Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 39:17
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
17. to my sacrifice ] The eating of flesh was of rarer occurrence in ancient times than it is now. All slaughtering of animals was a sacrificial act. The blood and some parts of the victim were given to Jehovah; and the rest eaten before him by the company. Hence the terminology here: Jehovah’s slaughter of his enemies is to afford a sacrificial feast. Cf. Zep 1:8; Isa 34:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The purposes of the past dispensation shall be made clear to Gods people themselves and to the pagan. His judgments were the consequence of their sins; and these sins once abandoned, the favor of their God will return in yet more abundance.
Eze 39:29
Compare Act 2:17. Peter distinctly appropriates these prophecies (marginal references) to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the inauguration of the Church of Christ by that miraculous event. This was the beginning of the fulfillment. They shall find their consummation when time shall be no more.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. Gather yourselves – to my sacrifice] This is an allusion to a custom common in the east: when a sacrifice is made, the friends and neighbours of the party sacrificing are invited to come and feast on the sacrifice.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Speak; though they understand not thy word, yet speak. for they will understand my word, which shall go out with thine.
Unto every feathered fowl; to all sorts of carnivorous birds, every kind of those that eat flesh.
To every beast, that are for the prey, little or great, which either by craft or power get their food out of the flesh of others.
Assemble yourselves; come in whole companies, flocks and herds too; and this repeated twice more,
come, gather yourselves: they have an earnest invitation, from all sides.
To my sacrifice: when sacrifices were offered, there usually was a feast to the priest the sacrificer, and for what guests were invited; now God is about to make such, he invites his guests, resolved to entertain them plentifully.
That I do sacrifice: the punishment of these God calls a sacrifice, which he doth offer, i.e. to his own justice, to satisfy that.
For you: it was for higher ends, yet since God intends to fill them with the flesh and blood of it, he is pleased to tell them he hath slain for their entertainment.
A great sacrifice, where more thousands are offered at once than ever were at any time offered; it is a sacrifice so great, that none ever was or will be like.
The mountains of Israel; the land of Canaan.
Eat flesh; the flesh of the sacrifice.
And drink blood; the blood of it: this was entertainment fitting these invited guests.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. (Re19:17).
sacrificeAncientlyworshippers feasted on the sacrifices. The birds and beasts of preyare invited to the sacrificial feast provided by God (compare Isa 18:6;Isa 34:6; Zep 1:7;Mar 9:49). Here this sacrificeholds only a subordinate place in the picture, and so is put last.Not only shall their bones lie long unburied, but they shall bestripped of the flesh by beasts and birds of prey.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord God,…. What the prophet is ordered by the Lord to say is to creatures not then in being, nor yet; and, were they, they could not understand his words; but however, when the time comes, partly by an instinct in nature, and partly by a particular direction of Providence, they will be gathered together upon so great a slaughter of men; for what follows, though mentioned in this place, will be between the slaughter of Gog’s army, and the burial of it, as Kimchi well observes; after the burial such an invitation would be impertinent; and which is made not for the sake of creatures, but of men, to denote the certainty of this great carnage that shall be made:
speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field; this must be understood of such fowls, and such beasts, as devour dead carcasses, for all will not feed on them; a like invitation is given after the battle at Armageddon, the same with this here, Re 19:17 only with this difference, there an angel is said to cry, here the prophet; there to the fowls only, here to the beasts of the field also; no doubt respect there is had to this passage:
assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifices that I do sacrifice for you; such a slaughter of men is called a sacrifice, because there is a likeness between that and the killing of beasts for sacrifice; besides, these enemies of God and his people will fall a victim to his justice, as well as be a repast for fowls and beasts, who are invited, as to a feast, to feed upon them; and there being so much of the power and providence of God in all this, it is ascribed to him, and is called “the supper of the great God”,
Re 19:17:
even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel; where Gog’s army will fall, Eze 39:4, and in such vast numbers, that it may well be called a great sacrifice; the sacrifice of a great army by the great God, and for such great number of creatures:
that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood; the flesh and blood of the sacrifices, even of slain men, which carnivorous creatures delight in. The Targum is,
“draw near everywhere round about to the slain, which I slay for you with a great slaughter upon the mountains of Israel, and ye shall eat the flesh, and drink the blood.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(17) Every feathered fowl.Compare Eze. 39:4, also Eze. 17:23; Eze. 29:5. The birds and beasts of all kinds represent all nations.
A great sacrifice.The representation of a destructive judgment upon the Lords enemies as a sacrifice is found also in Isa. 34:6; Jer. 46:10. The figure is not to be pushed beyond the single point for which it is usedto fill out and heighten the description of an immense slaughter.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17-20. “Among the Semites the law of the sacrificial feast was open-handed hospitality; no sacrifice was complete without guests, and portions were freely distributed to rich and poor within the circle of a man’s acquaintance.” W.R. Smith, Religion of the Semites, p. 236. The heathen hosts who had come against Israel had been accustomed to such feasts, at which, surrounded by their invited guests, they mocked at Jehovah and praised their idols; but now they themselves are the victims sacrificed (Eze 39:18), and the invited guests (their only friends now) are the unclean and ravenous birds and beasts of prey (Eze 39:17; compare also Zep 1:7-8; Isa 34:6; Rev 19:17-21; and Milligan, Expositor, 6:17, 129). Perhaps the “chariots” upon which the vultures feed (Eze 39:20) is a term used for “riding beasts,” as in Isa 31:7; Isa 31:9 (Davidson).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And you, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh, Speak to the birds of every kind, and to every beast of the field. ‘Assemble yourselves and come. Gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood’.”
This is the feast of the wild beasts. They are called together to partake of it (compare Rev 19:17-18). And we are called on to consider this great gathering of scavengers descending on the prey. It likens the destruction of Gog and his forces to a great sacrificial feast. And it is for the scavengers. No man would be told to drink blood. That makes it the more dreadful. But this is a sacrifice fit only for the wild beasts and birds. The sight of vultures circling dead bodies and scavengers tearing at a carcass would be a common sight in Israel. It is not in itself glorious but horrific. The very thought of it would make men shudder. It spoke of the most ignominious of deaths. But it was to be the fate of the wicked. Compare Eze 32:4; Eze 29:5; Eze 31:13; Jer 7:33; Jer 16:4; Jer 19:7; Jer 34:20. The idea of ‘eating flesh and drinking blood’ is, however, elsewhere metaphorical for enjoying the fruits of victory.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Scavengers Are Called to a Great Sacrificial Feast ( Eze 39:17-20 ).
A huge emphasis in this chapter is on the purification of Israel and the awful fate of the wicked. Both are again involved here, with the emphasis on the latter. The scavengers clean up the land, but here they are also seen as attending a sacrificial feast in which they partake of the offering, and the offering is the wicked dead.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 39:17. Speak unto every feathered fowl It was the custom for persons who offered sacrifices to invite their friends to the feast, which was made of the remainder. So here the prophet, by God’s command, invites the beasts and fowls to partake of the sacrifice of his enemies. Whoever compares Psa 78:48. Deu 32:24. Hab 3:5 and Isa 34:7 must confess, that the prophet had all these passages in his eye: but at the same time, from a luxuriance of expression, he has both enlarged upon, and surpassed them. He dwells as long as he can upon this subject; he sets it in all the variety of lights which it will bear, and leaves no room for any that come after him to add or improve; unless we except that passage of St. John, Rev 19:17-18 which is certainly superior in sublimity to this of the prophet. See Michaelis’s Notes, p. 110.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What is particularly meant by this sacrifice, and the feast that is promised to be made for the fowl and the beast, is not so very clear as to speak with any certainty! But by comparing scripture with scripture, perhaps a light is thrown on the subject. See therefore Rev 19:17 , etc. Doubtless it hath reference to the last day’s dispensation! But the conclusion which God the Holy Ghost makes of the subject is most plain, and most blessed. The Lord will bring again the captivity of his people. The heathen shall see it, and be astonished. The people of God shall know it, and be blessed. God’s covenant relations to them shall be made known, and his Church shall rejoice in them together. So that whatever obscurity attends the apprehension of the precise time and place of fulfilling these prophecies, in the result and termination of them there is no mistake or wrong conclusion whatever. Jesus will be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe; while the enemies of our God, and of his Christ, shall be confounded, and put to silence forever. So that we may, in the faith and expectation of these great events cry out, in the language of the Prophet, Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein, for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. Isa 44:23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Ver. 17. Speak unto every feathered fowl. ] A further explanation of that which had been said. Eze 39:4
Assemble yourselves.
To my sacrifice.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 39:17-20
17As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,’ declares the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:17-20 This banquet for the birds of prey and carnivorous animals is symbolic of the judgment of God (cf. Isa 18:6; Isa 56:9; Jer 12:9; Rev 19:17-18). The unclean pagan soldiers are eaten by the unclean animals! The Deuteronomic curse, which threatened unfaithful Israel (cf. Lev 26:22; Deu 28:26) is now unleashed on Israel’s end-time enemies.
Notice the number of IMPERATIVES in Eze 39:17 to the wild, carnivorous birds and animals.
1. speak to, BDB 55, KB 65, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. assemble, BDB 867, KB 1062, Niphal IMPERATIVE
3. come, BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERATIVE
4. gather, BDB 62, KB 74, Niphal IMPERATIVE
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Eze 39:17-20
Eze 39:17-20
“And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field. Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.”
Although repeated here with variations, this is the same prophecy given in Eze 39:4, foretelling The Great Supper of God.
There are two Suppers which God has provided for human beings: (1) the Lord’s Supper in his kingdom to which all men are invited to come, regardless of race or any other merely human classification, and (2) the Great Supper of God. The first is optional for men. If they desire redemption from their sins, the Lord’s Supper is given for their nourishment and teaching; but if men through wickedness reject this supper, there is yet another, the Great Supper of God; it is not optional. Those who miss the Lord’s Supper will most certainly be present for this one, only they shall not be the ones who eat it; they shall be the piece de resistance! The picture here seems to be “Based upon Isa 36:6 and Jer 46:10. Also, Rev 19:17-19 has another graphic presentation of this Great Supper of God. Feinberg’s opinion that, “These events shall transpire at the end of the great tribulation, and just before the Millennial reign of Messiah, cannot possibly be correct, for the New Testament plainly states that it will happen “when the thousand years reign of Christ are finished” (Rev 20:7).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
speak unto
See Armageddon note, (See Scofield “Rev 19:17”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Speak: Gen 31:54, 1Sa 9:13, 1Sa 16:3, Isa 56:9, Jer 12:9, Zep 1:7, Rev 19:17, Rev 19:18
every feathered fowl: Heb. the fowl of every wing
to my: Eze 39:4, 1Sa 17:46, Isa 18:6, Isa 34:6, Jer 46:10, Zep 1:7
sacrifice: or, slaughter
Reciprocal: Deu 28:26 – General Jos 6:17 – accursed 1Sa 17:44 – Come to me 1Ki 14:11 – that dieth Job 39:30 – where Psa 63:10 – a portion Isa 29:2 – and it shall Isa 30:25 – in the day Jer 16:4 – meat Jer 34:20 – and their Jer 50:27 – bullocks Eze 32:4 – General Dan 7:5 – Arise Mic 7:16 – nations Zep 3:19 – I will undo Zec 14:12 – the plague wherewith Zec 14:14 – and the Jam 5:5 – as in Rev 14:20 – and blood
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 39:17. The dumb creatures are invited to a rich feast provided by the Lord, consisting of the flesh of men who had come into Palestine on behalf of Gog. The preceding verses will explain how such a feast was possible. The number of slain men was to be so great that it would require 7 months to bury them. In that length of time many of the bodies would be stripped of their flesh (see hone in verse 15), the result of the activities of these creatures that had been invited by the Lord to come and feast themselves. Sacrifice does not indicate a religious performance, but the word means a slaughtering of the men of Gog, and (hat will supply the meat for the beasts.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Section 6 (Eze 39:17-21).
The mighty a prey
The sacrifice of judgment provides a feast for bird and beast. It is spread upon the mountains of Israel which had been laid waste when the nations surfeited themselves with the spoil of Jehovah’s people; but there now the rich and mighty of the nations fall to utter destruction. Where once they had spoiled, they are now taken for a spoil. Such is the sowing and the reaping.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Eze 39:17-22. Thou son of man, speak unto every feathered fowl, &c.
It was the custom of persons that offered sacrifice, to invite their friends to the feast that was made of the remainder: see Gen 31:54; 1Sa 9:13. So here the prophet, by Gods command, invites the beasts and fowls to partake of the sacrifice of his enemies slain. The slaughter of Gods enemies is called a sacrifice, because it is offered up as an atonement to the divine justice: see the margin. A great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel Where this great army was to be destroyed. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes Rather, of the chief ones, of the earth, of rams, &c. By the names of these several animals, all wont to be used in sacrifices, are here signified men of all orders and ranks, as princes, generals, captains, and common soldiers. All of them fatlings of Bashan All of them in the prime of life and strength, like young fatted beasts. And drink blood till ye be drunken Or, be satiated. Ye shall be filled at my table At the table which is, as it were, spread by me. The allegory is continued. The table of God is the field covered with dead bodies, the place of the slaughter of Magog. It is impossible to conceive how unbelievers could quote this verse to prove that the Jews of old times ate the flesh of horses, and even of men. Voltaire, though cautioned that not the Jews, nor men, but wild beasts and birds, were invited to this feast of slaughter, that is, to the consumption of the slain, yet resisted to the last on his strange accusation. Michaelis. And all the heathen shall see my judgments Shall see the punishments which I have executed on those who despise my name. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God Both by my acts of mercy, in bringing them out of their captivity, and gathering them from their dispersions, and by my judgments executed upon their enemies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 39:17-20. Ezekiels imagination, never weary of contemplating the destruction of those alien hordes, now pictures them as a sacrifice, to devour which Yahweh invites the birds and beasts, who gorge themselves with their flesh and blood.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak to every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; {k} gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
(k) By which he signifies the horrible destruction that would come on the enemies of his Church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The ignominious end of the enemy 39:17-24
This message expands on one event that will take place at the end of the invasion (cf. Eze 39:4).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord also instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the birds and beasts to come and feast on the flesh of the invaders who had died (cf. Eze 39:4; Isa 34:6; Jer 46:10; Zep 1:7-8; Rev 19:17-21). It would be like eating a great sacrifice for them, but those offered as sacrifices to the Lord would be great people of the earth rather than fat rams, lambs, goats, and bulls. Bashan, to the east of the Jordan River, consistently produced fat cattle because there was so much good pasture there.