Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 21:25
And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity [shall have] an end,
25. profane wicked prince ] Or, and thou wicked one, who art to be slain, prince of Israel. The sense “profane” is not quite certain, cf. fem., Lev 21:7; Lev 21:14.
when iniquity an end ] in the time of the iniquity of the end, i.e. when iniquity shall receive its final chastisement in the downfall of the state and captivity of the king. Cf. Eze 35:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 25. And thou profane wicked prince of Israel] Zedekiah, called here profane, because he had broken his oath; and wicked, because of his opposition to God and his prophet.
Whose day is come] Who in a short time shalt be delivered into the hands of thy enemies.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then; Zedekiah.
Profane; tainted with secret deep irreligious opinions, whence he despised God and his oath, and profaned the name of God. Prince: so much was his royal dignity lessened, that indeed he was rather a prince subject and dependent than a king.
Whose day, day of sorrows, and sufferings, and punishment, is at hand. Iniquity; the irreligion which is spread by thee among thy courtiers shall cease to spread itself, because of thy low estate. Or, when iniquity shall bring the fatal ruin of king and kingdom, and both shall be destroyed, and with the overthrow of your state the opportunities and means of sinning shall end too.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. profaneas havingdesecrated by idolatry and perjury his office as the Lord’s anointed.HAVERNICK translates, asin Eze 21:14, “slain,”that is, not literally, but virtually; to Ezekiel’s idealizing viewZedekiah was the grand victim “pierced through” by God’ssword of judgment, as his sons were slain before his eyes, which werethen put out, and he was led a captive in chains to Babylon. EnglishVersion is better: so GESENIUS(2Ch 36:13; Jer 52:2).
when iniquity shall have anend (Eze 21:29). Whenthine iniquity, having reached its last stage of guilt, shall be putan end to by judgment (Eze 35:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel,…. Meaning Zedekiah, the then reigning prince; who is so called, because he had profaned or violated the oath and covenant he made with the king of Babylon, as well as because of other sins he was guilty of; and his being a prince of Israel was an aggravation of his crimes: now, though it is “not fit” in common, or for ordinary persons, “to say to a king thou art wicked, and to princes ye are ungodly”, Job 34:18, yet a prophet from the Lord, and in his name, may say so; and he ought, when he has a commission from God for it:
whose day is come; the time of his downfall and ruin; and so the Targum,
“whose day of destruction is come:”
when iniquity shall have an end; a stop put to the torrent of it, both in the king and his subjects; they not having the opportunity and means of sinning in captivity as before; or when the measure of iniquity is filled up, then comes punishment; or when the punishment of iniquity shall be completed. So the Targum,
“the time of the recompence of his sins.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(25) Profane.The prophet now turns from the people as a whole to the individual prince at their head. The word for profane is the same as is translated slain in Eze. 21:14; it would be better rendered here, as there, overthrown. What is close at hand is described as accomplished.
When iniquity shall have an end.Literally, at the time of the iniquity of the end. The same expression is repeated in Eze. 21:29, and the meaning is plainly, at the time of that final transgression which shall be closed by the immediate manifestation of the Divine judgment. The representation of iniquity as being allowed to run a certain course through the Divine forbearance, and arrested and punished when it has reached its culmination, is a common one in Scripture. (See Gen. 15:16; Dan. 8:23; Mat. 23:34-36, &c.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel Rather, “O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel” (R.V.).
When iniquity shall have an end Rather, “in the time of the iniquity [or, punishment] of the end” (R.V.). Then Zedekiah shall be captured and the state overthrown “in the time of the end” (Eze 35:5). “The end” with Ezekiel was the “now” in which wickedness had reached its climax. It is a vital truth that every generation lives in the end of time.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And you, Oh wicked one marked for death (literally ‘Oh slain wicked one’), the prince of Israel whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown, things will not be the same, exalt what is low and abase what is high. A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it. This also will be no more until he come whose right it is. And I will give it to him.”
What is about to come will bring a total upheaval of society. The words are addressed to Zedekiah, ‘the prince of Israel’. He is depicted as ‘slain’, the overall meaning of the Hebrew word, and thus a marked man. In some contexts the word signifies disqualified because of some taint (Lev 21:7; Lev 21:14). Thus some translate ‘unhallowed’. His day has come in this time of final punishment for sin. Thus he is to decrown himself and put aside his insignia of office, for things are about to be turned upside down. Nothing will be the same again. What is low is to be exalted, what is exalted is to be abased. All they have prided themselves in will become a ruin.
The threefold repetition of ‘a ruin’ stresses the emphasis on the overturning of society. Nothing will be the same again until ‘he comes whose right it is’ (see Gen 49:10). To him it will be given.
So Zedekiah is finally rejected. The people cannot hope in him. He is not the expected ‘coming one’ of Gen 49:10, and what he has built up will be destroyed. We discover here the expectancy that the people already had that a coming son of David and of Judah would arise who would put all to rights. Until He comes full restoration cannot take place, but when He does come God will set all to rights. He will have the crown.
God’s Judgment on Ammon Because of Their Behaviour.
Originally Ammon had sided with Babylon and had aided them in the invasion of Judah (2Ki 24:2). Then they had allied themselves with Judah along with others (Jer 27:2), which was why they were included in Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion plans (Eze 21:20). After the fall of Jerusalem they would exploit the situation to their advantage and deride Jerusalem (see Eze 25:1-7 a). Thus they were uncomfortable allies.
This prophecy, added in here to connect with Eze 21:20, probably refers to a slightly later period after the destruction of Jerusalem (Eze 25:1-7 a) when Ammon, possibly smarting from her own defeat, will pour out reproaches on Judah and Jerusalem, and intend to take positive acquisitive action as well, for Jerusalem had borne the brunt of Nebuchadnezzar’s activities. But while God would bring His own judgment on Jerusalem, it was not open to others to do the same, and for it they would be condemned.
Its importance here cannot be overemphasised. It is another way of indicating that while Israel has been justly punished, it has not been forgotten before God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 21:25. And thou, profane wicked prince Thou therefore, pierce that wicked prince of Israel, &c. The address is made to the sword to destroy Zedekiah, whom the prophet calls wicked chiefly with respect to the breach of his oath which he had made to Nebuchadrezzar.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Here the Lord speaks personally to the King of Israel, and a very awful address it is. But, what I beg the Reader more immediately to observe is, the promise of One coming, whose right the crown and diadem of Israel is, and of the royal dignity being lost until His coming. And who could this point to but Christ? Thrice the Lord declares the overturning of his people in this verse, as if to show what a degraded state the children of Israel should be reduced to before Christ’s coming.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity [shall have] an end,
Ver. 25. And thou profane. ] Or, Worthy to be wounded to death.
Wicked prince.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
profane = pierced through: i.e. deadly wounded
one. Zedekiah a type of the future Antichrist. Compare Rev 13:3.
wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha . App-44. x,
iniquity . . . an end. Figure of speech Hypallage. App-8, Hebrew “iniquity of the end” = an end
of the iniquity. Hebrew. ‘avah, as in Eze 21:23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
profane: Eze 17:19, 2Ch 36:13, Jer 24:8, Jer 52:2
whose: Eze 21:29, Eze 7:6, Eze 30:3, Eze 35:5, Psa 7:9, Psa 9:5, Psa 9:6, Jer 51:13
Reciprocal: 2Ki 24:19 – And he did 2Ki 25:6 – they took Job 18:20 – his day Psa 37:13 – his day Jer 21:7 – I will Jer 32:4 – General Jer 34:3 – and thine Jer 37:2 – neither Jer 37:17 – thou shalt Jer 38:18 – then Jer 47:4 – the day Jer 52:9 – they took Eze 7:27 – king Eze 12:10 – prince Eze 17:15 – shall he escape Eze 19:14 – she hath Eze 21:10 – General Eze 21:13 – contemn Amo 9:11 – the tabernacle 1Ti 1:9 – profane
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 21:25. This wicked prince was Zedekiah who was Still on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling under the authority of Babylon but that rule was soon to have an end.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 21:25-26. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel The words are directed to Zedekiah, whom the prophet calls profane and wicked, chiefly with respect to his breaking that solemn oath, uttered in the name of God, whereby he had engaged himself to be tributary to the king of Babylon. By this action he and his courtiers did great dishonour to the true God. The king of Babylon, it appears, kept the oath which he sware to them by his false gods, while they broke the oath which they sware to him by Jehovah! Thus disgracing the true God before the Babylonians and other heathen, who must needs entertain a contemptible opinion of that being, whose worshippers durst break the oath which they had sworn by him. Therefore with respect to this, as well as his unalterable regard to truth and the due observance of oaths, God could not but look with indignation upon the breach of their oath, and inflict punishment upon them for it. See note on Eze 17:15. Whose day is come The day of whose calamity is near at hand, when he shall receive the due punishment of his iniquity. Remove the diadem The original word is often used for the priestly mitre, but here it means some kingly ornament, probably the royal tire of the head. Take off the crown Depose him from his kingly dignity. This shall not be the same The kingdom shall never be what it has been. Exalt him that is low This seems to be spoken of Jehoiachin, who was many years kept in prison at Babylon; but at length, as we read 2Ki 25:27, was taken out of prison, kindly treated, and advanced to great honour by Evil-merodach, king of Babylon. And abase him that is high Namely, Zedekiah; who was to be pulled down from his throne, have his eyes put out, and be kept in prison the remainder of his days.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:25 And thou, profane wicked {u} prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity [shall have] an end,
(u) Meaning, Zedekiah who practised with the Egyptians to make himself high and able to resist the Babylonians.