Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 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:
28. the sword is drawn ] Rather with disregard of the accents: a sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter; it is furbished to the uttermost in order that it may glitter.
to consume ] Rather: to the uttermost, lit. as far as it can hold or receive. Corn. amends: to flash (hahel for hakil).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Appendix. 28 32. Threatening prophecy against Ammon
The passage is obscure, but several things seem evident. 1. In spite of the similarities between the language of Eze 21:28 and that in Eze 21:9-10, the sword here is that of Ammon. This is certain from the words Eze 21:30 “return it to its sheath.” 2. It is against Israel, not against the Chaldeans, that the Ammonites furbish and draw their sword. This appears from the words “concerning Ammon, and concerning their reproach” Eze 21:28. Deceived by false prophecies they cherish purposes of conquest outside their own borders, which shall be far from being realized; on the contrary they shall be assailed in their own home and there annihilated ( Eze 21:25, cf. Eze 25:4). History does not enable us to follow the progress of events. It is possible that simultaneously with Judah all the neighbouring peoples threw off the yoke of Babylon, so that it might be doubtful which of them Nebuchadnezzar would attack first ( Eze 21:20-21), but that in the course of events Ammon, true to its instincts, assumed an attitude hostile to Judah (cf. 2Ki 24:2). The date of the present passage is no doubt later than that of the rest of the chapter, and may owe some of its colour to events subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem. Cf. Eze 25:1-7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 28. Concerning the Ammonites] They had reproached and insulted Judea in its low estate, see Eze 25:3; Eze 25:6. This prophecy against them was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem. See Joseph. Ant. lib. x. c. 11; and Jer 27, Jer 48, Jer 49; Eze 25.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In Eze 21:19,20 you had the mention of Rabbath, chief city of the Ammonites, in equal danger with Jerusalem; but while Jerusalem is threatened, Rabbath is no further minded, till now God directs the prophet to declare the ruin thereof.
The Ammonites; a stout, but proud, injurious, and insulting people.
Their reproach, wherewith they reproached Israel in the day of Israels afflictions, as Jer 49:1, and Eze 25:3,5,6, and blasphemed the God of Israel.
The sword; all warlike preparations are made against you.
The sword is drawn; the war is declared, and your enemy hath drawn the sword: see Eze 21:9-11.
For the slaughter; to make waste, by avenging former quarrels and affronts. The Babylonish king comes out with bloody mind against you, O Ammonites! You countenanced Ishmael, who slew Gedaliah, viceroy by Nebuchadnezzars appointment, and you would have set Ishmael on the throne; this affront you shall satisfy for with your blood.
Because of the glittering: see Eze 21:9,10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. Lest Ammon should think toescape because Nebuchadnezzar had taken the route to Jerusalem,Ezekiel denounces judgment against Ammon, without the prospect of arestoration such as awaited Israel. Jer49:6, it is true, speaks of a “bringing again of itscaptivity,” but this probably refers to its spiritualrestoration under Messiah; or, if referring to it politically,must refer to but a partial restoration at the downfall of Babylonunder Cyrus.
their reproachThisconstituted a leading feature in their guilt; they treated with proudcontumely the covenant-people after the taking of Jerusalem byNebuchadnezzar (Eze 25:3; Eze 25:6;Zep 2:9; Zep 2:10),and appropriated Israel’s territory (Jer 49:1;Amo 1:13-15).
furbished, to consumeMAURERpunctuates thus, “Drawn for the slaughter, it is furbished todevour (‘consume’), to glitter.” English Version, “toconsume because of the glittering,” means, “to consume byreason of the lightning, flash-like rapidity with which itfalls.” Five years after the fall of Jerusalem, Ammon wasdestroyed for aiding Ishmael in usurping the government of Judeaagainst the will of the king of Babylon (2Ki 25:25;Jer 41:15) [GROTIUS].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say,…. Here begins a new prophecy, or rather an enlargement on part of the former; two ways being marked out for the sword of the Chaldeans to come in; the one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Rabbath of the Ammonites; the prophecy being finished concerning the former, here an account is given of the latter; how the sword should move that way, and what execution it would do:
thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; Nebuchadnezzar, agreeably to the above prophecy, having taken his route to Jerusalem, as his divination directed him, and destroyed that, returned to Babylon, without making any attempt upon the Ammonites; which so flushed them, that they insulted the Jews, and laughed at their destruction, as if their God whom they served could not save them; attributing their safety and prosperity to the idols they worshipped; see Eze 25:1:
even say thou, the sword, the sword is drawn for the slaughter; the same sword of the Chaldeans, which was drawn for the slaughter of the Jews, is now drawn for the slaughter of the Ammonites; and which is repeated for the certainty of it, and to inject terror; and this, as Josephus u says, was accomplished five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, in the twenty third year of Nebuchadnezzar:
it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering; being brightened and made sharp, it not only terrified with its glittering, but was more fit and prepared to cut and destroy; see Eze 21:9.
u Antiqu. Jud. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Overthrow of the Ammonites
Eze 21:28. And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their scorn, sword, sword, drawn to slay, polished, that it may devour, that it may flash! Eze 21:29. While they prophesy deceit to thee, while they divine lying to thee, it shall lay thee by the necks of the sinners slain, whose day cometh at the time of the final transgression. Eze 21:30. Put it in its scabbard again. At the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth will I judge thee, Eze 21:31. And pour out my anger upon thee, kindle the fire of my wrath against thee, and give thee into the hand of foolish men, of smiths of destruction. Eze 21:32. Thou shalt be for the fire to devour; thy blood shall remain in the midst of the land; thou shalt be remembered no more; for I Jehovah have spoken it. – As Judah in Jerusalem will fall by the sword of the king of Babylon, contrary to all expectation; so will the Ammonites be punished for their scorn with utter extermination. is scorn at the overthrow of Israel (cf. Eze 25:3, Eze 25:6, and Zep 2:8). The sword is already drawn against them. , taken out of the scabbard, as in Psa 37:14. is to be connected with , notwithstanding the accents, and with . This is required by the correspondence of the clauses. is regarded as a derivative of by Ewald and others, in the sense of ad sustinendum , according to capacity, i.e., as much as possible. But the adverbial rendering it opposed to the context, and cannot be sustained from Eze 23:32. Moreover, , to contain, is applicable enough to goblets and other vessels, but not to a sword. Hitzig therefore explains it from the Arabic kll, to blunt (sc., the eyes), i.e., to blind. But this is open to the objection that the form points to the verb rather than ; and also to a still greater one, – namely, that there is nothing in the Hebrew usage to suggest the use of in such a sense as this, and even if it were used in the sense of blunting, it would be perfectly arbitrary to supply ; and lastly, that even the flashing of the sword does not suggest the idea of blinding, but is intended to heighten the terror occasioned by the sharpness of the sword. We therefore adhere to the derivation of from , and regard it as a defective form for , like for in 2Sa 19:14, as syncopated form for (Isa 13:20), and watochez for in 2Sa 20:9; literally, to cause it to eat or devour, i.e., to make it fit for the work of devouring. , literally, for the sake of the lightning (flash) that shall issue therefrom (cf. Eze 21:10). – In Eze 21:29 (34), (to lay, or place) is also dependent upon , drawn to lay thee; so that the first half of the verse is inserted as a parenthesis, either to indicate the occasion for bringing the sword into the land (Hitzig), or to introduce an attendant circumstance, according to the sense in which the in is taken. The parenthetical clause is understood by most of the commentators as referring to deceptive oracles of Ammonitish soothsayers, which either determined the policy of Ammon, as Hitzig supposes (cf. Jer 27:9-10), or inspired the Ammonites with confidence, that they had nothing to fear from the Chaldeans. Kliefoth, on the other hand, refers the words to the oracles consulted by Nebuchadnezzar, according to Eze 21:23. “These oracles, which directed the king not to march against the Ammonites, but against Jerusalem, proved themselves, according to Eze 21:29, to be deceptive prophesying to the Ammonites, inasmuch as they also afterwards fell by the sword; just as, according to Eze 21:23, they proved themselves to be genuine so far as the Israelites were concerned, inasmuch as they were really the first to be smitten.” This view is a very plausible one, if it only answered in any degree to the words. But it is hard to believe that the words, “while it (one) prophesies falsehood to thee,” are meant to be equivalent to “while its prophecy proves itself to be false to thee.” Moreover, Nebuchadnezzar did not give the Ammonites any oracle, either false or true, by the circumstance that his divination at the cross-road led him to decide in favour of the march to Jerusalem; for all that he did in consequence was to postpone his designs upon the Ammonites, but not to relinquish them. We cannot understand the words in any other sense, therefore, than as relating to oracles, which the Ammonites received from soothsayers of their own.
Hitzig takes offence at the expression, “that it (the sword) may lay thee by (to) the necks of the sinners slain,” because colla cannot stand for corpora decollata , and consequently proposes to alter into , to put it (the sword) to the necks. But by this conjecture he gets the not less striking thought, that the sword was to be put to the necks of those already slain; a thing which would be perfectly unmeaning, and is therefore not generally done. The sinners slain are the Judaeans who have fallen. The words point back to Eze 21:25, the second half of which is repeated here, and predict the same fate to the Ammonites. It is easy to supply to : put the sword into its scabbard again. These words can only be addressed to the Ammonites; not to the Chaldeans, as Kliefoth imagines, for the latter does not harmonize in any way with what follows, viz., in the place of thy birth will I judge thee. God does not execute the judgment independently of the Chaldeans, but through the medium of their sword. The difficulties occasioned by taking the words as referring to the Ammonites are not so great as to necessitate an alteration of the text (Hitzig), or to call for the arbitrary explanation: put it now or for the present into the scabbard (Kliefoth). The use of the masculine (with Patach for , as in Isa 42:22), if Ammon is addressed by the side of the feminine , may be explained in a very simple way, from the fact that the sword is carried by men, so that here the thought of the people, the warriors, is predominant, and the representation of the kingdom of the Ammonites as a woman falls into the background. The objection that the suffix in can only refer to the sword (of the Chaldean) mentioned in Eze 21:28, is more plausible than conclusive. For inasmuch as the scabbard presupposes a sword, and every sword has a scabbard, the suffix may be fully accounted for from the thing itself, as the words, “put the sword into its scabbard,” would lead any hearer to think at once of the sword of the person addressed, without considering whether that particular sword had been mentioned before or not. The meaning of the words is this: every attempt to defend thyself with the sword and avert destruction will be in vain. In thine own land will God judge thee. For , see the comm. on Eze 16:3. This judgment is still further explained in Eze 21:31, where the figure of the sword is dropped, and that of the fire of the wrath of God introduced in its place. … , we render: “the fire of my wrath I blow (kindle) against thee,” after Isa 54:16, and not “with the fire…do I blow, or snort, against thee,” as others have done; because blowing with the fire is an unnatural figure, and the interpretation of the words in accordance with Isa. l.c. is all the more natural, that in the closing words of the verse, , the allusion to that passage is indisputable, and it is only from this that the combination of the two words can be accounted for. – Different explanations have been given of . Some render it ardentes, and in accordance with Isa 30:27: burning with wrath. But is never used in this sense. Nor can the rendering “scorching men” (Kliefoth) be sustained, for , to burn, only occurs in connection with things which are combustible, e.g., fire, pitch, coals, etc. The word must be explained from Psa 92:7, “brutish,” foolish, always bearing in mind that the Hebrew associated the idea of godlessness with folly, and that cruelty naturally follows in its train. – Eze 21:32. Thus will Ammon perish through fire and sword, and even the memory of it be obliterated. For Eze 21:32 compare Eze 15:4. The words, “thy blood will be in the midst of the land,” can hardly be understood in any other sense than “thy blood will flow over all the land.” For the rendering proposed by Ewald, “remain in the midst of the earth, without thy being mentioned,” like that given by Kliefoth, “thy blood will the earth drink,” does not harmonize with Eze 24:7, where is affirmed of blood, which cannot penetrate into the earth, or be covered with dust. For , see Eze 25:10. Ammon as the enemy of the kingdom of God will utterly perish, leaving no trace behind, and without any such hope of restoration as that held out in Eze 21:27 to the kingdom of Judah or the people of Israel.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Destruction of the Ammonites. | B. C. 592. |
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: 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. 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. 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. 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.
The prediction of the destruction of the Ammonites, which was effected by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, seems to come in here upon occasion of the king of Babylon’s diverting his design against Rabbath, when he turned it upon Jerusalem. Upon this the Ammonites grew very insolent, and triumphed over Jerusalem; but the prophet must let them know that forbearance is no acquittance; the reprieve is not a pardon; their day also is at hand; their turn comes next, and it will be but a poor satisfaction to them that they are to be devoured last, to be last executed.
I. The sin of the Ammonites is here intimated; it is their reproach, v. 28. 1. The reproach they put upon themselves when they hearkened to their false prophets (for such it seems there were among them as well as among the Jews), who pretended to foretel their perpetual safety in the midst of the desolations that were made of the countries round about them: “They see vanity unto thee and divine a lie, v. 29. They flatter thee with promises of peace, and thou art such a fool as to suffer thyself to be imposed upon by them and to encourage them therein by giving credit to them.” Note, Those that feed themselves with a self-conceit in the day of their prosperity prepare matter for a self-reproach in the day of their calamity. 2. The reproach they put upon the Israel of God, when they triumphed in their afflictions, and thereby added affliction to them, which was very barbarous and inhuman. Their divines, by puffing them up with a conceit that they were a better people than Israel, being spared when they were cut off, and with a confidence that their prosperity should always continue, made them so very haughty and insolent that they did even tread on the necks of the Israelites that were slain, slain by the wicked Chaldeans, who had commission to execute God’s judgments upon them when their iniquity had an end, that is, when the measure of it was full. We shall meet with this again, ch. xxv. 3, c. Note, Those are ripening apace for misery who trample upon the people of God in their distress, whereas they ought to tremble when judgment begins at the house of God.
II. The utter destruction of the Ammonites is threatened. For the reproach cast on the church by her neighbours will be returned into their own bosom, Ps. lxxix. 12. Let us see how terrible the threatening is and the destruction will be. 1. It shall come from the wrath of God, who resents the indignities and injuries done to his people as done to himself (<i>v. 31): I will pour out my indignation as a shower of fire and brimstone upon thee. The least drop of divine indignation and wrath will create tribulation and anguish enough to the soul of man that does evil; what then would a full stream of that indignation and wrath do? “I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath; that is, I will blow up the fire of my wrath against thee; it shall burn with the utmost vehemence.” Thou shalt be for fuel to this fire, v. 32. Note, Wicked men make themselves fuel to the fire of God’s wrath; they are consumed by it, and it is inflamed by them. 2. It shall be effected by the sword of war; to them he must cry, as before to Israel, because they had triumphed in Israel’s overthrow: The sword, the sword is drawn (Eze 21:28; Eze 21:9; Eze 21:10); it is drawn to consume because of the glittering, because it is brandished and glitters, and is fit to be made use of. God’s executions will answer his preparations. This sword, when it is drawn, shall not return into its sheath (v. 30) till it has done the work for which it was drawn. When the sword is drawn it does not return till God causes it to return, and he is in one mind and who can turn him? Who can change his purpose? 3. The persons employed in it are brutish men, and skilful to destroy. Men of such a bad character as this, who have the wit of men to do the work of wild beasts–human reason, which makes them skilful, but no human compassion, which makes them skilful only to destroy–though they are the scandal of mankind, yet sometimes are made use of to serve God’s purposes. God delivers the Ammonites into the hands of such, and justly, for they themselves were brutish, and delighted in the destruction of God’s Israel. We have reason to pray, as Paul desired to be prayed for, that we may be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men (2 Thess. iii. 2), men that seem made for doing mischief. 4. The place where they should thus be reckoned with: “I will judge thee where thou wast created, where thou wast first formed into a people, and where thou hast been settled ever since, and therefore where thou seemest to have taken root; the land of thy nativity shall be the land of thy destruction.” Note, God can bring ruin upon us even where we are most secure, and turn us out of that land which we thought we had a title to not to be disputed and a possession of not to be disturbed. Thy blood shall be shed not only in thy borders, but in the midst of thy land. Lastly, I shall be an irreparable ruin: “Though thou mayest think to recover thyself, it is in vain to think of it; thou shalt be no more remembered with any respect,” Ps. ix. 6. Justly is their name blotted out who would have Israel’s name for ever lost.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
THE COMPLETE OVERTHROW OF THE AMMONITES
Verses 28-32:
Verse 28 calls upon Ezekiel to prophesy in the name of the Lord, against the Ammonites, concerning their reproach. He was to certify that the word should surely strike them with furbished fury because of their willful reproaches against Israel’s God; Their slaughter was at hand, Lam 1:2; Eze 25:2-3; Eze 25:6; Jer 47:6; Jer 49:1; Zec 2:8-10. This was to be their retribution for insults heaped upon Judah.
Verse 29 explains that lying diviners among the Ammonites had been prophesying peace to them, a peace that did not come. For they were to be involved in a common ruin with the Jews, v. 25; Job 18:20; Psa 37:13.
Verse 30 asks if the Ammonites thought the Lord would return His sword to the sheath, withhold His judgment. He then sent them the message that they too should be slaughtered in the place of their nativity, Gen 15:14; Eze 16:13.
Verses 31, 32 warn that the Lord will blow against them, in the fire of His wrath and indignation, to deliver them into the hands of brutish, cruel, and foolish men, skillful to destroy them, Psa 92:7; Isa 30:30. This nation of the Ammonites had Ichabod written in their history, as a people to be remembered no more. She had no future hope like that extended to Israel, v. 27; Jer 4:7; Jer 50:31; Jer 51:13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
EXEGETICAL NOTES.Eze. 21:28-32. The overthrow of the Ammonites. Israel is to rise after judgment, but Ammon is to be utterly destroyed.
Eze. 21:28. Concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach even say thou, the sword, the sword is drawn. Lest it should be supposed that because Nebuchadnezzar had taken the route to Jerusalem, and not that to Rabbah, therefore the Ammonites should escape being invaded by his army, the prophet is instructed to denounce judgment against them also. The reproach with which the Ammonites are here charged, was their opprobrious and insulting treatment of the Hebrews at different periods of their history, and especially when Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans.(Henderson). The children of Ammon represents the worldpower hostile to the kingdom of God. Yet the representative is not taken accidentally out of the multitude of the heathen peoples hostile to the kingdom of God; but the prophet takes occasion from the circumstances of the time. Ammon had at that time, no less than Judah, incurred the anger of the Chaldeans, and so it was natural to exemplify in him the general truth, the more natural because the vengeance was first to fall on Judah, while Ammon appeared to come out of the affair with high shoes, and mocked Judah, who had to pay the score. Their reprovalthe insults which they heaped upon Judah. The prophet forsees that the Ammonites, on the approach of danger, will withdraw from the coalition (Lam. 1:2), and on the catastrophe of Jerusalem, give free course to their ancient hatred against Judah. Judah exchanges the prophecy that was unfavourable to him for the divination (Eze. 21:23), and by this fatal exchange, falls; Ammon exchanges (Eze. 21:29) the divination favourable to him, for the prophecy, and thereby prepares himself at all events, for the downfall.(Hengstenberg).
Eze. 21:29. Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee. (Heb). They have seen falsehood for thee, they have divined for thee a lie. The Ammonites also had those among them who practised divination. But these had divined a lie for them, promising them peace and safety when judgment was hard at hand. To bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain. The Ammonites are to be involved in one common ruin with the Jews.
Eze. 21:30. I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created. The Ammonites were not to be carried away captives, like the Jews to Babylon, but were to perish in their own land. While the Jews were to be restored after the captivity had cured them of idolatry, the Ammonitish kingdom was to cease for ever. The prophecy was fulfilled five years after the destruction of Jerusalem.(Henderson.)
Eze. 21:31. I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath. The idea is not to blow with firewhich is an unnatural figurebut rather a blowing which increases the intensity of the flame. Brutish men, and skilful to destroy. The word must be explained from Psa. 92:7, brutish, foolish, always bearing in mind that the Hebrew associated the idea of Godlessness with folly, and that cruelty naturally follows in its train.(Keil)
Eze. 21:32. Thou shalt be no more remembered. Ammon was to perish utterly. For her there was no hope of restoration, like that held out to Israel in Eze. 21:27. From the times of the Maccabees, the Ammonites and Moabites have quite disappeared out of history.(Hengstenberg.)
HOMILETICS
(Eze. 21:28-29).
1. When God brings judgments upon His people for their iniquities, then their enemies take advantage and revile them. The Ammonites were glad that the calamity of Jerusalem was at hand. They were neighbours of the Jews, brethren also as coming from the brother of Abraham; yet they reproached the Jews and added affliction to affliction (Zep. 2:8). The rabbies say, that when the Chaldeans carried the Jews captive, through the land of the Ammonites and Moabites, the Jews wept, and they reproached them saying, why do ye afflict yourselves? Why do you weep? Are you not going to your fathers house? They meant Chaldea, which was Abrahams country and habitation. These and many other reproachful speeches they used against the Jews, when they were spoiled and led into capitivity, and magnified themselves against their border. They said, now their bordertheir landshould become theirs. Thus they reproached and wronged the Jews. So likewise did the Edomites in the day of Jerusalem (Psa. 137:7), that was in the day when Nebuchadnezzars force took and plundered it. They cried, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation. The adversaries saw Jerusalem, and did mock at her Sabbaths; they scoffed at all her festivals, religion, and worship. Where is your God, whose days you have so religiously observed? Why did He not defend you from this day of your sufferings? Either He was infirm, and could not, or unfaithful, and would not.
2. The Lord takes notice of the enemies reproaching His people. He tells the prophet of the reproachings of the Ammonites. Ezekiel was in Babylon, and knew nothing of it, but God heard and observed it (Zep. 2:8). God saith in His indignation unto Moab, Was not Israel a derision unto Thee? Deny it, if thou darest. I saw it; I heard it This is some comfort to the Church and people of God, that He observes not only the wrongs wicked men do unto His people, but also the reproaching speeches they utter against them (Lam. 3:6.)
3. Reproaching and reviling Gods people, when they are in affliction, draws judgments upon the reproachers and revilers. The Ammonites reproached the Jews when the Babylonish sword came upon them, and here the prophet must tell them the sword is drawn and furbished for slaughter. Reproach of this kind is a provoking sin; Gods name, truth, ordinances, suffer when His people are reproached for His correcting hand upon them for their iniquities. Moab for reproaching should be reproached; yea, grievously afflicted, yea, utterly destroyed.
4. When the Lord threatens sinful nations with sore judgments, they have those amongst them which divert them from the truth, possess them with delusions, and put them upon destructive practices. The Ammonites were threatened here with the Babylonish sword, but they neither believed Ezekiel nor Jeremiah, who told them the same thing. Their false prophets, their diviners, beat them off from it, possessed them with vanities and lies, put them upon insulting over the Jews when the hand of the Lord was most heavy upon them, and so brought them to suffer by the same sword the Jews did. It is just with God to give men and nations over to believe lies and lying prophets, which shall lead them to destruction, when they have stopped their ears against the true prophets. Ahab would not believe Micaiah, but the false prophets who spake words according to his mind; but they were vanity, lies and he smarted for it (1 Kings 22)
5. Though the Lord bears long with sinful nations, yet He hath His days and times of reckoning with them. The day of the Jews was come, and their iniquity had an end. The day of the Ammonites came, and their iniquity had an end. God punished them severely for their sins (Ezekiel 25) Babylon and its king had a time to sin and a time to suffer. God stayed many days, yet had His day, and came at the day appointed (Jer. 50:31; Jer. 51:13). Babylon was insatiably covetous, robbing the nations of their riches, but all her wealth could not purchase one days respite from the wrath of God, nor all her waters preserve her from the fire of His indignation. The fire God sent in His day burnt up their habitations, and licked up the water of Euphrates whereon Babylon sat. God bare long with us, and the nations about us, but His day is come, He is visiting; we, they, have had our times of sinning, and must now have our times of suffering.(Greenhill.)
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
D. The Sword Against Ammon 21:2832
TRANSLATION
(28) And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the children of Ammon and their taunt, and say: O sword, keen-edged, furbished to the uttermost for slaughter that it may flash. (29) While they see falsehood about you, while they divine lies regarding you, to lay you upon the necks of the wicked who shall be slain, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end. (30) Cause it to return to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. (31) And I will pour out My wrath upon you, I will blow you with the fire of My wrath; and I will give you into the hand of ruthless men, skillful destroyers. (32) You shall become fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall not be remembered; for I the LORD have spoken it.
COMMENTS
Apparently Ezekiel again takes up his sword and turns it against the Ammonites. They might have thought that they would escape the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar when Judah was invaded. However, these who had mocked when Judah had experienced earlier invasions by Nebuchadnezzar should not imagine that they would escape a similar fate. The sword of divine judgment was sharpened and polished to the uttermost, i.e., as much as it could receive, so as to be a terrifying and effective instrument of punishment (Eze. 21:28).
Ammonite soothsayers were envisioning peace and security for that kingdom. Such divination was false and unreliable. Ultimately Ammon would share the same fate as Jerusalem, and her slain would fall in heaps upon the necks of the wicked that are to be slain, i.e., upon the bodies of the Jews previously slain by Nebuchadnezzar. For them divine punishment has been decreed, and that punishment must certainly come (Eze. 21:29). At this point Ezekiel is commanded to return his symbolic sword to its sheath.
The symbolic action performed by Ezekiel came to an end, but the execution of the judgment thereby predicted would shortly follow. God would judge Ammon on their own soil the place where you were created (Eze. 21:30). Gods anger against Ammon would grow ever more intense as does a flame blown by bellows. They could expect no mercy at the hands of the ruthless Babylonians into whose hands they were about to fall (Eze. 21:31). Judah would be carried into exile, but Ammon would be destroyed in the midst of their own land. For Ammon there was no hope of restoration like that which Ezekiel portrays as Israels future. Ammon would pass into oblivion. Such was the final decree of the sovereign ruler of all nations (Eze. 21:32).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(28) Concerning the Ammonites.At the opening of this prophecy (Eze. 21:19-20) the king of Babylon was represented as hesitating whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah, and as being led to the determination of attacking the former. This would leave the inference that the Ammonites might escape altogether; and from the destruction of Gods peculiar people, along with the immunity of their ancient enemies, the heathen would be likely to draw conclusions inconsistent with the power and majesty of God. Hence this prophecy is added to show that His judgments shall certainly fall on them also, and in this case the ruin foretold is final and hopeless, without the promise given to Israel in Eze. 21:27. Another prophecy against Ammon is given in Eze. 25:1-7. As a matter of history, the Ammonites were conquered, and their country desolated, by Nebuchadnezzar a few years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and they gradually dwindled away until their name and place among the nations finally disappeared.
Their reproachi.e., their exultation in the desolation of Israel. (See Eze. 25:3; Zep. 2:8.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE AMMONITES, REJOICING IN JERUSALEM’S CALAMITY, SHALL THEMSELVES SUFFER EVEN MORE BITTERLY, Eze 21:28-32.
The Ammonites who have rejoiced because Nebuchadnezzar has taken the road to Jerusalem instead of to their own capital (Eze 21:20) cannot boast long against the Lord’s people, for against them also is the sword drawn.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28. The sword This description of the sword which falls upon the Ammonites strikingly resembles that which fell upon Jerusalem (Eze 21:8-11). It is the same sword; it is the sword of the Lord! (Eze 21:15.) The passage is very obscure. The R.V. reads: “A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning: whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity [or, punishment] of the end. Cause it to return into its sheath.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach.”
God now turns His attention on the children of Ammon and the way they will reproach and deride defeated Jerusalem, and plan to inflict misery on them. They too will suffer disaster. Between these small nations there was a continual love-hate relationship.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
“And say,
‘A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is polished.
To cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning.’
Once again we have a warsong, this time depicted as sung by Ammon, for the command comes for them to sheathe their sword (Eze 21:30 a) to await God’s judgment.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 21:28. Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites Concerning the insults and reproaches which they delivered against the Jews in the time of their oppression and disgrace, compare ch. Eze 25:6 and Zep 2:8. This prophesy against the Ammonites was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem. See Jeremiah 48; Jeremiah 49 and Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The prophecy here is of Ammon, whom the King of Babylon also subdued as well as Jerusalem. The Lord hath been pleased to intersperse the history of Israel, here and there, with the account of other nations, by way of manifesting the sovereignty of His government, and to prove Himself to be King of Nations as well as King of Saints.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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:
Ver. 28. Concerning the Ammonites. ] Who had likewise rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and were very injurious to God’s people. See Eze 25:3 ; Eze 25:6 Zep 2:8-9 .
“ T M K .”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 21:28-32
28And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for youto place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end. 30Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction. 32You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.’
Eze 21:28-32 This prophecy (prophesy, BDB 612, KB 659, Niphal IMPERATIVE) is against the land of Ammon (cf. Eze 21:20). It is for one of two possible reasons: (1) it possibly relates to Ammon taking advantage, possibly even some participation in the fall, of Judah (as Edom did in chapter 35) or (2) God’s sure justice on the iniquity of Ammon.
The flow of thought could be outlined as follows:
1. Ammon, mentioned in Eze 21:20, will also be destroyed, Eze 21:28 (cf. Eze 25:1-7).
2. This is happening because
a. of their reproach (cf. Eze 36:15; Zep 2:8-10)
b. of their false prophets’ messages from their divinations, Eze 21:29 (i.e., Eze 21:30 a)
c. they are wicked murderers, Eze 21:29
d. their time has come, Eze 21:29
3. How YHWH will judge (Eze 21:30) is specified in Eze 21:31-32.
a. I shall pour out My indignation on you, Eze 21:31
b. I shall blow on you with the fire of My wrath, Eze 21:31
c. I shall give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction, Eze 21:31
d. you will be fuel for the fire, Eze 21:32
e. your blood will be in the midst of the land, Eze 21:32
f. you will not be remembered, Eze 21:32
Another possible way to interpret these last three verses is to see them as referring to Babylon (i.e., YHWH’s sword), not Ammon (see Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 6, p. 1086). This would make sense of Eze 21:30 a, return it to its sheath. Babylon’s judgment was in the future. YHWH used her to judge His people (and other surrounding nations), but in return they were responsible for their own sin. Cyrus would be YHWH’s sword to destroy them (cf. Isa 44:28 to Isa 45:1).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
their reproach. Brought against Jerusalem. See Jer 49:1. Zep 2:8.
to consume = that when it beginneth it may flash like lightning.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
concerning the: Eze 21:20, Eze 25:2-7, Jer 49:1-5, Amo 1:13-15, Zep 2:8-10
The sword: Eze 21:9, Eze 21:10
Reciprocal: Jer 46:4 – furbish Eze 21:15 – it is made Eze 22:4 – have I Zec 13:7 – O sword Mat 24:6 – ye shall hear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 21:28. The place of the Ammonites of the transactions of the Lord has been described, and the reader may see it in fuller detail at Jer 49:1.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 21:28-29. Thus saith the Lord concerning the Ammonites Because the Ammonites were reprieved by Nebuchadnezzars decision to besiege Jerusalem, they were ready to promise themselves security, and to insult over the calamities brought on the Jews; a practice for which they are often reproved very severely by the prophets, and threatened with the like judgments. And concerning their reproach Wherewith they reproached Israel in the day of Israels afflictions; say thou, The sword is drawn, is drawn Warlike preparations are made against you, the war is declared, and your enemy hath drawn the sword. For the slaughter it is furbished It is prepared to make dreadful destruction, to lay waste your country, and consume its inhabitants. While they see vanity unto thee While the soothsayers and pretenders to divination foretel nothing but happy events to thee, O Ammon! the sword is preparing to destroy thee. To bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain To add thy people to the number of those who are slain in Judea, (Eze 21:14-15,) and to make thy condition like theirs; whose day is come See Eze 21:25. When their iniquity shall have an end When their deserved punishment, coming upon them, shall put a stop to their wickedness. This prophecy concerning the Ammonites was fulfilled by the Babylonians, about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, because the Ammonites assisted Ishmael to wrest the government of Judea out of the hands of Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had fixed there as his deputy.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The message concerning Ammon’s fate 21:28-32
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
As for Ammon, the Lord said, it too would fall under His judgment (cf. Eze 25:1-7). This oracle against a foreign nation is not with the others in Ezekiel (chs. 25-32) evidently because of the catchword "sword" that also marks the preceding prophecies in this chapter and because the previous message raised the question of Ammon’s fate. The Ammonites were saying that the Judahites deserved destruction because of their wickedness. They attacked and plundered the land of Judah after the siege of Jerusalem. However, Yahweh would put His sword of judgment on Judah away to rest; Israel’s enemies would attack her no more. Then He would judge the Ammonites in their ancient homeland.