Eze 17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; Ezekiel is going to get a riddle (obscure idea requiring interpretation). Not the same as a parable (an illustration by comparison). The riddle is for the house of Israel.

Eze 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: The great eagle with broad wings: Represents the king of Babylon. The highest branch: This represent Jehoiachin (i.e. Jeconiah, or Coniah). O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! (Jeremiah 22:23). Living high on the hog but spiritually dead. As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; (Jeremiah 22:24). Coniah, also know as Jeconiah or Jehoiachin.

Eze 17:4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. Land of traffic: Babylon. And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. (Jeremiah 22:25). Jehoiachin would be taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. 

Eze 17:5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. The seed: Zedekiah, brother to Jeconiah. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of Judah (Jeremiah 37:1), and nourished him in Babylon, the city of great waters.

Eze 17:6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. Turn toward him: Zedekiah being dependent upon Nebuchadnezzar. (Judah would prosper in Babylon). 

Eze 17:7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. Another great eagle: Pharoah Hophra, king of Egypt. "Judah would look for help from Egypt against Babylon." (Jeremiah 37:7).

Eze 17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Planted in good soil and had plenty of water to grow. But, would it?  

Eze 17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Shall it prosper? No, The Lord shall pull it up, roots and all! He will cut off the fruit and the leaves will wither and die. Why? "Zedekiah had broken his oath to Nebuchadnezzar."

Eze 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.   

Eze 17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Here comes the meaning of the riddle. 

Eze 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; The king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and took her king and princes, and brought them to Babylon.

Eze 17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: Made a treaty with the royal family. (2 Chronicles 36:13).

Eze 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. If Judah kept her treaty with Babylon, they would have been fine.

Eze 17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? Zedekiah sent ambassadors to Egypt for help and broke the treaty.

Eze 17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Zedekiah broke the covenant and would die in Babylon. (Jeremiah 52:11). No escape through the king of Egypt, and no escape from the king of Babylon.  

Eze 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:

Eze 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Though Zedekiah's oath had been given to a heathen, a conqueror, and a tyrant, yet God considered the violation of it a most aggravated sin against Him, and determined to punish him for it.

Eze 17:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. Even though Zedekiah made a covenant with a heathen, God still held him accountable. (When you make an oath, God will make you accountable).

Eze 17:20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. Not looking good for Zedekiah. 

Eze 17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it. The best warriors will be killed in battle, and all who survive will be scattered among the nations. (Jeremiah 52:8).

Eze 17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: Now we set forth to the restoration of the kingdom of Messiah. High mountain: "Mount Zion." Jesus Christ "The Messiah," is the true branch. (Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:15-16, Isaiah 53:2, Micah 4:1).

Eze 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. In the end time Israel will be restored along with all other nations and they will become the kingdoms of the Lord. (Revelation 11:15).

Eze 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it. In that day, the mighty (the proud), will be put down, and He will exalt the humble. "He gives the spiritual dead new life." He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. (Luke 1:52). He has torn princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. (Job 5:11-15). He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. (Luke 1:53). He satisfies the hungry hearts (filling them with truth), and sends the rich away with empty hands. (Psalms 34:10).

Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Another message for Ezekiel from the Lord.

Eze 18:2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? I believe they are speaking of a verse in Lamentations. Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. (Lamentations 5:7). i.e. the children are affected by the sins of the father, is what was being said around the land. Jeremiah spoke of this proverb. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge. (Jeremiah 31:29). But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. (Jeremiah 31:30). Everyone brings on their own troubles. "The sins of the father do not pass onto the sins of the son." Don't always blame God for your misfortunes.

Eze 18:3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. The proverb will not be quoted anymore, "says the Lord." Refers to a future time, which has not yet come. Till then it is otherwise and has been since. (Genesis 3, Lamentations 5:7, Romans 5:12-21).

Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The one who sins is now responsible for their own sin. (Ezekiel 18:20, Romans 6:23).

Eze 18:5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, Here we have a righteous man.

Eze 18:6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, He does not partake in idolatrous feasts. Obeys the law and does not defile himself with a woman. (Leviticus 18:19-20).

Eze 18:7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He is an honest and fair man in all his business affairs and helps those in need. 

Eze 18:8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, Lends money without interest, and stays away from injustice. He is honest and fair when judging others. (Treats everyone as equals).

Eze 18:9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD. Obeys the laws of God and commandments. "If he does these things he will surely live."

Eze 18:10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, So, the man gets a trouble maker and looser for a son. (Just refuses to do what is right).

Eze 18:11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife, The son just don't care and does all the evil things the father would never do. (I wish at times I would have followed the morals of my father much closer). It seems I had to learn the hard way, even though my father taught me many things about how to live a clean and respectable life. (Sometimes in life we just hang with the wrong kind of people).

Eze 18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 

Eze 18:13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. It appears that a son who acts like this should die in his sin. "Thank God for Jesus." Without Him and repentance, we would all be in trouble.

Eze 18:14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, Now we have the sinful son have a son of his own. This son sees the wickedness of his father and decides against that kind of life.

Eze 18:15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, 

Eze 18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,

Eze 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. This son helps people and obeys the laws of God, not following his fathers evil ways. This son will not die for his fathers sins; he will live.

Eze 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. However, the father will die for his own sins for doing wrong among his people.  

Eze 18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. "What?" They ask. Doesn't the child pay for the parent's sin. No way! That would not be fair, and God is always fair. The child will live because he did what was right, not following the father that was unjust. (The problem today is that to many follow the ways of their parents). That not a bad thing, unless the parent is a trouble maker. (I have a lot better words to describe them but I won't use them).

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Bottom line, the person who sins, is the one who will die. The child is not punished for the sins of the parent, and the parent is not punished for the sins of the child. "The righteous will be rewarded, and the wicked will be punished."

Eze 18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. However, if the wicked one turns from their sins and begins to obey the the laws of God, doing what is right, they will live.

Eze 18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they do now. (1 John 3:7). "But, there is a condition here." They need to repent and turn from their evil ways. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). If we confess our sins we can count on God to wash away all our sins because Christ became that one time sacrifice for our sins.

Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? God does not want any of His children to die. He wants them to repent and turn from their evil ways. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). The Lord is not being slow about His return and promise of eternal life, He is just being patient for our sake. His will is that everyone come to repentance and no one should perish. He just wants our love. (Hosea 6:6).

Eze 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. But wait... If righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing things like other sinners, their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die in their sins. i.e. God can wipe your righteous acts clean (if your forsake Him and follow sin), just as He can wipe your sins clean upon repentance. Look at it as a point system... You do a righteous thing and you get a point, you do a sinful thing, you lose a point. (God can either give you eternal life, or He can take it away).

Eze 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? Many think this is not fair and God is not doing what's right. "God sets the rules, not man."

Eze 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Eze 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

Eze 18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Eze 18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? These hard heads still didn't get it. Foolish thinking! (Proverbs 19:3).

Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Everyone will be judged or rewarded by their actions. Don't let sin destroy you!

Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Put your old sinful self (the flesh), behind you and walk after the spirit. (The flesh profits nothing). It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63). It is the Spirit alone that gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. These words that I have spoken to you are spiritual and give life. (I Peter 1:23), "Born from above." Not of corruptible seed or body that shall parish, but born of a new spirit from within that will last forever because it comes from the eternal living Word of God.  

Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. Again, God does not want any of His children to perish, but to come to repentance and live. (2 Peter 3:9).

Eze 19:1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, Lamentation (dirge), a funeral song for the princes of Israel. In the original manuscripts this reads "prince," referring to Zedekiah, and Israel put here for Judah.

Eze 19:2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. Judah representing a lioness, and her young lions (princes and kings). She lay: Had confederacy with the neighboring kings, and learned their manners. Her whelps: The sons of Josiah, who learned to be oppressive tyrants from the surrounding princes.

Eze 19:3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. One: Jehoahaz, made king of Israel instead of Josiah, who became cruel and oppressive. (2 Kings 23:31-32, 2 Chronicles 36:1-2).

Eze 19:4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. He was: Taken prisoner by Pharaoh-necho, and brought into Egypt. (2 Kings 23:30-34, 2 Chronicles 36: 1-4).

Eze 19:5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. Another of her whelps: Probably Jehoiachim, another son of Josiah. (2 Kings 23:34-37).

Eze 19:6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. He: Jehoiachim reigned eleven years and became a perfect heathen and monster of iniquity. (2 Kings 24:1-7, 2 chronicles 36:5).

Eze 19:7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. He was a destroyer and wicked ruler over the people. (Proverbs 28:15).

Eze 19:8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. The armies of the nations attacked him and captured him. (2 Kings 24:2).

Eze 19:9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. They dragged him with hooks into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. (2 Chronicles 36:6).

Eze 19:10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. Judah compared to the vine that was plucked up. 

Eze 19:11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 

Eze 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. She was: The kingdom was entirely ruined, and her princes cut off.

Eze 19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. Judah taken to Babylon. (2 Kings 24:12-16).

Eze 19:14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. Fire: The treachery of Zedekiah hath caused her utter ruin. Again, this is a funeral song and will be used in a funeral. She hath no strong rod to be a scepter: No more rulers or princes for a while. For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. (Hosea 3:4). This will show that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices and idols. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3:5). The children of Israel will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David's descendant in the last days. (Ezekiel 38:8, Micah 4:1). Who is this descendant of David in the last days? "Jesus Christ." "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." (I Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16).

Eze 20:1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me. This would be around the seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin. Some of the elders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They hung around for a reply, but I don't think God is going to answer their questions.

Eze 20:2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Here is the message that came from the Lord.

Eze 20:3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. How dare you come to Me for a message the Lord replies. "I will tell you nothing."

Eze 20:4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers: These people didn't realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors were.

Eze 20:5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; When God chose Israel, He revealed Himself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt. He took a solemn oath to be their God.

Eze 20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: God promised them some wonderful things, but He wanted them to do something in return.

Eze 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. God just wanted them to get rid of their idol gods. (Even to this day, people still pray to idols). "They just don't get it."

Eze 20:8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. They never listen. They still want to pray and worship their man made images. Sound familiar? "God threatened them and could have wiped them out in Egypt, but He didn't do it.

Eze 20:9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. God didn't want to bring shame upon His name among the surrounding nations.  

Eze 20:10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. So, God brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Eze 20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Gave them Moses and the law.

Eze 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. God gave them the Sabbath days of rest to keep. (That didn't last long).

Eze 20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. The people did not listen to anything God said. "Of course they violated His Sabbath days." Still goes on today, just change it to Sunday and everyone will follow because it is more convenient. But, didn't Christ become our Sabbath? Even though Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8), and the Sabbath was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13-17), Jesus and the apostles still gathered on the Sabbath day. But, because the largest religious organization changed it to Sunday worship, all the others follow their tradition. "Not that there is anything wrong with that."

Eze 20:14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

Eze 20:15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

Eze 20:16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. Just follow the ways of the their false gods.

Eze 20:17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. God held back on destroying them.

Eze 20:18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: Like father like son, like mother like daughter. The children still following their parents footsteps in traditions of men and false teachings. (Acts 7:51, 1 Peter 1:18).

Eze 20:19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; God told them what to do.

Eze 20:20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. A sign to remind you, that I am the Lord. (Isaiah 58:13, Jeremiah 17:22, 17:24, 17:27).

Eze 20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. In one ear and out the other. "Still rejecting the laws of God."

Eze 20:22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. God withdrew His judgment against them.

Eze 20:23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;  But would still scatter them among the nations.    

Eze 20:24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. Still longing for their false gods.

Eze 20:25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; God turned them over to the statutes and gods of the other nations.

Eze 20:26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD. They pollute themselves with the very gifts I give them.

Eze 20:27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. The message is that they still betray the Lord.

Eze 20:28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings. 

Eze 20:29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. Instead of going to the true high place of Zion, they go to "Bamah," the idolatrous high place.

Eze 20:30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? Do you still plan to pollute and prostitute yourselves just as your ancestors did?

Eze 20:31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you. If they keep doing these things, God will not tell them nothing.

Eze 20:32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. They want to be like the other nations who serve idols of wood and stone. We can get into a lot of trouble wanting to be like others. "We want to join the biggest church and follow the most popular pastor." (Romans 12:2).

Eze 20:33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 

Eze 20:34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 

Eze 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Judgment is coming.

Eze 20:36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. 

Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: He will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant. (Matthew 25:32-33).

Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. You will be separated from those who revolt against God.

Eze 20:39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. Keep worshipping your idols, but sooner or later you will obey Me.

Eze 20:40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 

Eze 20:41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. God wants you to be an example in front of the gentiles. "To display His holiness through all the nations."

Eze 20:42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 

Eze 20:43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

Eze 20:44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Eze 20:45 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

Eze 20:46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; 

Eze 20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. God will send war and destroy all ranks and characters of the people. (Jeremiah 21:14). All these things will take place in the end times.

Eze 20:48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Everyone in the world will see this.

Eze 20:49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables? Is it not his usual custom to deal in enigmas? His figures are not to be understood; we should not trouble ourselves with them. God therefore commands the prophet to declare, in the next chapter, the same things in the plainest terms, so that they should not complain of his parables. (Matthew 13:11-14, John 16:25). 

Eze 21:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 21:2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 

Eze 21:3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Get God angry and He will correct you. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Eze 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: Everyone will get a piece of the action. "His wrath!"

Eze 21:5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. The whole world will know as an example of what is coming to Israel until His work is finished.

Eze 21:6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. Groan before the people in bitter anguish. 

Eze 21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD. When they ask why your groaning, tell them about the bad news I have given you and how they will act. "All their strength will disappear." It's coming! (Not just to Israel).  

Eze 21:8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 21:9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: The sword will be sharp and polished. (Babylon).

Eze 21:10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. Stronger ones than you have fallen beneath its power.

Eze 21:11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.  

Eze 21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. 

Eze 21:13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. God will put them to the test.

Eze 21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. Prophesy to them and clap your hands. (a sign of disappointment or grief, not applause).

Eze 21:15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. The sword is ready for the slaughter.

Eze 21:16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. The sword (Babylon), will slash from every side

Eze 21:17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it. The Lord will also clap His hands in satisfaction.

Eze 21:18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

Eze 21:19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. God is giving Ezekiel a map for the king of Babylon to follow. But, there is a fork in the road with two directions to go.

Eze 21:20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. One road goes to Ammon and its capital Rabbah, the other road goes to Judah and Jerusalem.

Eze 21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. The king of Babylon now stands at the fork in the road uncertain who to attack first. (a little confusion). He calls his magicians to look for omens, but the way it was decided, was to draw a marked arrow from its quiver. The first arrow drawn with the name was the city they first made war on.

Eze 21:22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. Looks like its going to be Jerusalem.

Eze 21:23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken. Jerusalem thinks their safe because of their treaty with Babylon, but because they rebelled, the king is going to attack and capture them.

Eze 21:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. They were warned, but did not listen. They don't even try to hide their sin anymore, they just make it obvious for everyone to see. "Sounds like our nation." Judgment is coming!

Eze 21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Profane: Pierced through. i.e. deadly wounded one. Wicked prince: Referring to King Zedekiah. A type of future antichrist. (Revelation 13:3).

Eze 21:26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. Time for a change here. The high and mighty will be put down, and the lowly will be exalted. (Psalm 75:7, Luke 1:52).

Eze 21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. Overthrow, overthrow, and overthrow the kingdom. It will not be restored until the "One" appears who has the right to judge it, and it will be handed over to Him. i.e. The promised Messiah. (Isaiah 9:6-7, 42:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15-17, Zechariah 6:12-13).

Eze 21:28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: The Ammonites think they are safe because Jerusalem was attacked first.

Eze 21:29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. You been getting false information from your fortune tellers. "All lies." Your final reckoning has come. (Why do people listen to fortune tellers)?

Eze 21:30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. Judgment is coming!

Eze 21:31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy. You will be handed over to men who are skilled in destruction.

Eze 21:32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it. Your just fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. (The Ammonites would not escape destruction). This prophecy against the Ammonites happened about five years after the taking of Jerusalem; and their name has utterly perished from the face of the earth. (Ezekiel 25:10, Zephaniah 2:9).

Eze 22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 22:2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations. Are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Judge the bloody! "City of murderers." Referring to those put to death for teaching truth.

Eze 22:3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. A city full of idols.

Eze 22:4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. Because of your bloodshed and idol worship you will become an object of mockery to the world.

Eze 22:5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. Filled with confusion. When you reject the truth, all that is left is confusion.

Eze 22:6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. All your leaders are murderers. 

Eze 22:7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Parents are dishonored. (No respect for the elders). Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. The weak and poor are taken advantage of. 

Eze 22:8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. You despise My holy things and violate My Sabbath day of rest.

Eze 22:9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You pray to idols and do obscene things.

Eze 22:10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. Men sleeping with their fathers wives. (Little incest going on here).

Eze 22:11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter. Commit adultery with their neighbors wives and rape their own sisters.

Eze 22:12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD. There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortion everywhere. 

Eze 22:13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. God claps His hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed. (Versus 2-13 sounds a lot like our own nation).

Eze 22:14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. You won't be to strong on judgment day.

Eze 22:15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. You will be scattered among the nations.

Eze 22:16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. When God is dishonored among the nations because of what you have done, you will know that I am the Lord.

Eze 22:17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. The people of Israel are just like worthless slag that remains after silver is melted.

Eze 22:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is here represented as the fining pot; all the people, who had become dross, are to be gathered together in it; and the fire of the Chaldeans, blown by the wrath of God, is to melt the whole. No ordinary means will avail to purge their impurities; the most violent must therefore be resorted to.

Eze 22:20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. God is a consuming fire that will destroy anything in His way.

Eze 22:21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. His fire of wrath will be like a blow torch.

Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you. You will melt like silver in My fierce heat.

Eze 22:23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 22:24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. Not cleansed and no fruitful showers.

Eze 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Your priests and prophets are a bunch of rip offs. You devour the innocent people taking their money, and make many widows in the land. (Matthew 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47).

Eze 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Your priests violate Gods instruction and defile all His holy things. They do not teach the people the difference between what is holy and unholy. You disregard My Sabbath days and make your own days of worship.

Eze 22:27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. Your leaders will tear people apart for money. (Send your money here and you may get a blessing, while I live high on the hog). i.e. always asking for money!

Eze 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. Even the prophets give false visions to cover for all their money begging. (Well, the Lord said if you send us this amount, you will be blessed, and maybe get to heaven faster). Remember that God does not send out beggars. (Jesus never asked for money, the apostles never asked for money, and teachers of the word today should not always be asking for money).

Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.   

Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. God was looking for some righteous men, but found none in the land. The princes, priests, and prophets were to be teaching the truth, but were just teaching traditions of men.

Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD. Judgment is coming upon this nation, and any other nation that follows these things that are against the ways of God. "Those who do not listen to and obey the truth." (Romans 2:8-9).  

Eze 23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Another message from the Lord.

Eze 23:2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: The two women: Two sisters that would represent Samaria (capital of Israel), and Jerusalem (capital of Judah).

Eze 23:3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. Whoredoms: Idolatries. (Their idol worship was like prostitution in Egypt, even at an early age). 

Eze 23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. The names: The kingdom of Israel, of which Samaria was the capital, containing ten tribes, and occupying a larger extent of country than that of Judah, is therefore called "her elder sister;" and Aholah, the name given to her, implies that the whole religious establishment in Israel was a human invention, a temple and service of their own, and not of God's appointment. Aholibah, the name given to Judah, implies that the worship established there was from God, and that His temple was truly at Jerusalem.

Eze 23:5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Aholah: The Israelites, in addition to their former gross idolatries, received the impure idolatrous worship of the Assyrians, who became their neighbors by the conquest of Syria.

Eze 23:6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Everything looking so good and religious.

Eze 23:7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. So, Samaria (Israel), prostituted herself worshipping the idols of Assyria and defiling herself.

Eze 23:8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. "She still remained a whore when she left Egypt."

Eze 23:9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. She wanted to whore around with the Assyrians, so God let her.

Eze 23:10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. The Assyrians stripped her clean and did what they wanted with her.

Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. Now her sister Aholibah (Jerusalem), saw what happened to her and followed in her footsteps. (She became worse than her sister).

Eze 23:12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Aholibah fell for the ways of the Assyrians big time.

Eze 23:13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, She defiled herself just as her older sister.

Eze 23:14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion, Her prostitution went a step further. She fell in love with everything they had. (Paintings, wood carvings, statues). "Every idol possible."

Eze 23:15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: She took worship of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, and loaded them all together for herself to worship. (Listen to one mans junk, then another mans junk, and mix it all together to make your own junk).

Eze 23:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. Looked so good to her, she sent a message to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.

Eze 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. Fell right into bed with Babylon. When she was done, she rejected them in disgust. (Felt bad for what she had done). 

Eze 23:18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. God became disgusted with her and rejected her just like her sister.

Eze 23:19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. She just turned to even greater prostitution.

Eze 23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. She lusted after her secret lovers.

Eze 23:21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth. 

Eze 23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; Your own lovers will come against you, even the ones you turned away from.

Eze 23:23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. All tribes that were part of the Babylonian kingdom.

Eze 23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. They will all come against you from every direction with everything they have.

Eze 23:25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. It will be quite a slaughter and your children will be taken away captive. "Everything left will be burned." 

Eze 23:26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. Stripped clean of everything.

Eze 23:27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. 

Eze 23:28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:  

Eze 23:29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.

Eze 23:30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Brought all this on yourself because you have defiled yourself with their idols.

Eze 23:31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Same judgment for both Israel and Judah.

Eze 23:32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. 

Eze 23:33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. 

Eze 23:34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. You will drain the cup of terror to the very bottom. "Not a drop will be left."

Eze 23:35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Turned their back of the Lord and followed idol worship.

Eze 23:36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; 

Eze 23:37 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Sacrificed their own children to false gods and idols.

Eze 23:38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. Defiled Gods Temple and profaned His Sabbaths.

Eze 23:39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. They sacrifice their children to idols, then go to the Temple of God like nothing even happened. (Bunch of hypocrites).

Eze 23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, You get all prettied up and prostitute yourself out to everyone form distant lands.

Eze 23:41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. You even use the incense and anointing oil of God to worship your idols.

Eze 23:42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Bring in all the drunks from the wilderness who pay for your prostitution. 

Eze 23:43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? Want to have sex with these old worn out prostitutes. "Go right ahead!" (If you want to whore around and listen to false teaching and traditions of men, God will let you).

Eze 23:44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. "That's exactly what they did."

Eze 23:45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. The righteous will judge these sister cities for what they really are.

Eze 23:46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. God's army will come against them (Jeremiah 25:9), to be terrorized and plundered. (Jeremiah 15:4, 24:9, 34:17).

Eze 23:47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.  

Eze 23:48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. This will put and end to the lewdness and idolatry in the land. Gods judgment on them will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked ways. (A warning to us and the rest of the world to change our evil ways and get back to God's way). We in the U.S. need to set the example of righteous living and not follow the ways of the wicked).

Eze 23:49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Leave God out of the equation, and suffer the consequences. (This goes for every nation). "No nation is exempt!"

Eze 24:1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, During the ninth year of King Jehoichin's captivity, when Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem.  

Eze 24:2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. The attack against Jerusalem begins. (2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 39:1). How did he know? "God told him."

Eze 24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: Remember what the scoffers said back in chapter 11. Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. (Ezekiel 11:3). This city is like an iron pot, and we are like meat inside. (i.e. well protected).  

Eze 24:4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Could this represent the wicked people and their sins, or the invading army from the north? And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. (Jeremiah 1:13). A boiling pot of water spilling from the north. (The enemy though situated on the east, would advance from the north, through Dan, the usual route from Assyria). 

Eze 24:5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. Get the fire real hot and boil the bones along with the meat inside. 

Eze 24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. Jerusalem is the cooking pot and the meat within is the corruption that could not be cleaned out. Let no lot fall: The city is to be destroyed, not lotted out to or by the conquerors.

Eze 24:7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; The blood of her murders is splashed from the pot to the rocks. (For everyone to see). It won't be spilled on the ground, where the dust could cover it! Just as Jerusalem didn't even try to cover up her wickedness. (Isaiah 3:9).

Eze 24:8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. Jerusalem's blood upon the rocks will be for everyone to see. 

Eze 24:9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. God will fuel the fire Himself to the city of murderers! Remember, "God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:29, Isaiah 31:9, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 2 Peter 3:7-12, Jude 1:7, Revelation 21:8).

Eze 24:10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. Cook the meat and kick up the fire to burn the bones. (Total destruction)!

Eze 24:11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. The pot was Jerusalem; the flesh, the inhabitants in general: every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, Zedekiah, his family, and princes; the bones, the soldiers; the fire and water, the calamities they were to suffer; and the setting on of the pot, the commencement of the siege.

Eze 24:12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. The pot being polluted with the scum, must be heated, melted, and even burned with fire till purified; that is, Jerusalem shall be entirely leveled with the ground, as nothing short of this will purify it from the relics of its idolatrous abominations. (I believe this total destruction will not happen till the end times at the return of Christ).

Eze 24:13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. Jerusalem will remain in her filth until God has been fully satisfied. (Revelation 22:11).

Eze 24:14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD. Judged according to their works. (Matthew 16:27).

Eze 24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 24:16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Desire of thine eyes: Ezekiel's wife is going to die suddenly. (a symbol of Jerusalem).

Eze 24:17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. Ezekiel is not to even mourn over the death of his wife, as well as Jerusalem when she will be destroyed.  

Eze 24:18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. He tells the people this in the morning, and in the evening, his wife suddenly died.

Eze 24:19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? What does all this mean?

Eze 24:20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, It was another message from the Lord that I was to tell the people. 

Eze 24:21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. This is what the Lord said. I will defile My Temple, the very source of your security and pride. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judea will be slaughtered by the sword. 

Eze 24:22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. You will follow what Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn for your loss.

Eze 24:23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. All your morning will be done in private for the evil you have been done.

Eze 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. What Ezekiel has gone through is an example to you. You will do just as he has done.

Eze 24:25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,  

Eze 24:26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? Anyone who escapes from Jerusalem will tell you what happened there.

Eze 24:27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. When the messenger arrives, your voice will return so you can talk to him and be a symbol for these people. Remember, since Ezekiel 3:26, the Lord would only let Ezekiel speak when he had a special message from the Lord. And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 3:26). Ezekiel will now have a mouth of wisdom for the people. (Luke 21:15, Ephesians 6:19). 

Eze 25:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, We are going to switch judgment here form the Jews to the nations that surround Israel. Their judgment is coming!

Eze 25:2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; The Ammonites were from an inbred tribe from Ammon (Benammi), son of Lot. (Genesis 19:38).

Eze 25:3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; The Ammonites were to be alliances of Judah, but when Judah was attacked by the Babylon, they just stood back and watched and laughed at Judah as she went into exile.

Eze 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. Men of the east: Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar turned his arms against the Ammonites and Moabites, and entirely subjugated them; and it is probable, that the Arabs, and other nations east of Judah, then took possession of their cities, and enjoyed the fruits of their land.

Eze 25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Rabbah (the capital of the Ammonites), would be turned to a pasture. A resting place for camels, sheep and goats.

Eze 25:6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; Rabbah partied on at the destruction of Judah.

Eze 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. You will be robbed by many nations. "You will be destroyed completely."

Eze 25:8 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; Moab: Descendant from Lot (Genesis 19:37), like the Ammonites. They were hostile towards Israel.

Eze 25:9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,  

Eze 25:10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.

Eze 25:11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Judgment on the Moabites. 

Eze 25:12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; Edom: Descended from Esau. (Genesis 36:1-43).

Eze 25:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. Teman: Grandson of Esau. (Genesis 36:11).

Eze 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD. Vengeance upon Edom by the hand of Israel.

Eze 25:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; The Philistines (descendants of Ham), acted against Judah.

Eze 25:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. Judgment will come upon the Philistines.

Eze 25:17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them. God will punish the Philistines for what they have done. What was their sin? Vengeance against the Jews.

Eze 26:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Eze 26:2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: Jerusalem was the gateway to the trade routes by land. Tyre was the gateway by water. With Jerusalem out of the picture, Tyre thought it would become more wealthy. (Not going to happen)!

Eze 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. The Lord would bring the nations against Tyre. 

Eze 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It will be made like a bare rock.

Eze 26:5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. Tyre will be a place for fishermen to spread their nets and a prey of many nations.

Eze 26:6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Her villages will be destroyed by the sword.

Eze 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. 

Eze 26:8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

Eze 26:9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. Engines of war: Battering rams. 

Eze 26:10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

Eze 26:11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. Strong garrisons: Your pillars will topple.

Eze 26:12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.  

Eze 26:13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 

Eze 26:14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. Old Tyre was never rebuilt after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar; and there are now no traces left to mark its site. Again, just a place for fishermen to spread their nets.

Eze 26:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? Isles: Coastlines, or maritime countries.

Eze 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee. All her trading partners will tremble at her destruction.

Eze 26:17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! Once a ruler of the sea, but now nothing!

Eze 26:18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. 

Eze 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; It will be an uninhabitable ruin.

Eze 26:20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; It will be like the place of the dead.

Eze 26:21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD. Once an amazing place, will be looked for, but will never be found again.

Eze 27:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Lord: Yahveh.

Eze 27:2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; Here comes a funeral song for Tyre. 

Eze 27:3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Lord God: Adonai Yahveh. I am perfect: Tyre boasted of her beauty.

Eze 27:4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. Her boundaries extended into the sea.

Eze 27:5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. You were like a great ship built of the finest cypress.

Eze 27:6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Oars made from oak trees, your decks of pine and your benches inlaid with ivory.

Eze 27:7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. Your sails were made of the finest linen. (Tyre was quite the place of beauty). 

Eze 27:8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The best oarsmen from Sidon and Arvad. The best helmsmen were form Tyre itself.

Eze 27:9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. Tyre was the main trading port for ships from every land. 

Eze 27:10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness. Men from distant lands served in your great army.

Eze 27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. Your towers were always protected by men from Gammad.

Eze 27:12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. The whole navy of Tarshish came to trade with gold, silver, and ivory for your goods. (1 Kings 10:22).

Eze 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. They traded in slaves. (Joel 3:3, Revelation 18:13).

Eze 27:14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. They took care of the live stock for trade.

Eze 27:15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony. 

Eze 27:16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. 

Eze 27:17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. 

Eze 27:18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. Don't forget the wine that came from Helbon. (Premium wine like French wine of today).

Eze 27:19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. 

Eze 27:20 Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

Eze 27:21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. More live stock from from the Arabians.

Eze 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

Eze 27:23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

Eze 27:24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

Eze 27:25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. Tyre had anything you wanted to trade for.

Eze 27:26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. Trouble ahead!

Eze 27:27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. In these beautiful and expressive figures, Tyre is represented as a ship at sea, wrecked through the mistakes of her pilots and rowers; that is, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards by Alexander, in consequence of her rulers having pertinaciously resolved to withstand those haughty conquerors. This vast ship, laden with all kinds of valuable wares, being wrecked, all her valuables, sailors, officers, etc. went to the bottom. Tyre was the super trading post of the world and now would be lost. (Kind of like a super power of it's time).

Eze 27:28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. Your pilots cry out in terror. 

Eze 27:29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; All your oarsmen abandon their ship. 

Eze 27:30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: They will all mourn over the loss of Tyre. 

Eze 27:31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. They weep for your loss in bitter anguish.

Eze 27:32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? Sing the funeral song for her.

Eze 27:33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. Everyone satisfied their desires from you.

Eze 27:34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. Now you have hit the bottom of the sea, and your crew down with you.

Eze 27:35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. 

Eze 27:36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more. Gone, never to exist again. Kind of like what will happen to Babylon in the end times. (Revelation 18:9-10).

Eze 28:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Another message to Ezekiel from the Lord, this time about the prince of Tyre.

Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Here we have a mere man prince (Ithobalus II, Hebrew Ethbaal), who's judgment came from claiming to be a god. His description here in verses 2-6. (The antitype in versus 11-19).

Eze 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: Described to be wiser than Daniel (as of righteousness), to get out attention. 

Eze 28:4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: With his own wisdom (wisdom of the world), he acquired great wealth. When you gain wealth through the wisdom of the world, it will not last. (Proverbs 18:11, 23:4-5). 

Eze 28:5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: You get so proud of yourself because you made it big time on your own. (Through the ways of the world). Now, wealthy preachers are going to tell you this is fine as long as it is not ill gotten gains. The problem is that wealth through the ways of the world are sometimes worse than ill gotten gains. How can that be? Lets take a look at the stock market for example. When you invest in the stock marker, your money is manipulated and pooled together with all kinds of investors. (Embezzlers, cons, drug dealers, just to name a few). Don't cash in your 401k plans now, I was just giving an example for those who think their money is so clean. Man can think up all kinds of ways to make money in this world today. Many of your preachers today are even more guilty selling the word of God for personal gain. "You know who they are, so don't be so surprised." God gives you what you need, not always what you want. (Proverbs 11:28). Here is some wisdom about riches. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17). If your wealthy, don't be so proud and trust in your money. Worldly riches are uncertain; but rather trust in God who gives us what we need for our enjoyment. Make your riches in heaven.

Eze 28:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Here is what will happen because you think you are as wise as a god. (This is a message to the prince of Tyre). Here is some good advice for the rich man of the world. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. (James 1:11). Concentrate on being rich spiritually and not things of the world. If you always strive for worldly things, you will have nothing set aside spiritually. The worldly man will just die and leave behind their riches and activities. 

Eze 28:7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. Strangers: Foreigners will come against Tyre and destroy the city. (The Babylonians were noted for their barbarity).

Eze 28:8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. You will be brought down to the pit (into hell), and die in the heart of the sea. (Remember Tyre was a main maritime trading place). 

Eze 28:9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. You will be no god, but just a man to those who kill you! 

Eze 28:10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. The king of Tyre would die a moral and shameful death.

Eze 28:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now comes a future message from the Lord. A message for the one who is the real power behind the prince of Tyre. (Could it be Satan perhaps)?

Eze 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Here we switch to a supernatural being that is being addressed. The prince of Tyre was only a type; The one who was using that prince as one of his agents to secure the world-power was not a mere man, but was Satan himself.

Eze 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. He was in Eden (the shinning one), the serpent was there. (Genesis 3:1). Eve was smitten with his beauty as "an angel of light." And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14). Don’t be surprised about Satan who disguises himself as an angel of light. (Revelation 12:9, 13:11, II Thessalonians 2:1-13).  

Eze 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Anointed cherub that covereth: Cherub can only be a supernatural being. Overshadowing and protecting "the world that was." Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. (2 Peter 3:6). We are speaking of the first earth age. (Read our study topic titled: Three Earth Ages, or appendix 146 The Foundation of The World). Satan was one of the protecting angels covering the mercy seat of God.

Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. This refers to a period before Satan's fall. (Isaiah 14:12-14). Satan's downfall was pride. "He wanted to be like God!" 

Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Satan was a slanderer in a moral sense. He was banished from the mountain of God.

Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Satan's heart was full of pride. (He thought he was the greatest of all). "His wisdom was corrupted by his pride." (1 Corinthians 1:19-21). Here we have that "wisdom of the world" again, that man thinks is so great. "God won't have it, and will destroy it." (Mark 8:36).

Eze 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. Future prophecy for Satan. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10). All the roles of Satan are gone. Satan is turned to ashes forever.  

Eze 28:19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. Satan blotted out!

Eze 28:20 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now Ezekiels message from God will turn to the judgment of Zidon. 

Eze 28:21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, Tyre was a colony of the Zidonians (Isaiah 23:12), and consequently Zidon was a more ancient, though a less considerable city than Tyre; and it is probable that it was taken by the Chaldeans soon after the destruction of the latter. It was afterwards burnt to the ground by the inhabitants, to prevent it falling in the hands of Ochus. (Jeremiah 25:22, Joel 3:4, Zechariah 9:2).   

Eze 28:22 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. 

Eze 28:23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

Eze 28:24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Israel's neighbors will no longer tear at her like briers and thorns. (Revelation 21:4). This is future prophecy for the end times.

Eze 28:25 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. Again, future prophecy. But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. (Jeremiah 23:8). Now they will say the Lord has brought us back to our own land, from the land of the north, and the countries to which they were exiled. (Return from the Babylonian captivity, but also future prophecy of the end times). 

Eze 28:26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God. This will take place at the return of Christ in the second advent. (The millennium age).

Eze 29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, A year and two days after the siege of Jerusalem began and around six months before its fall.

Eze 29:2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: This was Pharaoh-hophra, or Apries, the character given him by the prophet, "proudly and wickedly boasted of having established his kingdom so securely, that it was not in the power of any god to deprive him of his kingdom.

Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. Pharaoh: The great crocodile lurking in the streams of the Nile. Boasting that he made the Nile for himself. (Referring to the artificial system of canals and water-ways).

Eze 29:4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. The fish: Symbols of Pharaoh's subjects.  

Eze 29:5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. Stranded in the wilderness to die. 

Eze 29:6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 

Eze 29:7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. You gave away when Israel leaned on you.

Eze 29:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. For this you will be destroyed.

Eze 29:9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. You will become a desolate wasteland.

Eze 29:10 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. Syene: Heb. Seveneh, Now Essuan, situated at the southern extremity of Egypt (as Migdol was at the northern), on the confines of Ethiopia, near the tropic of Cancer, and about lat. 24 degrees n long 32 degrees e.

Eze 29:11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

Eze 29:12 And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.

Eze 29:13 Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: The Babylonians took many people captive. When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, they set these people free.

Eze 29:14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. The prosperity of Egypt would be restored and the people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt. But Egypt will remain a minor kingdom.

Eze 29:15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. It will become the lowliest of all nations that will never rise above its neighbors.

Eze 29:16 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Israel will now no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt.

Eze 29:17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Around 572 B.C.

Eze 29:18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: Nebuchadnezzar was thirteen years employed in the siege. During this long siege, the soldiers must have endured great hardships; their heads would become bald by constantly wearing their helmets; and their shoulders be peeled by carrying materials to and from the works. The people of Tyre and its wealth loaded their ships and fled to the islands, so Nebuchadnezzar found nothing worthy of his labor.

Eze 29:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. The Lord has given Nebuchadnezzar the land of Egypt for his payment.

Eze 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD. He was working for the Lord. 

Eze 29:21 In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. The day will come when Israel will revive, and the words of Ezekiel will be respected. (i.e. They will know he was a true prophet of God).

Eze 30:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Another message for Ezekiel from the Lord.

Eze 30:2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! Woe be to the day, or Alas for the day! (Revelation 18:10).

Eze 30:3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. Day of the Lord: (Isaiah 2:12, Revelation 1:10, 6:17). This "Day of the Lord," is usually used speaking of the end times. (God's judgment). Here it refers to the judgment on Egypt during this period, as well as judgment on the heathen nations of the end times.

Eze 30:4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia (Cush), allied with Egypt. (Jeremiah 46:9). 

Eze 30:5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. Lydia (African people), and mingled people (mixed multitude), the allies of Babylon. (Jeremiah 25:20).

Eze 30:6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. Egypt's allies will all fall, and her pride of power will end.

Eze 30:7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. 

Eze 30:8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

Eze 30:9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. 

Eze 30:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. By the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Egypt would be destroyed. (God in control here). "God will bring an enemy upon a nation if He needs to get their attention."

Eze 30:11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. 

Eze 30:12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. The Nile and Tigris rivers will be dried up. God uses the foreigners to destroy the land of Egypt. In the end times, God will dry up the Euphrates river, to make way for the kings of the east. (Revelation 16:12).

Eze 30:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. All their idols and false gods (manufactured images), will be destroyed.

Eze 30:14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. 

Eze 30:15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. 

Eze 30:16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.

Eze 30:17 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.

Eze 30:18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. 

Eze 30:19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Eze 30:20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, About four months before the fall of Jerusalem.

Eze 30:21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. This prophecy was delivered soon after the Egyptians under Pharaoh-hophra had come to relieve Jerusalem, and some months before the city was taken, being the eleventh year of Jeremiah's captivity, and answering to April 26, am 3416. When the king of Babylon took from the king of Egypt, in the days of Pharaoh-necho, all his dominions in Asia, one of his arms was broken. God now declared that he should never recover these territories, or gain any ascendancy in that part of the world; nay, that his other arm, which was now strong, should soon be broken, and rendered utterly useless. This was fulfilled when Hophra was dethroned and driven into Upper Egypt by Amasis; and then Nebuchadnezzar, taking advantage of this civil discord, invaded and conquered that kingdom, and enslaved, dispersed, and carried captive the Egyptians.

Eze 30:22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. 

Eze 30:23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. Scattered the Egyptians throughout the world.

Eze 30:24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.  

Eze 30:25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. God uses whom ever He wills to come against a nation that is against His people, just as He uses the King of Babylon to come against Egypt.

Eze 30:26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD. The Egyptians will be scattered for a time among all the nations throughout the world. (Ezekiel 29:12, Daniel 11:42). 

Ezekiel 31

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