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The End Arrives

The Lord’s message came to me: “You, son of man—this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land![a] The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you. I will judge[b] you according to your behavior;[c] I will hold you accountable for[d] all your abominable practices. My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[e] you.[f] For I will hold you responsible for your behavior,[g] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices.[h] Then you will know that I am the Lord!

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A disaster[i]—a one-of-a-kind[j] disaster—is coming! An end comes[k]—the end comes![l] It has awakened against you![m] Look, it is coming![n] Doom is coming upon you who live in the land! The time is coming, the day[o] is near. There are sounds of tumult, not shouts of joy, on the mountains.[p] Soon now I will pour out my rage[q] on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. My eye will not pity you; I will not spare[r] you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable,[s] and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you.[t]

10 “Look, the day! Look, it is coming! Doom has gone out! The staff has budded, pride has blossomed! 11 Violence[u] has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left[v]—not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence.[w] 12 The time has come; the day has struck! The customer should not rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for divine wrath[x] comes against their whole crowd. 13 The customer will no longer pay the seller[y] while both parties are alive, for the vision against their whole crowd[z] will not be revoked. Each person, for his iniquity,[aa] will fail to preserve his life.

14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd.[ab] 15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys[ac] ; all of them will moan—each one for his iniquity. 17 All their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine.[ad] 18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved bald.[ae] 19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth.[af] Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury.[ag] They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth[ah] was the obstacle leading to their iniquity.[ai] 20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride,[aj] and with it they made their abominable images—their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 22 I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured place.[ak] Vandals will enter it and desecrate it.[al] 23 (Make the chain,[am] because the land is full of murder[an] and the city is full of violence.) 24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong, and their sanctuaries[ao] will be desecrated. 25 Terror[ap] is coming! They will seek peace, but find none. 26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one rumor after another. They will seek a vision from a prophet; priestly instruction will disappear, along with counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn and the prince will be clothed with shuddering; the hands of the people of the land will tremble. Based on their behavior I will deal with them, and by their standard of justice[aq] I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 7:2 tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).
  2. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Or “punish” (cf. BDB 1047 s.v. שָׁפַט 3.c).
  3. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Heb “ways.”
  4. Ezekiel 7:3 tn Heb “I will place on you.”
  5. Ezekiel 7:4 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  6. Ezekiel 7:4 tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
  7. Ezekiel 7:4 tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”
  8. Ezekiel 7:4 tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”
  9. Ezekiel 7:5 tn The Hebrew term often refers to moral evil (see Ezek 6:10; 14:22), but in many contexts it refers to calamity or disaster, sometimes as punishment for evil behavior.
  10. Ezekiel 7:5 tc So most Hebrew mss; many Hebrew mss read “disaster after disaster” (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
  11. Ezekiel 7:6 tn Or “has come.”
  12. Ezekiel 7:6 tn Or “has come.”
  13. Ezekiel 7:6 tc With different vowels the verb rendered “it has awakened” would be the noun “the end,” as in “the end is upon you.” The verb would represent a phonetic wordplay. The noun by virtue of repetition would continue to reinforce the idea of the end. Whether verb or noun, this is the only instance to occur with this preposition.
  14. Ezekiel 7:6 tc For this entire verse, the LXX has only “the end is come.” tn In each of the three cases of the verb translated with forms of “to come,” the form may either be a participle (“comes/is coming”) or a perfect (“has come”). Either form would indicate that the end is soon to arrive. This last form appears also to be feminine, although “end” is masculine. This shift may be looking ahead to the next verse, whose first noun (“Doom”) is feminine.
  15. Ezekiel 7:7 sn The day refers to the day of the Lord, a concept which, beginning in Amos 5:18-20, became a common theme in the OT prophetic books. It refers to a time when the Lord intervenes in human affairs as warrior and judge.
  16. Ezekiel 7:7 tc The LXX reads “neither tumult nor birth pains.” The LXX varies at many points from the MT in this chapter. The context suggests that one or both of these would be present on a day of judgment, thus favoring the MT. Perhaps more significant is the absence of “the mountains” in the LXX. If the ר (resh) in הָרִים (harim, “the mountains” not “on the mountains”) were a ד (dalet), which is a common letter confusion, then it could be from the same root as the previous word, הֵד (hed), meaning “the day is near—with destruction, not joyful shouting.”
  17. Ezekiel 7:8 tn The expression “to pour out rage” also occurs in Ezek 9:8; 14:19; 20:8, 13, 21; 22:31; 30:15; 36:18.
  18. Ezekiel 7:9 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.
  19. Ezekiel 7:9 tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”
  20. Ezekiel 7:9 tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.
  21. Ezekiel 7:11 tn Heb “the violence.”
  22. Ezekiel 7:11 tc The LXX reads “he will crush the wicked rod without confusion or haste.”tn The verb has been supplied for the Hebrew text to clarify the sense.
  23. Ezekiel 7:11 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  24. Ezekiel 7:12 tn Heb “wrath.” Context clarifies that God’s wrath is in view.
  25. Ezekiel 7:13 tc The translation follows the LXX for the first line of the verse, although the LXX has lost the second line due to homoioteleuton (similar endings of the clauses). The MT reads “The seller will not return to the sale.” This Hebrew reading has been construed as a reference to land redemption, the temporary sale of the use of property, with property rights returned to the seller in the year of Jubilee. But the context has no other indicator that land redemption is in view. If correct, the LXX evidence suggests that one of the cases of “the customer” has been replaced by “the seller” in the MT, perhaps due to hoimoioarcton (similar beginnings of the words).
  26. Ezekiel 7:13 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
  27. Ezekiel 7:13 tn Or “in their punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in v. 16; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
  28. Ezekiel 7:14 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
  29. Ezekiel 7:16 sn The simile compares doves that flee their valley home for the mountains, where they coo in mournful discomfort. For doves moaning or mourning see Isa 38:14; 59:11; Ezek 7:16 and Nah 2:7.
  30. Ezekiel 7:17 tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.
  31. Ezekiel 7:18 tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”
  32. Ezekiel 7:19 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
  33. Ezekiel 7:19 sn Cf. Zeph 1:18.
  34. Ezekiel 7:19 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
  35. Ezekiel 7:19 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
  36. Ezekiel 7:20 tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (ʿedyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (ʿedyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then was used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17, which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.
  37. Ezekiel 7:22 sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT’s “my treasured land”).
  38. Ezekiel 7:22 sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.
  39. Ezekiel 7:23 tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of הַבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles, but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately, and we can do little better.”
  40. Ezekiel 7:23 tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.
  41. Ezekiel 7:24 sn Or “their holy places” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
  42. Ezekiel 7:25 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT. It is interpreted based on a Syriac cognate meaning “to bristle or stiffen (in terror).”
  43. Ezekiel 7:27 tn Heb “and by their judgments.”

The End has Come

This message from the Lord arrived for me: “Son of Man, this is what Lord God says to the land of Israel: ‘It’s over! All four corners of the land are out of time! Your time is up! I’m sending my anger against you to judge you according to how you live your lives,[a] and I’m going to pay you back with the consequences of all your detestable practices. I won’t be showing pity on you and I won’t be showing compassion. I’m going to turn your own lifestyles against you while your detestable practices remain among you. Then you’ll learn[b] that I am the Lord.’”

One Bad Thing after Another

“This is what the Lord God says: ‘It’s one evil event after another!

“‘Look out! It’s coming!

“‘The end is coming!

“‘The end is here!

“‘And it’s looking in your direction![c]

“‘Look out! It’s arrived!

“‘Your doom has come to you, you who live in the land. The time has arrived, and the day of confusion is near. There will be no shouts of joy on the mountains. Very soon now, I’ll pour out my burning anger on you. I’ll complete expressing my anger at you, judge you according to your behavior, and repay you for all your detestable practices. I won’t be showing pity or compassion. I’ll repay you according to your behavior while your detestable practices remain among you. And you’ll know that I, the Lord, have been attacking you.’”[d]

The Harvest Approaches

10 “Look out! The day!

“Look out! It’s coming!

“Doom has blossomed.

“Arrogance has sprouted!

11 “Violence has matured into a branch that is wicked. No one will survive from that vast crowd, from their wealthy people, or from the famous among them.

12 “The time has come!

“The day has arrived.[e] Don’t let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller lament, because wrath is coming to attack the entire multitude. 13 The seller won’t regain what he has sold while the crowd remains[f] alive, because the vision concerning the entire multitude won’t be annulled. No person will be able to survive because of the sin in his life.

14 “They’ve sounded the alarm,[g] and everyone is prepared, but no one is marching for battle, since I’m angry at the entire multitude. 15 The sword lurks outside, but pestilence and famine are on the prowl inside the house. Whoever is in the field will die by violence,[h] while famine and pestilence will devour those in the city. 16 Fugitives will escape to the mountains like doves fleeing through the valleys, all of them moaning because of their own iniquity. 17 Every hand will be limp. Every knee will glisten with sweat.”[i]

The Coming Terror

18 “They’ll clothe themselves with sackcloth, terror will overcome them, shame will cover their faces, and baldness will spread over their entire heads. 19 They’ll fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will be cast away as impure. Their silver and gold won’t be able to deliver them during the time[j] of the Lord’s wrath. They won’t be able to satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs, because their iniquity has tripped them up.”

The Temple Defiled

20 “As for his beautiful ornament,[k] he set it up in majesty, but they made detestable images and loathsome idols. Therefore, I’ll give them something loathsome— 21 I’ll give it as plunder into the control of strangers and as the spoils of war to the wicked who will invade the land to profane it. 22 I’ll turn my face away from them so that they’ll defile my treasured place. Robbers will enter and profane it!

23 “Forge a chain, because the land is full of bloody judgment and the city is filled with violence. 24 Therefore, I’m bringing the worst of the nations, who will take possession of their houses. I’ll cause the pride of the mighty to cease, and their sanctuaries will be profaned.

25 “When destruction comes, they’ll seek peace, but there will be none to be found. 26 Disaster upon disaster will come, followed by rumor after rumor. They’ll seek an oracle from the prophet, but the Law will be gone from the priests, and counsel from the elders.

27 “The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with desolation,[l] and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I’ll deal with them according to their behavior and I will judge them by how they’ve judged. Then they’ll learn[m] that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 7:3 Lit. to your ways
  2. Ezekiel 7:4 Or know
  3. Ezekiel 7:6 Lit. looking for you
  4. Ezekiel 7:9 The Heb. lacks you
  5. Ezekiel 7:12 Lit. reached
  6. Ezekiel 7:13 Lit. while they’re
  7. Ezekiel 7:14 Lit. They’ve blown the trumpet
  8. Ezekiel 7:15 Lit. by the sword
  9. Ezekiel 7:17 Lit. water
  10. Ezekiel 7:19 Lit. day
  11. Ezekiel 7:20 I.e. the temple in Jerusalem
  12. Ezekiel 7:27 Or with torn garments
  13. Ezekiel 7:27 Or know