Ezekiel · Chapter 13

V. 2. That prophesy-Out of their own deceiving hearts, not from God.

Verse 2. That prophesy out of their own hearts] Who are neither inspired nor sent by ME. They are prophets out of their own hearts. They have their mission from their own assumption, and proceed in it from their own presumption. Such either go of themselves, or are sent by man. Such prophets, ministers, preachers, and clergy have been a curse to the Church and to the world for some thousands of years.

Verses 2-4. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel — So they called themselves, as if none but they had been worthy of the name of Israel’s prophets, who were indeed Israel’s deceivers. Say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts — According to their own fancy, without having received any revelation from God. The true prophets often denounced God’s judgments against the false ones: laying to their charge many misdemeanours in their private life and conversation, and upbraiding them for their unfaithfulness in the office they undertook of declaring God’s will to his people. Wo unto the foolish prophets — Ignorant and wicked, and who, while they wilfully deceived the people, unthinkingly brought destruction upon themselves. Observe, reader, foolish prophets are not of God’s sending: those whom he sends, he either finds or makes fit for his work. Where he gives warrant, he gives wisdom. That follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing — Who utter their own imaginations for true prophecies, and pretend to have visions when they never had any. O Israel, thy prophets, not mine, are like the foxes in the deserts — Hungry and ravening, crafty and guileful: “deceitful workers, (as the apostle styles such persons, 2 Corinthians 11:13,) who craftily insinuate false doctrines into weak and unstable minds, and greedily catch at any appearance of advantage to themselves.” — Lowth.

2. Prophets of Israel that prophesy — Dr. Davidson sees a kind of sarcasm in this phrase. The false prophets were indeed prophets of Israel, though not prophets of Jehovah. The people eagerly grasped their smooth sayings as true and repudiated Jeremiah and Ezekiel as the false prophets (Jeremiah 18:18; 43:2). Prophesy out of their own hearts — Their own wish to be popular and please the people (verse 19; Jeremiah 23:16) colors their message. They are the mouthpiece of the people; Ezekiel speaks the word which is opposed to his natural desire. These men speak the smooth things which their own selfish hope suggests and their own human judgment seeks to sustain (Micah 3:8; compare Jeremiah 28:8, 9).

V. 3. Foolish prophets-Foolish prophets are not of God’s sending: for whom he sends, he either finds fit, or makes fit. Where he gives warrant, he gives wisdom. Their own spirit-Not the spirit of God. Seen nothing-God hath shewed them no vision.

Verses 2-4. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel — So they called themselves, as if none but they had been worthy of the name of Israel’s prophets, who were indeed Israel’s deceivers. Say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts — According to their own fancy, without having received any revelation from God. The true prophets often denounced God’s judgments against the false ones: laying to their charge many misdemeanours in their private life and conversation, and upbraiding them for their unfaithfulness in the office they undertook of declaring God’s will to his people. Wo unto the foolish prophets — Ignorant and wicked, and who, while they wilfully deceived the people, unthinkingly brought destruction upon themselves. Observe, reader, foolish prophets are not of God’s sending: those whom he sends, he either finds or makes fit for his work. Where he gives warrant, he gives wisdom. That follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing — Who utter their own imaginations for true prophecies, and pretend to have visions when they never had any. O Israel, thy prophets, not mine, are like the foxes in the deserts — Hungry and ravening, crafty and guileful: “deceitful workers, (as the apostle styles such persons, 2 Corinthians 11:13,) who craftily insinuate false doctrines into weak and unstable minds, and greedily catch at any appearance of advantage to themselves.” — Lowth.

Verse 3, 4. Woe to the foolish prophets—oh Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. The vineyards in rough and rocky places, like our bramble, produced the most delicious grapes. These foxes spoiled the vineyards, “for our vines have a tender,” a delicious and attractive “grape.” They are idle: they have neither stopped the gaps, nor made a hedge against depredators.

3. Foolish prophets — The “fool,” in Scripture language, is the impious man. Many of these false prophets were grossly immoral (Jeremiah 23:14; 29:23), and none of them had the appreciation of the heinousness of sin and the certainty of God’s wrath falling upon an unrepentant people, which is so characteristic of the writings of the true prophets. Lacking the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, the policy which they advocated was almost invariably wrong. They posed as patriots, and friends of Jerusalem and the temple, advocating war and such political alliances as they believed to be for the temporal interests of the nation; not having the foresight to perceive that the laxity of morals and impurity of worship were being increased by such affiliations and that the real danger to the nation lay not in its lack of military power, but in its lack of spirituality and faith in God. Follow their own spirit — The true prophet is the “man of the spirit” (Hosea 9:7), who receives his message from God (Jeremiah 23:16); but the spirit which controls the false prophet is from within, and not from above. And have seen nothing — Literally, that which they have not seen. They saw no vision of God, though they pretended to see and may even have imagined that they saw.

V. 4. Thy prophets-Thy prophets, not mine. Like the foxes-Hungry, and ravening, crafty, and guileful. In the deserts-Where want makes them more eager after their prey.

Verse 4. Thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.] The cunning of the fox in obtaining his prey has been long proverbial. These false prophets are represented as the foxes who, having got their prey by great subtlety, run to the desert to hide both themselves and it. So the false prophets, when the event did not answer to their prediction, got out of the way, that they might not be overwhelmed with the reproaches and indignation of the people.

Verses 2-4. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel — So they called themselves, as if none but they had been worthy of the name of Israel’s prophets, who were indeed Israel’s deceivers. Say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts — According to their own fancy, without having received any revelation from God. The true prophets often denounced God’s judgments against the false ones: laying to their charge many misdemeanours in their private life and conversation, and upbraiding them for their unfaithfulness in the office they undertook of declaring God’s will to his people. Wo unto the foolish prophets — Ignorant and wicked, and who, while they wilfully deceived the people, unthinkingly brought destruction upon themselves. Observe, reader, foolish prophets are not of God’s sending: those whom he sends, he either finds or makes fit for his work. Where he gives warrant, he gives wisdom. That follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing — Who utter their own imaginations for true prophecies, and pretend to have visions when they never had any. O Israel, thy prophets, not mine, are like the foxes in the deserts — Hungry and ravening, crafty and guileful: “deceitful workers, (as the apostle styles such persons, 2 Corinthians 11:13,) who craftily insinuate false doctrines into weak and unstable minds, and greedily catch at any appearance of advantage to themselves.” — Lowth.

Verse 3, 4. Woe to the foolish prophets—oh Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. The vineyards in rough and rocky places, like our bramble, produced the most delicious grapes. These foxes spoiled the vineyards, “for our vines have a tender,” a delicious and attractive “grape.” They are idle: they have neither stopped the gaps, nor made a hedge against depredators.

4. Like the foxes in the deserts — Foxes do not build walls, but undermine them (Nehemiah 4:3; Lamentations 5:18). Having seized their prey with great subtlety they run to the desert and hide themselves and it (Adam Clarke). Those who pretend falsely to speak in the name of Jehovah are worse than open enemies — they are sly and dangerous as the greatest pest of the Orient (Song of Solomon 2:15; Isaiah 5:7).

V. 5. Ye-Vain prophets. Gone up-As in a besieged city, whose wall is broken down, a valiant soldier would run up into the breach to repel the enemy; so true prophets partly by prayer, and partly by doctrine, labour to preserve God’s people. Hedge-The house of Israel is the Lord’s vineyard, through the hedge whereof many breaches are made. To stand-Not with arms, but with fasting, prayer, and repentance.

Verse 5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps] Far from opposing sinners, who are bringing down the wrath of God upon the place, you prevent their repentance by your flattering promises and false predictions. Ye have neither by prayers, example, nor advice, contributed any thing for the preservation of the place, or the salvation of the people’s souls.

Verse 5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps — Or stood in the gap, or breach, as it is expressed Ezekiel 22:30; Psalm 106:23. Ye have not exercised your prophetical office, and framed your own conduct, so as to stop the wrath of Jehovah, by admonitions and exhortations to the people, and by personal piety and prayer to God. The place alludes to the intercession which Moses made for the Israelites, whereby he withheld God’s hand, as it were, when it was just stretched out to take vengeance upon the people for their heinous sin in making the golden calf, Exodus 32:10, 11. The phrase is taken from those who put a stop to the enemy, when he is just entering in at a breach. In like manner it was the office and duty of those prophets, if they had truly been what they pretended to be, by their endeavours to reform the people, and their intercessions with God, to avert his displeasure, and prevent the vengeance which was just ready to be poured out on a sinful people. Neither made up the hedge — The Vulgate renders it, neque opposuistis murum pro domo Israel, nor made up a wall for the house of Israel; another expression taken from people besieged in a city, who, if a breach be made in the wall, presently make it up, or build up a new one within it, to prevent the enemy from entering and becoming masters of the place. To stand in the battle in the day of the Lord — When God shall come, like a general at the head of his army, to execute his judgment upon his enemies.

5. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for — These false prophets, whom Ezekiel now addresses, do not protect or construct; they only succeed in tearing down. They cannot repair the gap (breach) nor build such a hedge for (before) the house of Israel as will save them in the day of battle (Isaiah 5:5; 58:12). They never have done this, notwithstanding their patriotic pretensions; they never can do it. (See Ezekiel 22:30.)

V. 6. Vanity-Things that have no foundation.

Verses 6-9. They have seen vanity and lying divinations — They have uttered false prophecies concerning peace and prosperity, pretending to have seen that which they did not see, and producing that as a divine truth which they knew to be a detestable lie. They have made others — Who were so simple as to believe them; to hope that they would confirm the word — Or rather, that the word would be confirmed. Their speaking with so much assurance made others confidently expect that the event would answer their predictions, and that the judgments which the true prophets had threatened in the name of God would never come, whereby they hardened those in sin whom they ought to have endeavoured to bring to repentance. Therefore, because ye have spoken vanity — Have uttered mere fictions and lies, with a view to your own advantage. Behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God — And who can be for you when I am against you? And my hand shall be upon the prophets — My power striking them so, that it shall be evident they fall under my displeasure; as Pelatiah, Ezekiel 11:13, and Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:15. They shall not be in the assembly of my people — Of those who shall hereafter worship me in Jerusalem; or, in the secret council of those who shall consult on public affairs. They shall not be members of my church here, nor partake of the communion of saints hereafter. The Hebrew word dws, here rendered assembly, properly signifies a secret assembly, or privy council; such as are acquainted with the secret intents and purposes of their prince. Hence it is applied to God’s chosen people, those that are acquainted with the whole counsel of God, and whom he instructs and directs by his Holy Spirit: see notes on Psalm 25:14; Jeremiah 23:18. The prophet, therefore, here tells these men who pretended to know so much of the secrets of the Almighty that they should never be of the number of those favourites of heaven to whom God would reveal himself and his counsels. Neither shall they be written, &c. — The sense of this clause is nearly the same with that of the preceding; the words containing an allusion to the registers usually kept of the members of cities or corporations, to the privileges of which societies none are admitted but they whose names are entered into such registers. The false prophets, it seems, promised a speedy return to the exiles; God, therefore, tells them that they should never live to see it, nor should their names be entered into the register of those that should return home. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel — They shall never see their own country again, nor shall they have a share in the blessings peculiar to true Israelites: see Lowth.

6. Have made others to hope — Rather, they hoped for the word to be confirmed. They have seen vanity (literally, nothingness, falsehood), and yet they have deceived themselves with the hope that the lies which they have prophesied will come true. There is no suggestion here that these false prophets really believed themselves to have received a message from God (vs. Davidson), though in other places it is made plain that a prophet who willfully persists in prophesying lies may at last be unable to discriminate between the true and the false.

Verses 6-9. They have seen vanity and lying divinations — They have uttered false prophecies concerning peace and prosperity, pretending to have seen that which they did not see, and producing that as a divine truth which they knew to be a detestable lie. They have made others — Who were so simple as to believe them; to hope that they would confirm the word — Or rather, that the word would be confirmed. Their speaking with so much assurance made others confidently expect that the event would answer their predictions, and that the judgments which the true prophets had threatened in the name of God would never come, whereby they hardened those in sin whom they ought to have endeavoured to bring to repentance. Therefore, because ye have spoken vanity — Have uttered mere fictions and lies, with a view to your own advantage. Behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God — And who can be for you when I am against you? And my hand shall be upon the prophets — My power striking them so, that it shall be evident they fall under my displeasure; as Pelatiah, Ezekiel 11:13, and Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:15. They shall not be in the assembly of my people — Of those who shall hereafter worship me in Jerusalem; or, in the secret council of those who shall consult on public affairs. They shall not be members of my church here, nor partake of the communion of saints hereafter. The Hebrew word dws, here rendered assembly, properly signifies a secret assembly, or privy council; such as are acquainted with the secret intents and purposes of their prince. Hence it is applied to God’s chosen people, those that are acquainted with the whole counsel of God, and whom he instructs and directs by his Holy Spirit: see notes on Psalm 25:14; Jeremiah 23:18. The prophet, therefore, here tells these men who pretended to know so much of the secrets of the Almighty that they should never be of the number of those favourites of heaven to whom God would reveal himself and his counsels. Neither shall they be written, &c. — The sense of this clause is nearly the same with that of the preceding; the words containing an allusion to the registers usually kept of the members of cities or corporations, to the privileges of which societies none are admitted but they whose names are entered into such registers. The false prophets, it seems, promised a speedy return to the exiles; God, therefore, tells them that they should never live to see it, nor should their names be entered into the register of those that should return home. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel — They shall never see their own country again, nor shall they have a share in the blessings peculiar to true Israelites: see Lowth.

7. Ye say, The Lord saith it — They boldly lay claim for themselves to the only true source of prophetic inspiration; but the Lord himself repudiates them as liars and deceivers of the people.

Verses 6-9. They have seen vanity and lying divinations — They have uttered false prophecies concerning peace and prosperity, pretending to have seen that which they did not see, and producing that as a divine truth which they knew to be a detestable lie. They have made others — Who were so simple as to believe them; to hope that they would confirm the word — Or rather, that the word would be confirmed. Their speaking with so much assurance made others confidently expect that the event would answer their predictions, and that the judgments which the true prophets had threatened in the name of God would never come, whereby they hardened those in sin whom they ought to have endeavoured to bring to repentance. Therefore, because ye have spoken vanity — Have uttered mere fictions and lies, with a view to your own advantage. Behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God — And who can be for you when I am against you? And my hand shall be upon the prophets — My power striking them so, that it shall be evident they fall under my displeasure; as Pelatiah, Ezekiel 11:13, and Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:15. They shall not be in the assembly of my people — Of those who shall hereafter worship me in Jerusalem; or, in the secret council of those who shall consult on public affairs. They shall not be members of my church here, nor partake of the communion of saints hereafter. The Hebrew word dws, here rendered assembly, properly signifies a secret assembly, or privy council; such as are acquainted with the secret intents and purposes of their prince. Hence it is applied to God’s chosen people, those that are acquainted with the whole counsel of God, and whom he instructs and directs by his Holy Spirit: see notes on Psalm 25:14; Jeremiah 23:18. The prophet, therefore, here tells these men who pretended to know so much of the secrets of the Almighty that they should never be of the number of those favourites of heaven to whom God would reveal himself and his counsels. Neither shall they be written, &c. — The sense of this clause is nearly the same with that of the preceding; the words containing an allusion to the registers usually kept of the members of cities or corporations, to the privileges of which societies none are admitted but they whose names are entered into such registers. The false prophets, it seems, promised a speedy return to the exiles; God, therefore, tells them that they should never live to see it, nor should their names be entered into the register of those that should return home. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel — They shall never see their own country again, nor shall they have a share in the blessings peculiar to true Israelites: see Lowth.

8. I am against you — How clearly this is an echo of Jeremiah 23:31: “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.”

V. 9. Mine hand-My power striking them. In the assembly-Have no seat among the rulers, nor voice among the counsellors. Written-Not registered among those that return, Ezra 2:1,2. Enter-They shall never come into the land of Israel. They shall not be written in the book of eternal life, which is written for the just ones of the house of Israel, saith the Chaldea paraphrast.

Verse 9. They shall not be in the assembly of my people] They shall not be reputed members of my Church. They shall not be reckoned in the genealogy of true Israelites that return from captivity; and they shall never have a possession in the land; they shall be exhereditated and expatriated. They shall all perish in the siege, by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence.

Verses 6-9. They have seen vanity and lying divinations — They have uttered false prophecies concerning peace and prosperity, pretending to have seen that which they did not see, and producing that as a divine truth which they knew to be a detestable lie. They have made others — Who were so simple as to believe them; to hope that they would confirm the word — Or rather, that the word would be confirmed. Their speaking with so much assurance made others confidently expect that the event would answer their predictions, and that the judgments which the true prophets had threatened in the name of God would never come, whereby they hardened those in sin whom they ought to have endeavoured to bring to repentance. Therefore, because ye have spoken vanity — Have uttered mere fictions and lies, with a view to your own advantage. Behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God — And who can be for you when I am against you? And my hand shall be upon the prophets — My power striking them so, that it shall be evident they fall under my displeasure; as Pelatiah, Ezekiel 11:13, and Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:15. They shall not be in the assembly of my people — Of those who shall hereafter worship me in Jerusalem; or, in the secret council of those who shall consult on public affairs. They shall not be members of my church here, nor partake of the communion of saints hereafter. The Hebrew word dws, here rendered assembly, properly signifies a secret assembly, or privy council; such as are acquainted with the secret intents and purposes of their prince. Hence it is applied to God’s chosen people, those that are acquainted with the whole counsel of God, and whom he instructs and directs by his Holy Spirit: see notes on Psalm 25:14; Jeremiah 23:18. The prophet, therefore, here tells these men who pretended to know so much of the secrets of the Almighty that they should never be of the number of those favourites of heaven to whom God would reveal himself and his counsels. Neither shall they be written, &c. — The sense of this clause is nearly the same with that of the preceding; the words containing an allusion to the registers usually kept of the members of cities or corporations, to the privileges of which societies none are admitted but they whose names are entered into such registers. The false prophets, it seems, promised a speedy return to the exiles; God, therefore, tells them that they should never live to see it, nor should their names be entered into the register of those that should return home. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel — They shall never see their own country again, nor shall they have a share in the blessings peculiar to true Israelites: see Lowth.

9. Mine hand shall be upon the prophets — Ezekiel knew what it was to feel the weight of Jehovah’s hand (Ezekiel 3:14). The controlling hand which forces the obedient prophet to do hard tasks will fall still heavier upon the disobedient. He who will not wear the gentle yoke of constraint must drag “as with a cart rope” his load of responsibility and sorrow. These false prophets, now praised for their patriotic citizenship, upon the return from the captivity shall not sit in the “council” as they do now, nor shall their names appear in the national register (Ezra 2:62). They boast of their special patriotism, but events shall prove that they are not even true Israelites. They will go into captivity, but they will never return again into the land of Israel. (See Ezekiel 27:21.)

V. 10. Peace-They told sinners, no harm would happen to them. And those are the most dangerous seducers, who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff, that will not bind, nor hold the bricks together: doctrines not grounded on the word of God.

Verse 10. One built up a wall] A true prophet is as a wall of defense to the people. These false prophets pretend to be a wall of defense; but their wall is bad, and their mortar is worse. One gives a lying vision, another pledges himself that it is true; and the people believe what they say, and trust not in God, nor turn from their sins. The city is about to be besieged; it needs stronger fortifications than what it possesses. The prophet should be as a brazen wall for its defence; and such my prophets would have been had the people received the word from my mouth. But ye have prevented this by your lying vanities; and when you have perverted the people, you pretend to raise up a rampart of specious prophecy, full of fine promises, for their defence. What one false prophet says, another confirms; and this is like daubing over a bad wall with bad mortar, which prevents its blemishes and weaknesses being discovered, though it has no tendency to strengthen the building.

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

Ver. 10. One built up a wall; and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar. The lying prophets played into the hands of one another: they were like dishonest workmen, who engage to build a wall around the garden for a certain price, but daub it with loam instead of lime. When the rainy season comes, and the hurricanes blow, the wall becomes a ruin.

10. One built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar — Literally, it [the people] buildeth up a little wall, and they [the prophets] daub it with whited plaster. The people, believing that no danger is ahead, build their defenses carelessly and the false prophets approve the policy. They whitewash the actions of the godless government officials and declare that the city is perfectly safe. But in vain do they seek with their whited plaster to hide the imperfections of the city wall and fill in with mortar what should have been laid with solid stone.

Verse 11. There shall be an overflowing shower] That shall wash off this bad mortar; sweep away the ground on which the wall stands, and level it with the earth. In the eastern countries, where the walls are built with unbaked bricks, desolations of this kind are often occasioned by tempestuous rains. Of this sort of materials were the walls of ancient cities made, and hence the reason why no vestige of them remains. Witness Babylon, which was thus built. See Clarke’s note on “Ezekiel 4:1”.

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

11. It shall fall — They make a great show, but their whitewashed bulwarks shall be beaten down by the hail, and holes shall be blown through them by the wind (verses 11 and 13; Matthew 7:25, 27).

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

12. Where is the daubing — Without God and holiness the defenses of the city are rotten, and the prophet’s work is but the veneer which shall make the wreck more conspicuous. Many a weak place may be hidden from men’s eyes by the prophet’s brush, but when God blows against it with his mighty wind there is no daubing of cracks that can save it.

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

13. I will even rend it with a stormy wind — Literally, I will cause a stormy wind to break forth. (See verse 11.) The invasion of foreign troops is often compared in Scripture to a storm.

V. 14. Ye shall know-Those that deceived others, will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful, than that of unfaithful ministers.

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

14. So will I break down the wall — Although it was the Chaldeans who swept like a flood or a windstorm over Judea, and whose blows fell like hailstones, yet these were but the agents of Jehovah. It was not because the walls of the city were fragile, but because the God of the city did not protect it, that it fell before its enemies.

V. 15. Accomplish-Fulfil what my prophets foretold.

Verses 10-15. They have seduced my people, &c. — Have made my people to err, both with respect to the greatness of their own guilt, and my displeasure on account of it, as if both were less than they really are, and no great danger was to be apprehended. They deceived them, by assuring them that none of those judgments should overtake them which Jeremiah and the other true prophets threatened them with, and they spoke peace to men’s consciences upon false grounds and principles. Thus they obstructed and drew them out of the way of that repentance and reformation into which the other prophets were endeavouring to bring them. And, observe, reader, those are the most dangerous seducers who suggest to sinners that which tends to lessen their dread of sin, or their fear of God. These are compared to men who build a slight tottering wall, which others daub with untempered mortar; sorry stuff which will not bind nor hold the bricks together; doctrines not grounded on, nor according with, the word of God. Say unto them that it shall fall — When they have the greatest need of defence, and when they least apprehend such an event. There shall be an overflowing shower, &c. — Terrible judgments from God, often compared in Scripture to storms and tempests, the artillery of heaven, especially when he executes his judgments by a victorious army. Shall it not be said, Where is the daubing? &c. — Then it will be asked, by way of taunt and reproach, where are the remedies you had provided, and in which you persuaded all to put confidence? I will even rent it with a stormy wind in my fury — Rather, in my indignation. Under these metaphors is foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state by the Chaldean army. Thus the Chaldee paraphrase expounds it: “I will bring a mighty king with the force of a whirlwind, and a destroying people, as it were an overflowing storm, and powerful princes like great hailstones.” So will I break down the wall, &c. — Thus will I overthrow all your false confidences, and all the remedies which ye have provided against the ruin of the state; and ye yourselves that were so confident of safety shall be consumed. The Chaldee paraphrase reads, I will destroy the city wherein ye have uttered these false prophecies, which exposition accords with the next words, And ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; that is, shall be destroyed in the same common calamity. And ye shall know, &c. — Those that deceived others will in the end be found to have deceived themselves. And no doom will be more fearful than that of unfaithful ministers. Thus will I accomplish my wrath, &c. — Fulfil what my prophets foretold; and will say unto you — Will show by the awful event; The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The city is no more, nor the false prophets.

15. The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it — The sin of the false prophets seems to be greater than that of the people, for some of the people live through this catastrophe, but the false prophets perish in the ruins (verse 14; Amos 9:1).

16. There is no peace, saith the Lord God — The song which the angels most love to sing is that of “Peace, good will;” but woe to the prophet who cries peace to the man with whom God is at war. To ease the conscience and quiet the fears of the wicked is a fearful sin.

Verse 17. Set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy] From this it appears that there were prophetesses in the land of Israel, that were really inspired by the Lord: for as a false religion necessarily implies a true one, of which it is the ape; so false prophetesses necessarily imply true ones, whom they endeavoured to imitate. That there were true prophetesses among the Jews is evident enough from such being mentioned in the sacred writings. Miriam, the sister of Moses Exodus 15:20; Numbers 12:2; Deborah, Judges 4:4; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14; Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, Luke 2:36; the four daughters of Philip the deacon, Acts 21:9. Calmet observes that there was scarcely a heresy in the primitive Church that was not supported and fomented by seducing women.

Verses 17-19. Likewise, set thy face against the daughters of thy people — Direct thy discourse against the female pretenders to prophecy. God sometimes bestowed the gift of prophecy upon women, Exodus 15:20; Judges 9:4; 2 Kings 22:14. This encouraged others of that sex to pretend to the same gift: compare Revelation 2:20. Wo to the women that sew pillows, &c. — As the prophet compares the deceitful practices of the false prophets to the daubing of a wall, so he represents the artifices of these female seducers by sewing pillows under the hearers’ arms, that they might rest securely in their evil ways. “The eastern mode of sitting,” says Harmer, chap. 6. observ. 35, “supported by pillows, explains this representation of Ezekiel. Dr. Russel has given us a print representing a fine eastern lady reposing herself on one of these bolsters, or pillows, by leaning with one of her arms on one of them, while she is smoking.” In Barbary and the Levant they “always cover the floors of their houses with carpets; and along the sides of the wall, or floor, a range of narrow beds, or mattresses, is often placed upon these carpets; and, for their further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask bolsters are placed upon these carpets or mattresses: indulgences that seem to be alluded to by the stretching of themselves upon couches, and by the sewing of pillows to arm-holes.” — Shaw’s Travels, p. 209, second edition. Sir John Chardin also mentions “a mattress, with large cushions, placed at the back and sides” of the person who uses it as a bed, Harm., vol. 2., chap. 6. observ.

46. See also, to the same purpose, Lady M. W. Montague’s description of a Turkish lady’s apartment, let. 32, vol. 2. p. 55. And make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature — Rather, Upon every head, var lk, of every stature, the false prophetess doing this without distinction of stature or age. “This,” says Bishop Newcome, “may be a strong, eastern manner of expressing that these women hoodwinked their votaries, and kept them in spiritual darkness.” In the same light the passage is considered by Lowth and many others. “Or the covering of the head may have been of the ornamental kind, to denote prosperity or victory, as pillows denoted tranquillity and plenty; and both may have been significantly applied to the heads and arms of those who consulted the prophetesses.” Thus we are told by Dr. Shaw, p. 221, and Lady M. W. Montague, vol. 2. p. 30, that the eastern women bind on their other ornaments for the head with a handkerchief, which the latter calls “a rich embroidered handkerchief.” These prophetesses, therefore, Harmer thinks, “did the same thing by their flattering words, as would have been best expressed, if they had thought fit to signify the same thing by actions only, (as the prophets sometimes did,) by making bolsters for the arms, and presenting them to the Israelitish women, whom they wanted to assure of the continuance of their prosperity; and embroidering handkerchiefs, proper to bind over the ornaments of females in a state of honour, and afterward putting them on their heads. Whereas, the true prophets of God gave them to understand, in direct contradiction to all this, that if the Jews would not yield up themselves to the Chaldeans, great numbers of their men should perish, and their women should be brought down from those elevated places in which they sat supported by rich bolsters, and should be forced to sit on the ground; and, instead of a rich attire for their heads, should have their hair miserably dishevelled, strongly marking out grief in a despairing neglect of their persons. Such is the description Isaiah gives of the state of captives, (Ezekiel 47:1, 2,) which every one must see is just the reverse of what these prophetesses are represented as doing: Come down and sit in the dust, &c.” — Harmer, chap. 6., observ. 35.

To hunt souls — To allure, draw, or drive men into those nets and snares that they have laid for them, and thereby to make them their prey. Or to destroy men, to expose them to the divine vengeance, by lulling them into security, and enticing them to commit sin in following their directions. Will ye hunt the souls of my people? — Will ye make a prey of men’s souls by deluding them with fair promises and vain hopes? Will ye draw my people into destruction, by promising them safety and happiness, while they continue in sin? “This verse,” says Secker, “should seem to mean, that these women made every body easy to their ruin, for their own profit.” Will ye pollute me among my people? — Will ye profane my name, by making use of it to give credit to your own dreams and lies? Or, Will ye dishonour it by employing it to the vilest use, the encouraging of wickedness, and the discouraging of piety and virtue? For handfuls of barley, &c. — For the sake of gain to yourselves, even for the meanest presents? It is well known how customary gifts were, and still are, in the East. These false prophets and prophetesses being chiefly, if not solely, consulted by the corrupt and wicked part of the Jews, who made them presents for their answers; and those presents being generally the larger the more agreeable the answers were, therefore these prophets and prophetesses always uttered what was pleasing, and gave encouragement to the wicked, and what tended to disgrace and discourage the truly good. To slay the souls that should not die — To denounce or prophesy death and destruction to those that shall be preserved. Thus they denounced death to those who yielded themselves to the Chaldeans in Jeconiah’s captivity, whom God had determined to preserve alive, Jeremiah 29:5,

6. And they encouraged those who remained at Jerusalem, with promises of peace and safety, who, God had foretold, should perish: see Ezekiel 5:12. Or the words may be understood, in a more general sense, of discouraging the godly, and confirming the wicked in their evil ways: see verse 22; and Jeremiah 23:14, 17. To slay, and make alive, signify here, to promise men life, or threaten them with death. So the prophet says he came to destroy the city, (Ezekiel 43:3,) when he came to pronounce the sentence of destruction upon it. — Lowth.

17. Set thy face against the daughters of thy people — For good or for evil the influence of woman was powerful in Hebrew history. We know the names of several true prophetesses, like Miriam and Huldah, but the name of but one false prophetess has come down to us (Nehemiah 6:14). When women turn politicians, and attempt to prophesy out of their own hearts concerning the future, look out for trouble (Jeremiah 44:15). When women become false prophetesses they drop to the lowest level of superstitious fortune tellers.

V. 18. Sew pillows-A figurative speech, expressing the security, which they promised to every one that came to them. Kerchiefs-Triumphal caps, which were made by these prophetesses, and put upon the head of every who one consulted them, and by these they were to interpret, as a promise of victory over the Babylonians. Stature-That is, of every age, whether younger or elder, which usually is seen by their stature. To hunt-All this is really spreading a net, as hunters do, to catch the prey. Will ye save-Can you preserve them alive, whom you deceive by your promises?

Verse 18. That sew pillows to all arm holes] I believe this refers to those cushions which are so copiously provided in the eastern countries for the apartments of women; on which they sit, lean, rest their heads, and prop up their arms. I have several drawings of eastern ladies, who are represented on sofas; and often with their arm thrown over a pillow, which is thereby pressed close to their side, and against which they thus recline. The prophet’s discourse seems to point out that state of softness and effeminacy to which the predictions of those false prophetesses allured the inhabitants of Jerusalem. A careless voluptuous life is that which is here particularly reprehended.

And make kerchiefs] The word kerchief is French, couvre chef, that which covers the head; hence handkerchief and neck handkerchief, and pocket handkerchief are pitifully improper; because none of them is used to cover the head, from which alone, that article of dress has its name. But what are we to understand by kerchiefs here? Probably some kind of ornamental dress which rendered women more enticing, so that they could the more successfully hunt or inveigle souls (men) into the worship of their false gods. These they put on heads of every stature-women of all ages, hmwq komah, of every woman that rose up to inveigle men to idolatry. The word twjpsm mispachoth, translated here kerchiefs, and by the Vulgate cervicalia, bolsters, Calmet contends, means a sort of nets used in hunting, and in every place where it occurs it will bear this meaning; and hence the use to which it is here said to be applied, to hunt souls.

Verses 17-19. Likewise, set thy face against the daughters of thy people — Direct thy discourse against the female pretenders to prophecy. God sometimes bestowed the gift of prophecy upon women, Exodus 15:20; Judges 9:4; 2 Kings 22:14. This encouraged others of that sex to pretend to the same gift: compare Revelation 2:20. Wo to the women that sew pillows, &c. — As the prophet compares the deceitful practices of the false prophets to the daubing of a wall, so he represents the artifices of these female seducers by sewing pillows under the hearers’ arms, that they might rest securely in their evil ways. “The eastern mode of sitting,” says Harmer, chap. 6. observ. 35, “supported by pillows, explains this representation of Ezekiel. Dr. Russel has given us a print representing a fine eastern lady reposing herself on one of these bolsters, or pillows, by leaning with one of her arms on one of them, while she is smoking.” In Barbary and the Levant they “always cover the floors of their houses with carpets; and along the sides of the wall, or floor, a range of narrow beds, or mattresses, is often placed upon these carpets; and, for their further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask bolsters are placed upon these carpets or mattresses: indulgences that seem to be alluded to by the stretching of themselves upon couches, and by the sewing of pillows to arm-holes.” — Shaw’s Travels, p. 209, second edition. Sir John Chardin also mentions “a mattress, with large cushions, placed at the back and sides” of the person who uses it as a bed, Harm., vol. 2., chap. 6. observ.

46. See also, to the same purpose, Lady M. W. Montague’s description of a Turkish lady’s apartment, let. 32, vol. 2. p. 55. And make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature — Rather, Upon every head, var lk, of every stature, the false prophetess doing this without distinction of stature or age. “This,” says Bishop Newcome, “may be a strong, eastern manner of expressing that these women hoodwinked their votaries, and kept them in spiritual darkness.” In the same light the passage is considered by Lowth and many others. “Or the covering of the head may have been of the ornamental kind, to denote prosperity or victory, as pillows denoted tranquillity and plenty; and both may have been significantly applied to the heads and arms of those who consulted the prophetesses.” Thus we are told by Dr. Shaw, p. 221, and Lady M. W. Montague, vol. 2. p. 30, that the eastern women bind on their other ornaments for the head with a handkerchief, which the latter calls “a rich embroidered handkerchief.” These prophetesses, therefore, Harmer thinks, “did the same thing by their flattering words, as would have been best expressed, if they had thought fit to signify the same thing by actions only, (as the prophets sometimes did,) by making bolsters for the arms, and presenting them to the Israelitish women, whom they wanted to assure of the continuance of their prosperity; and embroidering handkerchiefs, proper to bind over the ornaments of females in a state of honour, and afterward putting them on their heads. Whereas, the true prophets of God gave them to understand, in direct contradiction to all this, that if the Jews would not yield up themselves to the Chaldeans, great numbers of their men should perish, and their women should be brought down from those elevated places in which they sat supported by rich bolsters, and should be forced to sit on the ground; and, instead of a rich attire for their heads, should have their hair miserably dishevelled, strongly marking out grief in a despairing neglect of their persons. Such is the description Isaiah gives of the state of captives, (Ezekiel 47:1, 2,) which every one must see is just the reverse of what these prophetesses are represented as doing: Come down and sit in the dust, &c.” — Harmer, chap. 6., observ. 35.

To hunt souls — To allure, draw, or drive men into those nets and snares that they have laid for them, and thereby to make them their prey. Or to destroy men, to expose them to the divine vengeance, by lulling them into security, and enticing them to commit sin in following their directions. Will ye hunt the souls of my people? — Will ye make a prey of men’s souls by deluding them with fair promises and vain hopes? Will ye draw my people into destruction, by promising them safety and happiness, while they continue in sin? “This verse,” says Secker, “should seem to mean, that these women made every body easy to their ruin, for their own profit.” Will ye pollute me among my people? — Will ye profane my name, by making use of it to give credit to your own dreams and lies? Or, Will ye dishonour it by employing it to the vilest use, the encouraging of wickedness, and the discouraging of piety and virtue? For handfuls of barley, &c. — For the sake of gain to yourselves, even for the meanest presents? It is well known how customary gifts were, and still are, in the East. These false prophets and prophetesses being chiefly, if not solely, consulted by the corrupt and wicked part of the Jews, who made them presents for their answers; and those presents being generally the larger the more agreeable the answers were, therefore these prophets and prophetesses always uttered what was pleasing, and gave encouragement to the wicked, and what tended to disgrace and discourage the truly good. To slay the souls that should not die — To denounce or prophesy death and destruction to those that shall be preserved. Thus they denounced death to those who yielded themselves to the Chaldeans in Jeconiah’s captivity, whom God had determined to preserve alive, Jeremiah 29:5,

6. And they encouraged those who remained at Jerusalem, with promises of peace and safety, who, God had foretold, should perish: see Ezekiel 5:12. Or the words may be understood, in a more general sense, of discouraging the godly, and confirming the wicked in their evil ways: see verse 22; and Jeremiah 23:14, 17. To slay, and make alive, signify here, to promise men life, or threaten them with death. So the prophet says he came to destroy the city, (Ezekiel 43:3,) when he came to pronounce the sentence of destruction upon it. — Lowth.

Ver. 18. Woe to the women that sew pillows to all arm-holes; that make soft beds, sophas and couches, to allure indulgences, and excite desire; that make soft dresses to suit persons of every stature, to make the body effeminate, while the false prophets preach soft doctrines to soothe the conscience. What would Ezekiel have said to our monthly fashions, and French dresses? Our women fail in self-denial. But let not this case be understood as applicable to pious and benevolent women in the christian church, who act in subordination, and help their ministers in the Lord, by exercising hospitality and kindness to the needy and the destitute.

18. Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes — Rather, who sew coverings [fillets, or bandages] upon all joints of the hand. The exact meaning of this expression is not known. It could hardly refer merely to the luxurious voluptuousness of these women, as so many of the early commentators believed. Garlands, fillets, and amulets of various kinds are mentioned as being used on the hand, not only in the Greek mysteries, but in the ancient Babylonian incantations; but whether these “cushions” were used on knuckles or wrist or elbow, or what was the method of their use, is not yet discovered. Bertholet thinks these were amulets which possessed some natural magnetic power. Make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature — These kerchiefs or veils seem to have been thrown over the heads of those who came to consult the soothsayers concerning the future, in order to blindfold them and draw them into the magic circle. These coverings differed in length according to the stature of the inquirer. “We may perhaps read between the lines the thought that their utterances, like their veils, were adapted to suit every age and every taste.… Ezekiel points out, we may believe, what he had seen. And in those veils he had seen a net cast over the victims of the false prophetesses, a snare from which they could not escape.” — Plumptre. Will ye save the souls alive that come unto you — Literally, and save souls alive for yourselves? These hunters of souls killed without mercy, but saved some alive — the very ones that deserved to die (verse 19). The meaning is that their prophecies brought comfort to the wicked and sadness to the righteous (verse 22). “To keep alive is to predict life and good fortune and to slay is to predict death.” — Toy.

V. 19. Pollute me-Pretending my name for what I never spake. My people-My own people. Handfuls of barley-For a mean reward. To slay-You denounce evil to the best, whom God wilt keep alive. To save-Declaring safety, to the worst, whom God will destroy.

Verses 17-19. Likewise, set thy face against the daughters of thy people — Direct thy discourse against the female pretenders to prophecy. God sometimes bestowed the gift of prophecy upon women, Exodus 15:20; Judges 9:4; 2 Kings 22:14. This encouraged others of that sex to pretend to the same gift: compare Revelation 2:20. Wo to the women that sew pillows, &c. — As the prophet compares the deceitful practices of the false prophets to the daubing of a wall, so he represents the artifices of these female seducers by sewing pillows under the hearers’ arms, that they might rest securely in their evil ways. “The eastern mode of sitting,” says Harmer, chap. 6. observ. 35, “supported by pillows, explains this representation of Ezekiel. Dr. Russel has given us a print representing a fine eastern lady reposing herself on one of these bolsters, or pillows, by leaning with one of her arms on one of them, while she is smoking.” In Barbary and the Levant they “always cover the floors of their houses with carpets; and along the sides of the wall, or floor, a range of narrow beds, or mattresses, is often placed upon these carpets; and, for their further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask bolsters are placed upon these carpets or mattresses: indulgences that seem to be alluded to by the stretching of themselves upon couches, and by the sewing of pillows to arm-holes.” — Shaw’s Travels, p. 209, second edition. Sir John Chardin also mentions “a mattress, with large cushions, placed at the back and sides” of the person who uses it as a bed, Harm., vol. 2., chap. 6. observ.

46. See also, to the same purpose, Lady M. W. Montague’s description of a Turkish lady’s apartment, let. 32, vol. 2. p. 55. And make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature — Rather, Upon every head, var lk, of every stature, the false prophetess doing this without distinction of stature or age. “This,” says Bishop Newcome, “may be a strong, eastern manner of expressing that these women hoodwinked their votaries, and kept them in spiritual darkness.” In the same light the passage is considered by Lowth and many others. “Or the covering of the head may have been of the ornamental kind, to denote prosperity or victory, as pillows denoted tranquillity and plenty; and both may have been significantly applied to the heads and arms of those who consulted the prophetesses.” Thus we are told by Dr. Shaw, p. 221, and Lady M. W. Montague, vol. 2. p. 30, that the eastern women bind on their other ornaments for the head with a handkerchief, which the latter calls “a rich embroidered handkerchief.” These prophetesses, therefore, Harmer thinks, “did the same thing by their flattering words, as would have been best expressed, if they had thought fit to signify the same thing by actions only, (as the prophets sometimes did,) by making bolsters for the arms, and presenting them to the Israelitish women, whom they wanted to assure of the continuance of their prosperity; and embroidering handkerchiefs, proper to bind over the ornaments of females in a state of honour, and afterward putting them on their heads. Whereas, the true prophets of God gave them to understand, in direct contradiction to all this, that if the Jews would not yield up themselves to the Chaldeans, great numbers of their men should perish, and their women should be brought down from those elevated places in which they sat supported by rich bolsters, and should be forced to sit on the ground; and, instead of a rich attire for their heads, should have their hair miserably dishevelled, strongly marking out grief in a despairing neglect of their persons. Such is the description Isaiah gives of the state of captives, (Ezekiel 47:1, 2,) which every one must see is just the reverse of what these prophetesses are represented as doing: Come down and sit in the dust, &c.” — Harmer, chap. 6., observ. 35.

To hunt souls — To allure, draw, or drive men into those nets and snares that they have laid for them, and thereby to make them their prey. Or to destroy men, to expose them to the divine vengeance, by lulling them into security, and enticing them to commit sin in following their directions. Will ye hunt the souls of my people? — Will ye make a prey of men’s souls by deluding them with fair promises and vain hopes? Will ye draw my people into destruction, by promising them safety and happiness, while they continue in sin? “This verse,” says Secker, “should seem to mean, that these women made every body easy to their ruin, for their own profit.” Will ye pollute me among my people? — Will ye profane my name, by making use of it to give credit to your own dreams and lies? Or, Will ye dishonour it by employing it to the vilest use, the encouraging of wickedness, and the discouraging of piety and virtue? For handfuls of barley, &c. — For the sake of gain to yourselves, even for the meanest presents? It is well known how customary gifts were, and still are, in the East. These false prophets and prophetesses being chiefly, if not solely, consulted by the corrupt and wicked part of the Jews, who made them presents for their answers; and those presents being generally the larger the more agreeable the answers were, therefore these prophets and prophetesses always uttered what was pleasing, and gave encouragement to the wicked, and what tended to disgrace and discourage the truly good. To slay the souls that should not die — To denounce or prophesy death and destruction to those that shall be preserved. Thus they denounced death to those who yielded themselves to the Chaldeans in Jeconiah’s captivity, whom God had determined to preserve alive, Jeremiah 29:5,

6. And they encouraged those who remained at Jerusalem, with promises of peace and safety, who, God had foretold, should perish: see Ezekiel 5:12. Or the words may be understood, in a more general sense, of discouraging the godly, and confirming the wicked in their evil ways: see verse 22; and Jeremiah 23:14, 17. To slay, and make alive, signify here, to promise men life, or threaten them with death. So the prophet says he came to destroy the city, (Ezekiel 43:3,) when he came to pronounce the sentence of destruction upon it. — Lowth.

Ver. 19. Will ye pollute me (my holy name) among my people for handfuls of barley, and for pieces of bread? Very few persons of rank identified themselves with the false prophets, and with the sibyls. If handfuls of barley were their hire, they slew the souls of the people, and brought destruction upon their own, for a paltry pittance.

19. Will ye pollute me… for handfuls of barley — Literally, ye have. These sorceresses were telling their lies in the name of Jehovah for the sake of the pay. And they were willing to commit this sacrilege for the slightest recompense, like that bestowed on the harlot or beggar (1 Samuel 2:36; Hosea 3:2). “Do you keep alive, for a few handfuls of barley as your reward, the souls of the wicked?” — Mosheh Ben Shesheth.

V. 20. There-At Jerusalem. Grow-You promise a flourishing, growing, state to all enquirers; and this is the net with which you hunt souls. Tear them-With violence, and suddenness.

Verse 20. The souls that ye hunt to make them fly.] twjrpl lephorechoth, into the flower gardens, says Parkhurst. These false prophetesses decoyed men into these gardens, where probably some impure rites of worship were performed, as in that of hrva Asherah or Venus. See Parkhurst under jrp.

Verses 20-23. Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye hunt the souls, &c. — To make them run into those snares and seductions that you have laid for them, verse 18. The metaphor is continued from the manner of hunting and pursuing living creatures, thereby to drive them into the toils prepared for them. I will tear them from your arms — “I will make your cheats and impostures appear so evidently that nobody shall be in danger of being seduced by you any more:” see verse 23. Your kerchiefs also will I tear — I will lay quite open and render useless all your arts; they shall no longer serve your purpose. Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad — As you have deluded and comforted the wicked with vain hopes, so you have disheartened the righteous with groundless fears, or made them sad with the lies and calumnies you have invented against them. Therefore ye shall see no more vanity nor divine divinations, &c. — An entire end shall be put to all your false predictions and divinations; for ye shall all perish, namely, in the siege of Jerusalem, either by the famine, disease, or the weapons of the Chaldeans.

Ver. 20. I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly. All critics seem dissatisfied with this reading. What connection can there be between effeminate couches, and the hardy exercises of the chace? Tirinus, after the word pulvillis, adds, reticulatis, that is, your nets, or your flatterers and liars, the arts of those Hebrew sibyls to catch flying souls. Calmet prefers nets, as the proper word. Then the reading is harmonized thus. “Behold, I am against your nets, with which you hunt souls, and will tear them from your arms on which you carry them; your smaller nets will I also tear.”

20. To make them fly — Rather, as birds (Gesenius, Smend). The figure of the net is still being carried out. That ye hunt to make them fly — This passage is very corrupt, but by a slight change the text may read, “that ye hunt go free” (Cornill, Driver).

Verse 21. Your kerchiefs] Nets, or amulets, as some think.

Verses 20-23. Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye hunt the souls, &c. — To make them run into those snares and seductions that you have laid for them, verse 18. The metaphor is continued from the manner of hunting and pursuing living creatures, thereby to drive them into the toils prepared for them. I will tear them from your arms — “I will make your cheats and impostures appear so evidently that nobody shall be in danger of being seduced by you any more:” see verse 23. Your kerchiefs also will I tear — I will lay quite open and render useless all your arts; they shall no longer serve your purpose. Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad — As you have deluded and comforted the wicked with vain hopes, so you have disheartened the righteous with groundless fears, or made them sad with the lies and calumnies you have invented against them. Therefore ye shall see no more vanity nor divine divinations, &c. — An entire end shall be put to all your false predictions and divinations; for ye shall all perish, namely, in the siege of Jerusalem, either by the famine, disease, or the weapons of the Chaldeans.

21. Your kerchiefs also will I tear — These victims should be delivered from the snare of the fowler (Psalm 91:3) and the charm of the net should be destroyed. It is suggestive that after the Babylonish captivity we find very little of these divinations in Jerusalem. (See Ezekiel 12:24.)

Verse 22. With lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad] Here is the ministry of these false prophetesses, and its effects. They told lies: they would speak, and they had no truth to tell; and therefore spoke falsities. They “saddened the souls of the righteous, and strengthened the hands of the wicked.” They promised them life, and prevented them from repenting and turning from their sins.

Verses 20-23. Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye hunt the souls, &c. — To make them run into those snares and seductions that you have laid for them, verse 18. The metaphor is continued from the manner of hunting and pursuing living creatures, thereby to drive them into the toils prepared for them. I will tear them from your arms — “I will make your cheats and impostures appear so evidently that nobody shall be in danger of being seduced by you any more:” see verse 23. Your kerchiefs also will I tear — I will lay quite open and render useless all your arts; they shall no longer serve your purpose. Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad — As you have deluded and comforted the wicked with vain hopes, so you have disheartened the righteous with groundless fears, or made them sad with the lies and calumnies you have invented against them. Therefore ye shall see no more vanity nor divine divinations, &c. — An entire end shall be put to all your false predictions and divinations; for ye shall all perish, namely, in the siege of Jerusalem, either by the famine, disease, or the weapons of the Chaldeans.

22. By promising him life — Rather, he should live. (Compare Ezekiel 18:9, 17; 33.)

V. 23. See no more vanity-They shall see all their predictions vanish, which shall so confound them, that they shall pretend no more to visions.

Verse 23. Ye shall see no more vanity] They pretended visions; but they were empty of reality.

Nor divine divinations] As God would not speak to them, they employed demons. Where God is not, because of the iniquity of the people, the devil is, to strengthen and support that iniquity. And if he cannot have his priests, he will have his priestesses; and these will have a Church like themselves, full of lying doctrines, and bad works.

EZEKIEL

Verses 20-23. Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye hunt the souls, &c. — To make them run into those snares and seductions that you have laid for them, verse 18. The metaphor is continued from the manner of hunting and pursuing living creatures, thereby to drive them into the toils prepared for them. I will tear them from your arms — “I will make your cheats and impostures appear so evidently that nobody shall be in danger of being seduced by you any more:” see verse 23. Your kerchiefs also will I tear — I will lay quite open and render useless all your arts; they shall no longer serve your purpose. Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad — As you have deluded and comforted the wicked with vain hopes, so you have disheartened the righteous with groundless fears, or made them sad with the lies and calumnies you have invented against them. Therefore ye shall see no more vanity nor divine divinations, &c. — An entire end shall be put to all your false predictions and divinations; for ye shall all perish, namely, in the siege of Jerusalem, either by the famine, disease, or the weapons of the Chaldeans.

Ver. 23. Ye shall know that I am the Lord, by the strokes of my justice in delivering you to the sword, who have thwarted the ministry of my true prophets, and destroyed the nation by your imaginations of peace, peace, soothing idolaters in their sins.