Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 12:16
But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
Few – literally, as in the margin; so few, that they can easily be counted Isa 10:19. The few who should escape destruction should make known to all among whom they should dwell how great had been the wickedness of the people, how just their punishment.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
But I will restrain the rage of the Chaldeans, and move them to some compassion towards some of the Jews, so that some, yet but few, shall remain; the sword shall not slay them, for 1 commission it, and it will not exceed its commission. I send the famine, but some I will feed; and the pestilence is my arrow, and hits but where I direct it.
A few men; including the women also.
That they may declare; either by relating those sins which were committed among them in Jerusalem, for which God was justly angry, and for which he punished them, though they were his own people. Or else, that though they should be silent, yet the very thing should speak itself, and their miseries should proclaim the wickednesses they had acted against God in their own land. Or, by their wicked practices which in captivity, and under the eye of the heathen, they commit, they will manifestly show to the heathen that God was just in all his severity.
They shall know; either the Jews, or rather here the Chaldean heathens.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. I will leave a few . . . thatthey may declare . . . abominationsGod’s purpose in scatteringa remnant of Jews among the Gentiles; namely, not only that theythemselves should be weaned from idolatry (see Eze12:15), but that by their own word, as also by theirwhole state as exiles, they should make God’s righteousnessmanifest among the Gentiles, as vindicated in their punishment fortheir sins (compare Isa 43:10;Zec 8:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But I will leave a few men of them,…. Or, “men of number” x; of a small number, such as are easily reckoned up; which will require no great skill in numbers, nor trouble to count them:
from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; during the siege of Jerusalem, and at the breaking of it up; but then they should be carried captive into other countries:
that they may declare all their abominations among the Heathen whither they come; who, observing their calamities, and distresses, would read their sin in their punishment; and conclude they must have been guilty of great enormities, who were punished in such a manner; so that their punishment was a visible and standing declaration to the Heathens of the abominable sins they had been guilty of: or else the end of reserving a few of them from the above capital judgments was, that they being brought to a sense of their sins by their afflictions, might freely confess them, express their repentance for them, and justify God in his proceedings towards them:
and they shall know that I [am] the Lord; not the Heathens, among whom this declaration would be made; but the Jews, brought under a conviction of their sin, and of the justice of God in his dealings with them.
x “viros numeri”, Montanus, Vatablus; “homines numero”, Starckius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Some think that God here speaks of the faithful, whom he had determined to preserve in the very midst of death. And certainly there is some mitigation of his former vengeance. But it is not in harmony with the rest to understand the faithful here, for he is speaking of the people in general. But as we have already seen that the slaughter of the city was such that God scattered the remnant to the four winds, and this the Prophet confirms. We must hold, then, first of all, that this promise was not directed peculiarly to the elect or to God’s Church, but rather that God is showing that exile will not be the end of woes to the captives, although they will not be directly cut to pieces. Their condition, indeed, might seem preferable, but God pronounces that he would be inexorable towards them. Although all should not perish by the sword, or famine, or pestilence, and some remnant should be left, that will happen, says he, not because I am going to be reconciled to them, but that I may spread their crimes among the Gentiles. For when he says, that they may narrate, he does not mean that they would be witnesses to their own sins, as the pious are accustomed, as we shall see elsewhere, to extol the mercy of God, and candidly to confess their faults before men. He does not mean that kind of confession which is a sign of repentance, but rather a real speech. (257) For that exile uttered with a loud voice, that those men were abandoned whom God treated with such hostility. He had chosen the people, was the guardian of the city, and would have been their perpetual preserver, if their perverseness had not prevented it. Hence their being destitute of his aid, their being deprived of all their goods, their being treated tyrannically by their enemies, this made their extreme wickedness clearly appear. They narrated, then, not by words but by their actual position, their own sins to the Gentiles.
Now, therefore, we understand the intention of God: although some remained alive and unconcerned by either the sword, or famine, or pestilence, yet they were cursed, since their expulsion to a distance served no other purpose than that of spreading their disgrace and rendering them detestable, so flint the profane Gentiles acknowledged that they deserved vengeance for their wickedness. Therefore they shall narrate among the Gentiles all their abominations, and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Again he repeats that sentiment, that they should know too late what they had despised: since God had acted towards them as a father, and they had not acknowledged his favor; and at length they should be compelled to feel him as their judge, even to their eternal destruction.
(257) “ Realis sermo .” — Calvin. “ Une parole par effect, c’est a dire, reelle.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) May declare all their abominations.This they were to do, that the false impression that God was unable to protect His people might be removed from the minds of the heathen, and the truth that He was punishing them for their sins be made known. They should do it both by word of mouth (as in Jer. 22:8-9), and also by their conduct (as in Eze. 14:22-23). The word few is literally, as shown in the margin, men of number, i.e., men who can easily be numbered or counted; and in the very similar expression in the original for declare, there is a play upon the word, something like our count and recount.
They shall know, may grammatically refer either to the heathen, or to the Israelites in their dispersion; but the latter is so constantly the refrain of these prophecies (see Eze. 12:20, e.g.), that it is also to be understood here.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. I will leave a few This is the “remnant” which represents the true Israel, and which shall show to the heathen the beauty of monotheism as compared with the “abominations” of idolatry and thus carry even into Chaldea the recognition of the true God (Eze 6:8-10; Eze 14:22-23; Eze 20:9, etc.).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
Ver. 16. But I will leave a few men. ] Heb., Men of number, a company scarce considerable in comparison of the many.
That they may declare all their abominations.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
they shall know. See note on Eze 6:10.
I shall scatter them. Ref to Pent, (Lev 26:33. Deu 4:27; Deu 28:64). App-92.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will: Eze 6:8-10, Eze 14:22, Eze 14:23, Isa 1:9, Isa 6:13, Isa 10:22, Isa 24:13, Jer 4:27, Jer 30:11, Amo 9:8, Amo 9:9, Mat 7:14, Mat 24:22, Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5
a few men: Heb. men of number, Gen 13:16, Isa 10:19, Rom 9:27
that they: Eze 14:22, Eze 14:23, Eze 36:31, Lev 26:40, Lev 26:41, Jer 3:24, Jer 3:25, Dan 9:5-12
and they: Deu 29:24-28, 1Ki 9:6-9, Jer 22:8, Jer 22:9
Reciprocal: Exo 12:12 – I am the Lord 1Ki 20:28 – ye shall know 2Ki 25:11 – the rest Psa 59:11 – Slay Jer 5:10 – but make Jer 21:6 – they Jer 42:2 – left Eze 6:9 – they shall Eze 12:15 – General Amo 5:3 – The city
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 12:16. These few were the “remnant” referred to frequently and the fulfillment is at Ezr 2:64. See the note at Jer 14:12 regarding the sword, famine and pestilence, regarded as one form of judgment upon the evil nation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
12:16 But I will leave a {e} few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they come; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
(e) Who would bear his Name, and would be his Church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Yahweh would allow a few of them to escape so they could tell what had happened, including their sinfulness and God’s dealings with them as a nation.
"The deportations were designed to show the deportees that the Lord was the faithful, loving, and powerful God over Israel they should return to. Lest the foreign nations misunderstand Judah’s dispersion, God had the exiles testify that their abominations precipitated the deportations. In this way the nations would realize that the Lord was holy, righteous, and cared for his people, Israel. He was not one who allowed them to be conquered because he did not care. This latter notion was very common in the ancient Near East. Each nation was uniquely related to its patron deity. If a nation was defeated in battle or decimated by famine and disease, this meant its god was weak and incapable of protecting and caring for its people. To prevent such a misconception, the Lord would send a remnant of Jews among the nations to witness that they were in exile only because of their own iniquity, not because of the Lord’s failure." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 797.]
"What men fail to appreciate in prosperity, they will occasionally learn through adversity." [Note: Taylor, p. 116.]