to use their
wit to cover their shallowness, with regard to themes wherein they should “stand in
awe and sin not.”
3. Their false security. Their assertion about the Chaldean invasion, “It is not near,”
illustrates the presumptuousness that ever marks mere professors of piety.
4. Their conformity to evil associations. Whereas the one consecrating cry of all true
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priesthoods is, “Be ye separate,” the histories of all corrupt priesthoods reveal a
conformity to the world with which they have to do, that may well be charged against
them in the words heard in the vision, “Ye have done after the manner of the
heathen.”
5. Their liability to terrible retribution. The death of Pelatiah, at the very time when
Ezekiel was pronouncing the doom of this priesthood, is an emblem of retribution
history records, and prophecy predicts on all the false.
II. The indications of a man belonging to the true priesthood.
1. Open to Divine illumination. As Ezekiel was “lifted up” by the Spirit, and
afterwards had that Spirit “fall upon him”—indicating, surely, special contact with
the Divine; so there is the promise to every regenerate man “that he shall see heavens
opened.”
2. Sensitive to impressions from human life. To be Divinely enlightened does not
indicate that there will be any functionalism, any stoicism in the man.
3. A wide conscious brotherliness. The cry to the exile, “thy brethren, thy brethren,”
indicated that not alone in the twenty-five who had fallen, but in the scattered
throngs that would be gathered again, he recognised a brotherhood. So our Master
has taught us, “all ye are brethren.”
4. Commissioned to proclaim inspiring promises. The priestly prophet was to utter
as surely as was Isaiah, and every God-sent messenger, a “comfort ye.”
III. The formation of a true priesthood.
I. Divinely collected. God knew where the scattered were, and would gather them again.
The eye of God resting alike on all classes and castes, churches and countries, discovers
the genuine men. He has been a “sanctuary for a little time” to them in the midst of
uncongenial pursuits, hostile circumstances, adverse experiences; but from every such
Babylon of evil He will gather them for His sacred work.
2. Divinely regenerated. No words could more forcibly express a complete moral and
spiritual reformation than “the words in which the eternal Spirit of Goodness
declares, “I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of
their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.”
3. Divinely adopted. “They shall be My people,” etc. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
2 The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the
men who are plotting evil and giving wicked
advice in this city.
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GILL, "Then said he unto me, son of man,.... That is, the Lord, or, the Spirit of the
Lord, that lifted him up:
these are the men that devise mischief; or "vanity" (d); this is to be understood
not of the two only that are named, though it may of them chiefly; but of all the twenty
five, who formed schemes for the holding out of the siege, and for the security of the city,
and of themselves in it, which was all folly and vanity:
and give wicked counsel in this city; either in ecclesiastical affairs, to forsake the
worship of God, and cleave to the idols of the nations; or in civil things, as follows:
(d) ‫און‬ "vanitatem", Calvin, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius; "vanum", Cocceius,
Starckius.
JAMISON, "he — the Lord sitting on the cherubim (Eze_10:2).
wicked counsel — in opposition to the prophets of God (Eze_11:3).
PETT, “Verse 2
‘And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who scheme iniquity and who
give wicked counsel to this city. Who say, ‘the time is not near to build houses. This
city is the cauldron and we are the flesh’.” ’
These men met together as counsellors to advise the city. But in Yahweh’s eyes what
they schemed was iniquitous and wicked, and their counsel was evil. Their counsel
was probably similar to that proscribed in Micah 2:1-2, resulting from the fact that
‘they covet fields and seize them, and houses and take them away. And they oppress
a man and his house, even a man and his heritage’ (see Ezekiel 11:12). Compare also
Jeremiah 22:13, ‘who uses his neighbour’s service without wages and does not give
him his hire’. The leading men were using their position to enrich themselves.
Their particular advice is stated as, ‘the time is not near to build houses’. They may
have been arguing against building houses because of their own mercenary interest.
Perhaps they wanted to keep the number of houses low to increase rents, or to keep
19

the land free where houses had been destroyed in the previous invasion, so that they
could buy it cheaply. They may even have cited the example of the Rechabites as an
example to follow (Jeremiah 35:7), but with evil motive.
Alternately that advice possibly meant that this was no time to build houses because
they should be building fortifications ready for rebellion against Nebuchanezzar,
probably with the help of Egypt. They would hardly go it alone and the ‘Lachish
letters’, ostraca discovered on the site of Lachish, confirm military contact with
Egypt. So they were possibly advocating rebellion and resistance. This would
suggest that they were not only greedy for other people’s property but also for
status, advancement and power. (The false prophets were at this time predicting the
fall of Nebuchadnezzar and freedom from his yoke - Jeremiah 28:1-4 - which in
itself would be a spur to rebellion).
This interpretation fits well with the illustration, ‘this city is the cauldron and we
are the flesh’. Here they were likening Jerusalem to a protective cauldron which
kept them (the flesh) out of the fire (of judgment) while they were being made into a
delicious meal, something delightful and desirable. Thus they were arguing that its
walls would protect them from Nebuchadnezzar, as the sides of the cauldron
protected the flesh inside.
So they oozed sinful self confidence, while they were disobedient to the commands of
Yahweh through His prophets (Ezekiel 11:12; Micah 2:1-2; Jeremiah 21:8-10). They
were being presumptious and relying, in spite of their own sinfulness and idolatry,
on the well established idea that Yahweh would not allow the city and temple to be
destroyed. If they were also relying on Egypt it compounded their sin. But there was
no way in which it was through genuine trust in Yahweh.
Indeed they may well have claimed that Yahweh had removed the old unbelieving
leadership in judgment so as to make room for them. ‘We are the flesh’, may be
intended to imply that those previous leaders were rejected offal, as they are seen as
suggesting later in Ezekiel 11:15. (Those who see themselves as ‘chosen’ can often
behave and think foolishly). But Yahweh had warned them through Jeremiah that
they could not rely on belief in the inviolability of Jerusalem. That superstitious
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belief would cause Israel great damage now as it would on a number of occasions.
But unlike Ezekiel they did not realise that Yahweh had for the time finished with
both, for they did not believe the words of His prophets. Had they repented it might
have been different, but Yahweh knew that they were too hardened to repent
(compare Jeremiah 42-43).
However, the Hebrew says literally‘who say, ‘not at hand to build houses’, and AV,
for example, translates, ‘it is not near, let us build houses’, meaning that the coming
judgment was far off so that they could settle down in peace and build houses to live
in with the future secure (compare Ezekiel 28:26). But the infinitive cannot easily be
so interpreted as an exhortation, which is against this translation.
But another possibility in line with this is to see the Hebrew as a question, ‘is not the
time at hand to build houses?’ which contains the same idea. LXX seemingly read it
in a similar way and translated ‘who say, Have not the houses been newly built?
This is the cauldron, and we are the flesh’ which might be seen as supporting
something like this (but LXX is not necessarily reliable as a deciding factor). Under
this interpretation it would, however, simply be presumption of a different kind,
and still be relying on the security of Jerusalem to protect them. They would be
advocating building houses and by it denying that Yahweh was about to act against
the city.
An alternative idea is that ‘the time is not near to build houses’ had the exiles in
mind. The exiles were being exhorted by the prophets to settle down in exile.
Perhaps these men were arguing, against Yahweh, that now was not the time to
build houses in exile, it was the time for freeing Jerusalem. (The words were in
vision and finally intended for the exiles to interpret and understand. They were to
see this as wrong advice, and iniquitous).
But the central point is the same in all views. That they were being presumptious,
that they were relying on the fallacy of the inviolability of Jerusalem, that they were
exalting themselves, and that they were ignoring Yahweh’s words through His
prophets. They were frighteningly blind to their own failures and self-satisfied in
spite of their iniquitous behaviour.
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TRAPP, “Ezekiel 11:2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these [are] the men that
devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
Ver. 2. These are the men that devise mischief.] That whet their wits and beat their
brains about it; the politicians of the time, who, like children, are ever standing on
their heads, and shaking their heels against heaven.
And give wicked counsel.] As Balaam and Ahithophel did of old, as Machiavel did at
Florence, and Gondamor here did of later times. The prophet here nameth a couple,
and taketh the same liberty to reprove them that they took to do amiss.
3 They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently
rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in
it.’
BARNES, "It is not near - In contradiction to Eze_7:2.
Let us build houses - “To build houses” implies a sense of security. Jeremiah bade
the exiles “build houses” in a foreign land because they would not soon quit it Jer_29:5;
Jer_35:7. These false counselors promised to their countrymen a sure and permanent
abode in the city which God had doomed to destruction. No need, they said, to go far for
safety; you are perfectly safe at home. The Hebrew, however, is, difficult: literally it
means, “It is not near to build houses,” which may be explained as spoken in mockery of
such counsel as that of Jeremiah: matters have not gone so far as to necessitate “house-
building” in a foreign land. The same idea is expressed by the image of the “caldron:”
whatever devastation may rage around the city, we are safe within its walls, as flesh
within a caldron is unburned by the surrounding fire (compare Eze_24:6).
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CLARKE, "It is not near - That is, the threatened invasion.
This city is the caldron, and we be the flesh - See the vision of the seething pot,
Jer_1:13. These infidels seem to say: “We will run all risks, we will abide in the city.
Though it be the caldron, and we the flesh, yet we will share its fate: if it perish, we will
perish with it.” Or they may allude to the above prediction of Jeremiah, in order to
ridicule it: “We were to have been boiled long ago: but the fulfillment of that prediction
is not near yet.”
GILL, "Which say it is not near, let us build houses,.... Meaning that the
destruction of the city was not near, as the prophet had foretold, Eze_7:3; and therefore
encourage the people to build houses, and rest themselves secure, as being safe from all
danger, and having nothing to fear from the Chaldean army; and so putting away the evil
day far from them, which was just at hand: though the words may be rendered, "it is not
proper to build houses near" (e); near the city of Jerusalem, in the suburbs of it, since
they would be liable to be destroyed by the enemy; but this would not be condemned as
wicked counsel, but must be judged very prudent and advisable: and the same may be
objected to another rendering of the word, which might be offered, "not in the midst to
build houses"; or it is not proper to build houses in the midst of the city, in order to
receive the multitude that flock out of the country, through fear of the enemy, to
Jerusalem for safety; since by this means, as the number of the inhabitants would be
increased, so provisions in time would become scarce, and a famine must ensue, which
would oblige to deliver up the city into the hands of the besiegers; wherefore the first
sense seems best. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render them, "are not the houses
lately built?" and so not easily demolished, and are like to continue long, and we in them;
this city is the cauldron, and we be the flesh; referring to, and laughing at, what
one of the prophets, namely Jeremiah, had said of them, comparing them to a boiling
pot, Jer_1:13; and it is as if they should say, be it so, that this city is as a cauldron or
boiling pot, then we are the flesh in it; and as flesh is not taken out of a pot until it is
boiled, no more shall we be removed from hence till we die; we shall live and die in this
city; and as it is difficult and dangerous to take hot boiling meat out of a cauldron, so it,
is unlikely we should be taken out of this city, and carried captive; what a cauldron or
brasen pot is to the flesh, it holds and keeps it from falling into the fire; that the walls of
Jerusalem are to us, our safety and preservation; nor need we fear captivity.
JAMISON, "It is not near — namely, the destruction of the city; therefore “let us
build houses,” as if there was no fear. But the Hebrew opposes English Version, which
would require the infinitive absolute. Rather, “Not at hand is the building of houses.”
They sneer at Jeremiah’s letter to the captives, among whom Ezekiel lived (Jer_29:5).
“Build ye houses, and dwell in them,” that is, do not fancy, as many persuade you, that
your sojourn in Babylon is to be short; it will be for seventy years (Jer_25:11, Jer_25:12;
Jer_29:10); therefore build houses and settle quietly there. The scorners in Jerusalem
reply, Those far off in exile may build if they please, but it is too remote a concern for us
to trouble ourselves about [Fairbairn], (Compare Eze_12:22, Eze_12:27; 2Pe_3:4).
23

this city ... caldron ... we ... flesh — sneering at Jer_1:13, when he compared the
city to a caldron with its mouth towards the north. “Let Jerusalem be so if you will, and
we the flesh, exposed to the raging foe from the north, still its fortifications will secure us
from the flame of war outside; the city must stand for our sakes, just as the pot exists for
the safety of the flesh in it.” In opposition to this God says (Eze_11:11), “This city shall
not be your caldron, to defend you in it from the foe outside: nay, ye shall be driven out
of your imaginary sanctuary and slain in the border of the land.” “But,” says God, in
Eze_11:7, “your slain are the flesh, and this city the caldron; but (not as you fancy, shall
ye be kept safe inside) I will bring you forth out of the midst of it”; and again, in Eze_
24:3, “Though not a caldron in your sense, Jerusalem shall be so in the sense of its being
exposed to a consuming foe, and you yourselves in it and with it.”
CALVIN, “Here the Prophet explains what might be obscure through their
perverseness. He brings forward, therefore, what the impious thought could be
covered by many fallacies. For we know that hypocrites endeavor to fix their eyes on
God, and when they scatter their own clouds before themselves, they think that he is
blinded. For this reason Isaiah says, that God also is wise, (Isaiah 31:2,) and derides
their cunning, since they think that they blind God’s eyes whilst they conceal their
sins with various coverings. Since, therefore, the obstinacy of these men was so
great., the Prophet here strips off their mask; for they could be turned aside by
perverse counsels to deny that they deserved anything of the kind. But the Prophet
here cuts away their pretenses, because, in truth, their impiety was more than
sufficiently evident, since they boast that the time is not yet at hand, and, therefore,
that they might build houses at Jerusalem as in a time of ease and peace. As we saw
in Jeremiah, the time of the last destruction was approaching; everything remaining
in the city had now been destined to final ruin: and for this reason Jeremiah advised
houses to be built in Chaldea and in foreign lands, since the captives must spend a
long period there, even seventy years. (Jeremiah 29:5.) Since then the predicted time
was now drawing on, it became extreme folly in the people to oppose themselves,
and to treat God’s threats as a laughing-stock, and to boast that it was a time for
building. Now, therefore, we see what the Prophet blames and condemns in the five
and twenty men who were princes of the people, namely, that they hardened the
people in obstinate wickedness, and encouraged torpor, so that the Prophet’s threats
were unheeded. Since, therefore, they so stupified the people by their enticements,
and took away all sense of repentance, they also set aside all fear of God’s wrath
which had been denounced against them. The Prophet condemns this depravity in
their counsels.
But, in the second clause, this contempt appears more detestable when they say, that
Jerusalem is the caldron, and they are the flesh I do not doubt their allusion to
24

Jeremiah; for in the first chapter the pot was shown, but the fire was from the
north, (Jeremiah 1:13;) so then the Spirit wished to teach us, that the Chaldeans
would come like a fire to consume Jerusalem, as if a pot is placed on a large and
constant fire, even if it be full of water and flesh, yet its contents are consumed, and
the juice of the flesh is dried up by too long cooking. God had demonstrated this by
his servant Jeremiah: here the Jews deride and factiously elude what ought to strike
them with no light fear, unless they had been too slothful: behold, say they, we are
the flesh and Jerusalem is the caldron: So they seem to rate the Prophet Jeremiah,
as if he were inconsistent, — “What? do you threaten us with captivity? and
meanwhile you say that this city will be the pot and the Chaldeans the fire. If God
wishes to consume us, therefore let us remain within: thus we may build houses.”
Now we understand how they sought some appearance of inconsistency in the words
of the Prophet: as reprobate and profane men always take up arguments by which
they may diminish and extenuate all faith in heavenly doctrine, nay, even reduce it
to nothing if they could. The Prophet, therefore, provides a remedy for this evil, as
we have seen. But before he proceeds to it, he repeats their impious saying, that
Jerusalem is a caldron, and the people flesh They turned what had been said to a
meaning directly contrary, for the Prophet said that they should burn since the
Chaldeans would be like fire’ but they said — well, we shall be scorched, but that
will be done lightly, so that we shall remain safe to a good old age. Hence we
understand how diabolical was their audacity, who were so blinded by the just
judgments of God, that they did not scruple petulantly to blame even God himself,
and to make a laughingstock of the authority of his teaching. Thus we see in another
way how faithfully Ezekiel had discharged his duty: he had been created a Prophet:
he had not to discharge his office by himself, but was an assistant to Jeremiah. And
we cannot otherwise discharge our duty to God and his Church unless we mutually
extend our hands to each other, when ministers are mutually united and one studies
to assist the other. Ezekiel now signifies this when he professes himself the ally and
assistant of Jeremiah.
COFFMAN, “Verse 3
"They say, the time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are
the flesh. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy O son of man."
The understanding of this is difficult. The best versions of the Bible render the verse
25

differently. They say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and
we be the flesh (KJV).
Is not the time near to build houses? this city is the caldron and we are the flesh
(ASV margin).
We will soon be building houses again. The city is like a cooking pot, and we are like
the meat in it, but at least it protects us from the fire (the Good News Bible).
Will it not soon be time to build houses? The city is a cooking pot, and we are the
meat (NIV).
Saying, Were not houses lately built? This city is the caldron, and we the flesh
(Douay Version).
Houses have been recently rebuilding; all is well! The city is a cauldron, and we are
the flesh, safe inside in it. (Moffatt's Translation).
These versions and translations are enough to show how general is the uncertainty
about what is actually said here. It will be noticed that some have taken great
liberties with the text, even introducing thoughts in no way connected with it.
Beasley-Murray accepted the ASV margin, and accepted the thought as opposed to
the prophetic warnings and a support for Jerusalem's false sense of security.[3]
Bruce also preferred the ASV marginal rendition, stating that the false leaders here
claimed security, normality, and their expectation of a long residency in
Jerusalem.[4]
The learned opinions of scholars like Bruce and Beasley-Murray are impressive, but
26

their weakness rests in the fact that the Hebrew text simply does not fit such
interpretations; and therefore we favor the view of Keil.
Keil took the view that the `house-building' referred to here is a reference to
Jeremiah's instructions (Jeremiah 29:5), making the words here a brazen attempt to
contradict Jeremiah's instructions to the exiles. This would give a meaning like this:
"House-building in exile is a long way off. It will not come to this; Jerusalem will
not fall into the hands of the king of Babylon."[5]
Whatever the false leaders were saying in Jerusalem, we are certain that their
policies, their advice to the people and their false sense of security were all extremely
wicked.
The meaning of their proverb about the caldron and the flesh in it seems to be clear
enough. They fancied themselves to be the meat, preserved and safe in the pot, at the
same time falsely imputing to the exiles the status of the excess liquor already
poured out of the caldron.
The remaining Jews in Jerusalem at that time, following their wicked leaders looked
upon themselves as "the true and only Israel." They alone were in God's land; all
others, including the exiles, were out of it for ever. They no longer counted. The
Jerusalemites alone had access to the Temple and its sacred services. They detested
and despised the exiles, supposing that God no longer cared for them, and they
thought that they alone were the heirs of the promises to the patriarchs. It was the
horrible unjustness and arrogance of such views that had reached the exiles; and it
was that very problem that had brought the elders to the house of Ezekiel at the
beginning of this section in chapter 8.
The very next few verses here will present the situation as it really was, namely, that
the exiles were the "true Israel," and that the Jerusalemites were doomed to utter
destruction, except for a few who would be added to the remnant in Babylon.
27

COKE, “Ezekiel 11:3. This city is the caldron— When they say, that doth not yet
hang over, or threaten us, that our houses should be the caldron, and we the flesh.
Jeremiah, as well as Ezekiel himself, foretold the destruction of Jerusalem under the
metaphor of a seething-pot. See chap. 24: and Jeremiah 1:13.; an idea which these
infidels seem here to ridicule.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 11:3 Which say, [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is]
the caldron, and we [be] the flesh.
Ver. 3. Which say, It is not near,] sc., The evil day is not. The vision that he seeth is
for many days to come; and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. [Ezekiel
12:22; Ezekiel 12:27] See Amos 6:3, Isaiah 29:1, 2 Peter 3:4. And this was likely the
evil counsel they gave the king and people, lulling them asleep in the cradle of carnal
security.
Let us build houses.] Though Jeremiah hath counselled us to the contrary,
[Jeremiah 29:5] though he, with all the wit he hath, hath told us that this city is the
caldron, and we are the flesh. [Jeremiah 1:13] Some such thing Jeremiah had indeed
foretold, and these profane scoffers made a jeer at it. Captant argutias quibus
elevant omnem fidem doctrinae coelestis. This made good Jeremiah complain
heavily: Jeremiah 20:7-8, "I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me," &c. Our
prophet Ezekiel, though he name him not, yet confirmeth his holy sayings, and
threateneth his scurrilous adversaries. Ministers should stand by and for one
another.
WHEDON, “3. It is not near; let us build houses — Rather, the time to build houses
is not near. The meaning is obscure, but seems to be this: It is no time now for
peaceful occupations (Ezekiel 28:26; Isaiah 65:21; Jeremiah 29:5; Jeremiah 29:28).
Jeremiah had called Jerusalem a seething “pot” — the same word as caldron in
Hebrew (Jeremiah 1:13) — and so it might become if they did not arouse from their
lethargy. But even the walls of an iron pot protect the flesh within it, and it was the
part of patriots to strengthen their defenses rather than to give up to despair or leap
into the Babylonian fires; therefore they will stay behind the walls, and, if they must
die, they will die there. This was the answer of the war party to the prophets who
28

counseled submission to Babylon, and it struck a popular chord.
PULPIT, “It is not near, etc. The words take their place among the popular, half-
proverbial sayings of which we have other examples in Ezekiel 8:12; Ezekiel 9:9;
and Ezekiel 18:2. As in most proverbs of this kind, the thought is condensed to the
very verge of obscurity, and the words have received very different interpretations.
I find what suggests this view
4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son
of man.”
GILL, "Therefore prophesy against them,.... Evil things against them, things that
are disagreeable to them; since they flatter themselves with good things, and cry peace
and safety, let them know that destruction is coming upon them: or, "concerning them"
(f); what will befall them, and that it will be otherwise with them than they imagine:
prophesy, O son of man; this is repeated, not only to stir up the prophet to the
performance of his work and office, not fearing the faces, and revilings, and mockings of
men; but to show the indignation of the Lord at their scoffs and jeers, and the certain
accomplishment of what should be predicted.
HENRY 4-12, “. The method taken to awaken them out of their security. One would
think that the providences of God which related to them were enough to startle them;
but, to help them to understand and improve those, the word of God is sent to them to
give them warning (Eze_11:4): Therefore prophesy against them, and try to undeceive
them; prophesy, O son of man! upon these dead and dry bones. Note, The greatest
kindness ministers can do to secure sinners is to preach against them, and to show them
their misery and danger, though they are ever so unwilling to see them. We then act
most for them when we appear most against them. But the prophet, being at a loss what
to say to men that were hardened in sin, and that bade defiance to the judgments of God,
the Spirit of the Lord fell upon him, to make him full of power and courage, and said
29

unto him, Speak. Note, When sinners are flattering themselves into their own ruin it is
time to speak, and to tell them that they shall have no peace if they go on. Ministers are
sometimes so bashful and timorous, and so much at a loss, that they must be put on to
speak, and to speak boldly. But he that commands the prophet to speak gives him
instructions what to say; and he must address himself to them as the house of Israel
(Eze_11:5), for not the princes only, but all the people, were concerned to know the truth
of their cause, to know the worst of it. They are the house of Israel, and therefore the
God of Israel is concerned, in kindness to them, to give them warning; and they are
concerned in duty to him to take the warning. And what is it that the must say to them in
God's name? 1. Let them know that the God of heaven takes notice of the vain
confidences with which they support themselves (Eze_11:5): “I know the things which
come into your minds every one of them, what secret reasons you have for these
resolutions, and what you aim at in putting so good a face upon a matter you know to be
bad.” Note, God perfectly knows not only the things that come out of our mouths, but
the things that come into our minds, not only all we say, but all we think; even those
thoughts that are most suddenly darted into our minds, and that as suddenly slip out of
them again, so that we ourselves are scarcely aware of them, yet God knows them. He
knows us better than we know ourselves; he understands our thoughts afar off. The
consideration of this should oblige us to keep our hearts with all diligence, that no vain
thoughts come into them or lodge within them. 2. Let them know that those who advised
the people to stand it out should be accounted before God the murderers of all who had
fallen, or should yet fall, in Jerusalem, by the sword of the Chaldeans; and those slain
were the only ones that should remain in the city, as the flesh in the caldron. “You have
multiplied your slain in the city, not only those whom you have by the sword of justice
unjustly put to death under colour of law, but those whom you have by your wilfulness
and pride unwisely exposed to the sword of war, though you were told by the prophets
that you should certainly go by the worst. Thus you, with your stubborn humour, have
filled the streets of Jerusalem with the slain,” Eze_11:6. Note, Those who are either
unrighteous or imprudent in beginning or carrying on a war bring upon themselves a
great deal of the guilt of blood; and those who are slain in the battles or sieges which
they, by such a reasonable peace as the war aimed at, might have prevented, will be
called their slain. Now these slain are the only flesh that shall be left in this caldron,
Eze_11:7. There shall none remain to keep possession of the city but those that are
buried in it. There shall be no inhabitants of Jerusalem but the inhabitants of the graves
there, no freemen of the city but the free among the dead. 3. Let them know that, how
impregnable soever they thought their city to be, they should be forced out of it, either
driven to flight or dragged into captivity: I will bring you forth out of the midst of it,
whether you will or no, Eze_11:7, Eze_11:9. They had provoked God to forsake the city,
and thought they should do well enough by their own policy and strength when he was
gone; but God will make them know that there is no peace to those that have left their
God. If they have by their sins driven God from his house, he will soon by his judgments
drive them from theirs; and it will be found that those are least safe that are most secure:
“This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall you be the flesh; you shall not soak
away in it as you promise yourselves, and die in your nest; you think yourself safe in the
midst thereof, but you shall not be long there.” 4. Let them know that when God has got
them out of the midst of Jerusalem he will pursue them with his judgments wherever he
finds them, the judgments which they thought to shelter themselves from by keeping
close in Jerusalem. They feared the sword if they should go out to the Chaldeans, and
therefore would abide in their caldron, but, says God, I will bring a sword upon you
30

(Eze_11:8) and you shall fall by the sword, Eze_11:10. Note, The fear of the wicked shall
come upon him. And there is no fence against the judgments of God when they come
with commission, no, not in walls of brass. They were afraid of trusting to the mercy of
strangers. “But,” says God, “I will deliver you into the hands of strangers, whose
resentments you shall feel, since you were not willing to lie at their mercy.” See Jer_
38:17, Jer_38:18. They thought to escape the judgments of God, but God says that he
will execute judgments upon them; and whereas they resolved, if they must be judged,
that it should be in Jerusalem, God tells them (Eze_11:10 and again Eze_11:11) that he
will judge them in the borders of Israel, which was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar slew
all the nobles of Judah at Riblah in the land of Hamath, on the utmost border of the land
of Canaan. Note, Those who have taken ever so deep root in the place where they live
cannot be sure that in that place they shall die. 5. Let them know that all this is the due
punishment of their sin, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God against
them: You shall know that I am the Lord, Eze_11:10 and again Eze_11:12. Those shall be
made to know by the sword of the Lord who would not be taught by his word what a
hatred he has to sin, and what a fearful thing it is for impenitent sinners to fall into his
hands. I will execute judgments, and then you shall know that I am the Lord, for the
Lord is known by the judgments which he executes upon those that have not walked in
his statutes. Hereby it is known that he made the law, because he punishes the breach of
it. I will execute judgments among you (says God) because you have not executed my
judgments, Eze_11:12. Note, The executing of the judgments of God's mouth by us, in a
uniform steady course of obedience to his law, is the only way to prevent the executing of
the judgments of his hand upon us in our ruin and confusion. One way or other. God's
judgments will be executed; the law will take place either in its precept or in its penalty.
If we do not give honour to God by executing his judgments as he has commanded, he
will get him honour upon us by executing his judgments as he has threatened; and thus
we shall know that he is the Lord, the sovereign Lord of all, that will not be mocked. And
observe, When they cast off God's statutes, and walked not in them, they did after the
manners of the heathen that were round about them, and introduced into their worship
all their impure, ridiculous, and barbarous usages. When men leave the settled rule of
divine institutions, they wander endlessly. Justly therefore was this made the reason
why they should keep God's ordinances, that they might not commit the abominable
customs of the heathen, Lev_18:30.
JAMISON, "prophesy ... prophesy — The repetition marks emphatic earnestness.
CALVIN, “Yesterday we saw that the Jews scurrilously eluded the prophecies of
Jeremiah, especially when he threatened them with God’s wrath. For he had said,
that a vision was offered to him, in which Jerusalem was like a pot, and the fire
lighted from the north. For a laughing-stock they said that they could rest safely
within the city, because they were not yet cooked but raw, so that if that prophecy is
true, said they, we shall not so quickly depart from the city. For God foretold that
we should be the flesh which was about to be cooked: if this city is a caldron, we
ought to remain here till we are cooked: but this has not happened. Hence what
31

Jeremiah pronounces is vain, that we shall be dragged into exile, because these two
things disagree, viz., God wishing us to rest in the city, and yet dragging us into a
distant region. Since it is so, Jeremiah’s prophecy is vain; thus then they deceived
themselves. But God commands another Prophet of his to rise up against them. And
the repetition is emphatic, prophesy, prophesy against them For nothing is less
tolerable than that men should petulantly spurn God’s anger, which ought to inspire
all with fear. For if the mountains melt before him, (Isaiah 64:3,) if angels
themselves tremble, (Job 4:18,) how comes it that the vessel of clay dares to conflict
with its maker? (Isaiah 45:9.) And we see also how God grows angry against such
perverseness; especially when he denounces, by the mouth of Isaiah, that this sin
would be unpardonable. I have called you, said he, to ashes and mourning: but, on
the other hand, ye have said, Let us eat and drink, and ye have turned my threats
into a laughing-stock. For this was your proverb, to-morrow we shall die: as I live,
your iniquity shall not go unpunished. God affirms by an oath, that he would never
be appeased by the impious and profane despisers of his judgments. For this reason
also he now repeats again, prophesy, prophesy. Let us go on —
PETT, “Verse 4
‘Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy O son of man.’
Ezekiel is to raise his voice against these presumptious ideas for they were the
evidence of a complacency not justified by the facts. Judah and Israel were still not
repentant over their sinfulness, and until they were there could be no restoration.
Note that the command to prophesy is given twice for emphasis. There is need for
his words.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
Ver. 4. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy.] Urger et repetit, ne cunctetur.
Out of greatest indignation against these pests, he pricketh him on to prophesy, as
having vengeance "in a readiness for the disobedient." [2 Corinthians 10:6]
Mockers shall be sure to have their "bands increased." [Isaiah 28:22]
32

PULPIT, “Ezekiel 11:4, Ezekiel 11:5
The prophet still, we must remember, in his vision, is bidden to do his work as a
true prophet, and to rebuke the defiant speech which he had heard. As in Ezekiel
2:2, the Spirit of Jehovah comes upon him, and throws him into the prophetic
ecstasy. It is noticeable that here, as in Ezekiel 2:3, his message is not to Judah only,
but to the whole house of Israel as represented by those to whom he spoke. I know
the things. This, as ever, was one of the notes of a true prophet, that he shared, as
was needed for his work, in the knowledge of him from whom no secrets are hid
(John 2:24, John 2:25; Matthew 9:4; 1 Corinthians 14:25). Thoughts, as well as
words, were laid bare before him, as they were to his Lord (Hebrews 4:12).
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he
told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: That
is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I
know what is going through your mind.
GILL, "And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me,.... In an extraordinary manner,
and afresh, and enlightened his mind, and showed him things that should come to pass;
and filled him with boldness and courage to declare them. The Targum interprets it of
the spirit of prophecy:
and said unto me, speak; what I shall show and put into thy mouth, that speak out;
be not afraid, but boldly declare all that I give thee in commission to say:
thus saith the Lord, thus have ye said, O house of Israel; as in Eze_11:3; which
perhaps was said in secret, and spoken privately, but known by the Lord; and it was not
only the princes that said it, but the whole body of the people joined in with it, and
agreed to it; though it is very probable they were influenced by the former:
33

for I know the things that come into your mind, everyone of them; not only
their scoffing words, but the thoughts of their hearts; not one of them escaped the
knowledge of God; the consideration of which should command an awe on men, and
engage them to a watchfulness over their thoughts, words, and actions.
JAMISON, "Spirit ... fell upon me — stronger than “entered into me” (Eze_2:2;
Eze_3:24), implying the zeal of the Spirit of God roused to immediate indignation at the
contempt of God shown by the scorners.
I know — (Psa_139:1-4). Your scornful jests at My word escape not My notice.
K&D 5-12, “And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and said to me: Say, Thus saith
Jehovah, So ye say, O house of Israel, and what riseth up in your spirit, that I know.
Eze_11:6. Ye have increased your slain in this city, and filled its streets with slain. Eze_
11:7. Therefore, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Your slain, whom ye have laid in the midst
of it, they are the flesh, and it is the pot; but men will lead you out of it. Eze_11:8. The
sword you fear; but the sword shall I bring upon you, is the saying of the Lord
Jehovah. Eze_11:9. I shall lead you out of it and give you into the hand of foreigners,
and shall execute judgments upon you. Eze_11:10. By the sword shall ye fall: on the
frontier of Israel shall I judge you; and ye shall learn that I am Jehovah. Eze_11:11. It
shall not be as a pot to you, so that you should be flesh therein: on the frontier of Israel
shall I judge. Eze_11:12. And ye shall learn that I am Jehovah, in whose statutes ye
have not walked, and my judgments ye have not done, but have acted according to the
judgments of the heathen who are round about you. - For ‫ֹל‬‫פּ‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ‫י‬ַ‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬ , compare Eze_8:1.
Instead of the “hand” (Eze_8:1), the Spirit of Jehovah is mentioned here; because what
follows is simply a divine inspiration, and there is no action connected with it. The words
of God are directed against the “house of Israel,' whose words and thoughts are
discerned by God, because the twenty-five men are the leaders and counsellors of the
nation. ‫ת‬ ‫ֲל‬‫ע‬ ַ‫,מ‬ thoughts, suggestions of the mind, may be explained from the phrase
‫ה‬ָ‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬ ‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ ‫ב‬ֵ‫,ל‬ to come into the mind. Their actions furnish the proof of the evil
suggestions of their heart. They have filled the city with slain; not “turned the streets of
the city into a battle-field,” however, by bringing about the capture of Jerusalem in the
time of Jeconiah, as Hitzig would explain it. The words are to be understood in a much
more general sense, as signifying murder, in both the coarser and the more refined
signification of the word.
(Note: Calvin has given the correct explanation, thus: “He does not mean that men
had been openly assassinated in the streets of Jerusalem; but under this form of
speech he embraces all kinds of injustice. For we know that all who oppressed the
poor, deprived men of their possessions, or shed innocent blood, were regarded as
murderers in the sight of God.”)
‫ים‬ ִ‫את‬ֵ‫לּ‬ ִ‫מ‬ is a copyist's error for ‫ם‬ ֶ‫את‬ֵ‫לּ‬ ִ‫.מ‬ Those who have been murdered by you are the
flesh in the caldron (Eze_11:7). Ezekiel gives them back their own words, as words which
contain an undoubted truth, but in a different sense from that in which they have used
them. By their bloodshed they have made the city into a pot in which the flesh of the
slain is pickled. Only in this sense is Jerusalem a pot for them; not a pot to protect the
flesh from burning while cooking, but a pot into which the flesh of the slaughtered is
34

thrown. Yet even in this sense will Jerusalem not serve as a pot to these worthless
counsellors (Eze_11:11). They will lead you out of the city (‫יא‬ ִ‫צ‬ ‫,ה‬ in Eze_11:7, is the 3rd
pers. sing. with an indefinite subject). The sword which ye fear, and from which this city
is to protect you, will come upon you, and cut you down - not in Jerusalem, but on the
frontier of Israel. ‫בוּל‬ְ‫ל־גּ‬ַ‫,ע‬ in Eze_11:10, cannot be taken in the sense of “away over the
frontier,” as Kliefoth proposes; if only because of the synonym ‫בוּל‬ְ‫ל־גּ‬ ֶ‫א‬ in Eze_11:11.
This threat was literally fulfilled in the bloody scenes at Riblah (Jer_52:24-27). It is not
therefore a vaticinium ex eventu, but contains the general thought, that the wicked who
boasted of security in Jerusalem or in the land of Israel as a whole, but were to be led out
of the land, and judged outside. This threat intensifies the punishment, as Calvin has
already shown.
(Note: “He threatens a double punishment; first, that God will cast them out of
Jerusalem, in which they delight, and where they say that they will still make their
abode for a long time to come, so that exile may be the first punishment. He then
adds, secondly, that He will not be content with exile, but will send a severer
punishment, after they have been cast out, and both home and land have spued them
out as a stench which they could not bear. I will judge you at the frontier of Israel,
i.e., outside the holy land, so that when one curse shall have become manifest in
exile, a severer and more formidable punishment shall still await you.”)
In Eze_11:11 the negation (‫ֹא‬ ‫)ל‬ of the first clause is to be supplied in the second, as, for
example, in Deu_33:6. For Eze_11:12, compare the remarks on Eze_5:7. The truth and
the power of this word are demonstrated at once by what is related in the following
verse.
CALVIN, “Here the Prophet turns the impious scurrility of the people into another
sense, for they had corrupted what Jeremiah had said. They knew what he meant by
the pot and the flesh, but they thought they could avert God’s wrath by their
cleverness. Here the Prophet brings forward another sense, not that of Jeremiah,
nor that of the people, but a third. In the twenty-fourth chapter he will again
denounce them as like flesh, since God will cast them into a pot to be cooked, so that
even their bones should be consumed. But here the Prophet only considers how he
shall refute their wicked saying, by which they think to catch Jeremiah in a snare, as
they did not agree sufficiently with his prophecy. What does he say, then? First, that
the Spirit had fallen upon, him, that he might gain a hearing for his prophecy; for if
he had spoken from his own mind he might be rejected with impunity; for the
speakers ought to utter God’s word, and to be the organ of his Spirit. The Pope
boasts this to his followers, but the true and faithful servants of God ought to do this
in reality, namely, not to utter their own comments, but to receive from God’s hands
what they deliver to the people, and thus to discharge their duty faithfully. To this
end the Prophet says, that the Spirit fell upon him. For although he had been
previously endued with the gift of prophecy, yet as often as he exercised it this grace
35

ought, to be renewed; because it is not sufficient for us to be imbued once with the
illumination of the Holy Spirit, unless God works in us daily. Since, therefore, he
follows up his gifts in his servants while he uses their assistance, hence it is not in
vain that Ezekiel says, the Spirit was still given to him, because this gift was
necessary for every act. Afterward she expresses more dearly what he had said,
namely, that the Spirit had spoken; for it signifies that what he shortly subjoins had
been dictated to him.
Here, therefore, he admonishes the Jews that they should not foolishly promise
themselves impunity, when they despised his prophecies, since he does not speak
from himself, but only relates what the Spirit suggested and dictated. Thus have ye
spoken, O house of Israel, said he, and I have known the risings of your heart God
here precisely urges the Jews that they should not hope to obtain anything by
turning their backs; for we know how carelessly and boldly hypocrites reject all
teaching, and do not hesitate to strive with God, since they find many pretexts by
which they excuse themselves. Hence there would be no end, unless the Lord should
racet them, and with the supreme command and power of a judge, should show
them that subterfuges were vain, and make all their excuses idle, and of no moment.
This then is the Prophet’s meaning when he says, that whatever rose up in their
heart was known to God But by these words he implies, that they sought in vain a
theater in the world, as if they should succeed if they proved their cause before men:
he says that it is vain, because they must come into the court of heaven, where God
will be the only Judge. Now, when our thoughts are known to God, in vain we take
up with this or that; because God will not admit our subterfuges, nor will he allow
himself to be deluded by our smartness and cunning. Now, therefore, we see what
the Prophet means by saying that God knows what sprang up in the heart of the
Jews, because, forsooth, they had never desisted from contending and quarreling by
their fallacies, so as to draw away all confidence from his prophecies. Hence we see
the utility of the doctrine, that we deceive ourselves in vain by acuteness, so as to
escape by our crooked imaginations, because God sees men’s cunning, and while
they desire to be ingenious, he seizes them, and shows the vanity of what they think
the greatest wisdom. So let us desire to approve ourselves to God, and not esteem
our deeds and plans according to our own sense and judgment. Now it follows —
COFFMAN, “Verse 5
36

"And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak. Thus saith
Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into
your mind. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets
thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom ye
have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron; but ye
shall be brought forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared the sword; and I will
bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I will bring ye forth out of
the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute
judgments among you. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of
Israel; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. This city shall not be your caldron,
neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of
Israel; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah; for ye have not walked in my statutes,
neither have ye executed mine ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the
nations that are round about you."
"Speak, Thus saith Jehovah ..." (Ezekiel 11:5). We believe that Cooke is correct in
his understanding that Ezekiel, "While still in his trance received the inspiration to
prophesy the words of this paragraph in the very presence of the elders who were
present in Ezekiel's house."[6] In view of the attitude of the Jerusalemites toward
their brothers in captivity, the words must have provided great comfort and
encouragement to the elders who had sought counsel from Ezekiel.
"Your slain ... they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron ..." (Ezekiel 11:7).
"Their proverbial phrase about the flesh and the caldron undergoes a gruesome
change in the usage of it here by Ezekiel. It is not the false leaders but their victims
who are the real elite of the city and who deserve to be cherished within the holy
city."[7] A moment later, the prophet added the words, "This city shall not be your
caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof" (Ezekiel 11:11). The
brutal fact was that all of the citizens who would survive the vengeance of the
Babylonians' campaign against Zedekiah would be deported. Their expectancy of a
long residency in Jerusalem was a vain and hopeless fantasy.
Taylor interpreted this remark as being the equivalent of a declaration that, "The
only good Jerusalemites are the dead Jerusalemites!"[8]
37

"Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel ... I will judge
you in the border of Israel ..." (Ezekiel 11:10-11). The prophecy is doubled for
emphasis. Those false leaders of the arrogant Jerusalemites will be slain by the
sword, far away from their fancied security in Jerusalem. "Over seventy of those
captured with the fall of Zedekiah were judged and executed by Nebuchadnezzar at
Riblah (in Hamath) on the far northern border of Israel, where Nebuchadnezzar
had set up his headquarters (2 Kings 25:18-21; Jeremiah 52:24-27)."[9] What a
remarkable fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy this proved to be!
Keil commented here that, "The wicked men who boasted of their security in
Jerusalem would not find security, either in Jerusalem, or anywhere in Israel; but
they would be led out of the land by their enemies and slaughtered in the border of
Palestine."[10]; Jeremiah 52:9-10 records the judgment of those Jerusalem leaders
by Nebuchadnezzar, and his slaughter of them at Riblah in Hamath.
PETT, “Verse 5
‘And the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak. Thus says Yahweh,
“Thus have you said, Oh house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your
mind.” ’
Once more Ezekiel was possessed by the Spirit to speak the word of Yahweh to the
house of Israel. Here ‘house of Israel’ includes the exiles, for they would all be in
agreement with the words of the men in Jerusalem. All believed that Jerusalem
would not be destroyed and that soon things would be back to normal. Thus
Yahweh points out that He is perfectly aware of how they are thinking. He wants
them to know that He always knows men’s thoughts both in the present and in the
future (Ezekiel 20:32; Ezekiel 38:10 compare Psalms 139:1-6; Isaiah 29:15 see also
Daniel 2:30; Acts 1:24 of all men). Thus they must not think that they can hide their
thoughts from Him (Hebrews 4:13).
38

SIMEON, "THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD
Ezekiel 11:5. I know the things which come into your mind, every one of them.
THERE is much of atheism in the heart of man. The language of every one, in the
secret of his own bosom, is, “The Lord doth not see, neither will the Almighty
regard it [Note: Psalms 94:7.].” Doubtless this argues more than brutish stupidity
[Note: Psalms 94:8-9.]: but still it prevails to an awful extent, even over those who
have the best means of instruction. The Prophet Ezekiel had reason to complain of it
in his day; and, for the purpose of counteracting it, he declared from God to all the
rulers of the Jewish people, “I know the things that come into your mind, every one
of them.”
That we may all be suitably affected with this thought, I will,
I. Establish the assertion in our text—
There is no man who does not consider God as approving or disapproving of his
conduct according to the testimony which his conscience gives respecting it [Note: 1
John 3:20-21.]: and this universal conviction respecting the omniscience of the Deity
is, though not a demonstration, yet certainly a strong presumptive proof, that God is
omniscient. But his omniscience may be certainly inferred,
1. From the law he has given us—
[The law, not by construction only [Note: Matthew 5:28.], but in plain terms [Note:
Romans 7:7.], takes cognizance of the secrets of the heart. But to what purpose is
such a law given, if God be not able to enforce it? Or how can he enforce it, if any
39

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Ezekiel 11 commentary