Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 9:6
Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house.
6. begin at my sanctuary ] Judgment begins at the house of God. The Lord had returned for a moment to the place of his abode in the temple, and from there the judgment went forth; Amo 1:2, “The Lord shall roar out of Zion and give forth his voice from Jerusalem.” There he was most present, there most fully known, there if possible most forgotten and provoked, and there his holiness and godhead will assert themselves with most terribleness against the sins of men.
the ancient men ] the elders, those mentioned, ch. Eze 8:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Begin at my sanctuary – The first to be punished were those who had brought idolatry nearest to the holy place. The ancient men, i. e., the 25 men who had stood with their backs to the altar Eze 8:16 were the first to be slain.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Begin at my sanctuary.] Let those who have sinned against most mercy, and most privileges, be the first victims of justice. Those who know their Lord’s will, and do it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. The unfaithful members of Christ’s church will be first visited and most punished. But let not those who belong to the synagogue of Satan exult in this, for if judgment begin at the house of God, what will the end be of them who obey not the Gospel! However, the truly penitent of all descriptions in such cases shall be safe. The command of God is, “Set a mark on all them that sigh and cry;” and his command to the destroyers is, “Come not near any man on whom is the mark.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Slay utterly; my purpose is to exterminate and make desolate, therefore slay all that are designed to destruction. Old; whose venerable age, if innocent, might have awed you, whose wisdom might preserve some and themselves.
Young; who should be a seed-plot, or nursery, for posterity, cut them off too. Regard no state or sex, neither the loveliness of the virgin, nor the prettiness of the infant, nor the comeliness and gravity of the matron; spare none: yet in your fervours of revenge look you come not near to any sealed forehead; you may see them; though they blush for their own sins, and for the sins of others, yet they look up to me and wait for me in the way of my judgments, they will lift up their heads, and look you in the faces.
And begin, both the execution and the distinction, at my sanctuary; there are the great sinners, and the abominable sins which have brought this on them; and that all Israel may know nothing but repentance can secure them.
The ancient men; the seventy, or sanhedrim, Eze 8:10,11. Which were before the house; who were governors in the temple and house of God by office, but idolaters by practice and principles.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. come not near any . . . upon whom. . . mark (Re 9:4). Itmay be objected that Daniel, Jeremiah, and others were carried away,whereas many of the vilest were left in the land. But God does notpromise believers exemption from all suffering, but only from whatwill prove really and lastingly hurtful to them. His sparing theungodly turns to their destruction and leaves them without excuse[CALVIN]. However, theprophecy waits a fuller and final fulfilment, for Re7:3-8, in ages long after Babylon, foretells, as still future,the same sealing of a remnant (one hundred forty-four thousand) ofIsrael previous to the final outpouring of wrath on the rest of thenation; the correspondence is exact; the same pouring of fire fromthe altar follows the marking of the remnant in both (compare Rev 8:5;Eze 10:2). So Zec 13:9;Zec 14:2, distinguish the remnantfrom the rest of Israel.
begin at . . . sanctuaryForin it the greatest abominations had been committed; it had lost thereality of consecration by the blood of victims sacrificed to idols;it must, therefore, lose its semblance by the dead bodies of theslain idolaters (Eze 9:7). God’sheaviest wrath falls on those who have sinned against the highestprivileges; these are made to feel it first (1Pe 4:17;1Pe 4:18). He hates sin most inthose nearest to Him; for example, the priests, &c.
ancient menthe seventyelders.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children,
and women,…. All, of them objects of compassion, because of their age and sex; and yet none to be spared; and which orders were exactly obeyed; see 2Ch 36:17;
but come not near any man on whom [is] the mark; these were not to be slain; and though some were carried captive, as Daniel, and others; yet it was for their good and God’s glory; see Re 7:3;
and begin at my sanctuary; the temple, the house of God, and the priests and Levites that dwelt there. The Septuagint version is, “begin at my saints”; those who professed themselves to be the saints of the Lord, and were separated and devoted to his service; and so the Rabbins say y, do not read , “at my sanctuary”; but , “at those that sanctify me”, or “my sanctified ones”; which they interpret of those that keep the whole law, from “aleph” to “tau”; see 1Pe 4:17;
then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house; the seventy elders of Israel, who offered incense to the idols portrayed upon the walls of the chambers of the temple, Eze 8:10; these they slew first.
y T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 4. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. Begin at my sanctuary Or, consecrated ones (LXX.). It is fitting that the heaviest and speediest judgment fall upon those who have had greatest privileges, and thus have sinned against greatest light ( Amo 1:2 ; 1Pe 4:17; Mat 11:21). “Dante and Michael Angelo locate bishops in hell. The cardinal’s hat appears in Fra Angelico’s picture of the prison of lost souls. We shall not escape the punishment of our sins by putting on clerical vestments.” Adeney.
The ancient men The elders. (Compare Eze 8:16.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then they began at the old men (elders) who were before the house.’ These would be the five and twenty who represented the priesthood, worshippers of the sun (Eze 8:16). They were the most guilty because of their closeness to the sanctuary. These men who had had the most holy privileges had betrayed their trust.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 9:6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which [were] before the house.
Ver. 6. Slay utterly old and young. ] a A dreadful commission; see it fully executed, 2Ch 36:17 : all sorts, sexes, and sizes of people were corrupted; and since there was no hope of curing, there must be cutting.
But come not near any upon whom is the mark.
And begin at my sanctuary.
Then they began at the ancient men.
a Immedicabile vulnus ense recidendum.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
begin at My sanctuary. Compare Isa 10:12. Jer 25:29; Jer 49:12. Mal 3:5. 1Pe 4:17.
ancient = elders.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
utterly: Heb. to destruction
old: Num 31:15-17, Deu 2:34, Deu 3:6, Jos 6:17-21, 1Sa 15:3, 2Ch 36:17
but: Exo 12:23, Jos 2:18, Jos 2:19, Jos 6:22-25, 2Ti 2:19, Rev 7:3, Rev 9:4, Rev 14:4
and begin: Eze 8:5-16, Jer 25:29, Amo 3:2, Luk 12:47, 1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 4:18
at the: Eze 8:11, Eze 8:16, Eze 11:1
Reciprocal: Gen 4:15 – set a mark Gen 19:13 – Lord hath Lev 19:30 – reverence Lev 21:9 – the daughter Lev 26:31 – and bring Deu 13:8 – shall thine 1Ki 2:29 – he is by 1Ki 13:26 – the man Job 27:22 – not spare Psa 51:17 – a broken spirit Psa 71:3 – thou hast Isa 13:18 – their eye Jer 4:31 – because Jer 6:11 – for even Jer 9:21 – General Jer 16:6 – the great Jer 19:1 – the ancients of the people Jer 21:7 – he shall Jer 23:9 – heart Jer 23:39 – and I Jer 51:22 – General Jer 52:10 – he slew Lam 2:20 – shall the priest Lam 2:21 – young Eze 21:3 – the righteous Eze 23:47 – the company Eze 24:6 – bring 1Co 5:2 – mourned 2Pe 2:8 – in seeing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 9:6. No age or sex was to be spared in the slaying by these six men. The only exception they were allowed to make was those who had the mark upon them. Begin at my sanctuary. This was because I he greatest blame was laid upon the leaders and officials of the Lords service. They were to be held most guilty because of their position. The thought is similar to that in 1Pe 4:17-18.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
9:6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the {g} mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the {h} elders who [were] before the house.
(g) Thus in all his plagues the Lord preserves his small number, which he marks as in Exo 12:12, Rev 7:3 but the chief mark is the spirit of adoption, with which the heart is sealed up to life everlasting.
(h) Which was the chief opportunity for all these evils, as in Eze 8:11 .