Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 39:25
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
25. bring again the captivity ] Cf. Eze 16:53, Eze 29:14.
jealous for my holy name ] little different from “my divine name.” The prophet represents Jehovah as acting from the sense of that which he is. The representation is to be explained from the profound sense which the prophet, and other prophets, had of the Godhead of Jehovah, with all that Godhead meant. Cf. Eze 20:9; Eze 20:14; Eze 20:22; Eze 20:44.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 25. Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob] Both they and the heathen shall know that it was for their iniquity that I gave them into the hands of their enemies: and now I will redeem them from those hands in such a way as to prove that I am a merciful God, as well as a just God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Therefore; since my name, my power, and justice are vindicated, and the heathen see it was Israels iniquity brought them into captivity, and Israel knows this too.
Now; from this time of Gogs overthrow. Jacob; the seed of Jacob, here called by their fathers name.
Have mercy: this reducing captive Jews is mere mercy: it is very true by sin they deserved to be made captives, and it is as true they never did or could deserve a deliverance from captivity; it was not extremity of justice that so punished, but it was the riches of mercy that so pardoned and redeemed.
Upon the whole house of Israel; on the ten tribes with the two. And all this in zeal
for my holy name, by which I am engaged to be their God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. bring again thecaptivityrestore from calamity to prosperity.
the whole house of Israelso”all Israel” (Ro11:26). The restorations of Israel heretofore have been partial;there must be one yet future that is to be universal (Ho1:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore thus saith the Lord,…. The Jews having been long punished for their sins; and being brought to repentance for them, and to faith in Christ, as they will be in the latter day: hence it follows,
now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob; or the captives of Jacob, the people of Israel, that have been carried captive into all lands; these shall be gathered from thence, and brought into their own land:
and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; all the twelve tribes; which shows that this has not respect to the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for then the Lord had mercy on the house of Judah only; or the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; but their return from their present captivity, and future conversion,
when all Israel shall be saved; as the fruit and effect of the rich sovereign grace and mercy of God unto them, Ro 11:25:
and will be jealous for my holy name; or, “zealous” l for the glory of it, that it be no more blasphemed among the Heathen; and that it be glorified among his own people.
l “assumam zelum”, V. L. “zelabo”, Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A VISION OF ISRAEL CONVERTED AND RESTORED
Verses 25-29:
Verse 25 foretells that at this point the Lord will restore, from captivity and calamity, to prosperity, all Israel, who has heretofore only had partial restorations; There is yet one to come that will be universal, Jer 30:3; Rom 11:26; Hos 1:11; Hos 3:4-5. This the Lord does because He is jealous of His holy name.
Verse 26 relates that this full restoration of the nation of Israel will come when they shall have fully repented, borne personal shame with genuine repentance for their personal and national sins, even from the days before they were carried away captives from their land, thereafter dispersed among the nations, Luk 21:24; Zec 12:7-10; Dan 9:16; Lev 26:5.
Verse 27 relates that when the Lord has gathered them from among the gentiles of the earth, back to their own fatherland, His holy name will be vindicated in His dealing with His people, Eze 28:25; Eze 36:23.
Verse 28 declares that at that time all Israel shall know that He is the Lord their God, who brought them again from among their enemies, gathered them in their own land, and left none of them abandoned any more, Eze 34:30; Hos 2:20.
Verse 29 assures them that the Lord will no more hide His face from them, because He has poured out His spirit upon them, to sanctify the whole house of Israel as His own, taken to Himself again, Isa 54:8; Joe 2:28; Zec 12:10; Eze 43:5; Mal 2:15; Php_1:6; Act 2:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
IV. THE RESULTS OF COGS DESTRUCTION
39:2124
TRANSLATION
(21) And I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see MY judgment that I have executed, and MY hand that I have set against them. (22) So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day and forward. (23) And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their iniquity, because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them, and I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. (24) According to their uncleanness and their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid MY face from them.
COMMENTS
The overthrow of God would be regarded as a divine act revealing Gods glory, judgment, hand (Eze. 39:21). Israels faith would thereby be confirmed (Eze. 39:22). The nations at last would be convinced that Israels captivity experience was not due to any lack of power on Gods part. Rather the Lord had allowed them to suffer because they broke faith with Me. God hid His face from them, refusing to aid them against their enemies. As a result all of them,[476] i.e., a great number of them, fell by the sword (Eze. 39:23). Perversity on the part of the people, not powerlessness on the part of God was responsible for their abandonment by the Lord (Eze. 39:24).
[476] An example of Biblical hyperbole. Ezekiel has already made clear that the house of Israel went into captivity. He was himself one who had survived the slaughter of the sword.
V. CONSOLATION FOR THE EXILES 39:2529
TRANSLATION
(25) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion on all the house of Israel; and I will be zealous for My holy name. (26) And they shall bear all of their shame, and all their treachery which they have committed against Me, when they dwell upon their land safely, and none shall terrify them; (27) when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of the lands of their enemies, and I have been sanctified in them in the eyes of many nations. (28) And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, when I have caused them to go captive unto the nations, and then have gathered them unto their own land; and I will not leave any of them any more there; (29) nor will I hide any more My face from them; for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD).
COMMENTS
The captivity was a time when God was hiding His face from His people. Using Eze. 39:23-24 as a transition, Ezekiel brings the focus back to his own time for the final movement of thought in this section. It was needful that the exiles in their distress see at the close of this far-reaching prophecy the first step in the long course of events leading to its fulfillment, because that step was one of special interest and comfort to them; but even this promise is mingled with predictions which still look on to the then distant future.
Previously Ezekiel had spoken of the promised restoration and the glory of Yahweh abiding with His people in their own land. In chapters 3839 he has indicated that these promises would not go unnoticed nor unchallenged by other nations. Yahwehs presence would not preclude aggression against the Canaan of God. The difference Yahweh would now be with them rather than withdrawing from them as He had done in 587 B.C.
Gods new positive relationship to His people would begin shortly. God would bring back the captivity of Jacob, i.e., reverse the fortunes of His people. The whole house of Israel, i.e., all the tribes, would experience the compassion of the Lord. God would be jealous or zealous for His name or reputation, and His reputation would be most enhanced by the prosperity of His worshipers (Eze. 39:25).
God was about to bring His people back from the lands of their enemies. This favorable treatment of Israel would cause Gods name to be reverenced by many peoples (Eze. 39:27), In their homeland Gods people would enjoy peace and security. Their sense of gratitude toward the Lord would make them keenly ashamed of their own former waywardness (Eze. 39:26). Gentiles would come to see that the Lord God reveals Himself in history; that He brought about the captivity of His people, and engineered their restoration to their homeland as well. Not one of His true people would be left in foreign lands (Eze. 39:28). No more would God hide His face from them, i.e., they would enjoy fellowship with God. This glorious state of affairs would exist in the age of the Holy Spirit when God has poured out His Spirit upon the house of Israel (Eze. 39:29). Already God had promised to pour out His Spirit on His people (Eze. 36:27; Eze. 37:14). Joel was the first prophet to make such a prediction (Joe. 2:28), and after the time of Ezekiel that same promise was taken up by Zechariah (Zec. 12:10).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(25) Now will I bring again the captivity.It was needed for the exiles in their distress that the prophet at the close of this far-reaching prophecy should bring out the first step in the long course of events leading to its fulfilment, because that step was one of especial interest and comfort to them; but even this promise is mingled with predictions which still look on to the then distant future.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. And after they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, then they will dwell securely in the land and none will make them afraid, when I have brought them again from the peoples, and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of the nations.”
The literal text is ‘and they will bear their shame —’ but in translation it is necessary to bring out the sense. The point is that they will bear their shame and then afterwards will be brought into the land. Hebrew tenses do not express strict chronology.
In this final summary God indicates once again the restoration of His people. He will reverse the situation He had brought about, and He will do it because He is intent to maintain the honour of His name (He is ‘jealous’ for His name). Once they have borne their sins to the fullest necessary extent (compare Isa 40:1-2) they will be released from their captivity and brought again to their land. Stress is made on the fact that this will be of the whole house of Israel. All twelve tribes will be restored. The Bible knows nothing of ‘lost tribes’. Thus ‘Israel’ will now be limited to those who return and those who acknowledge their part in that return by their behaviour in their one time exile, by looking on Israel as their true home (as Daniel and Nehemiah did. They had returned in their hearts even though their positions would not allow them to return).
‘Then they will dwell securely in the land and none will make them afraid.’ This will be the final result. It was partly achieved in the first restoration, but its greater fulfilment awaits the final days of deliverance as depicted in these chapters, when His people will dwell together in God’s greater land of which the earthly is bit a shadow. History is seen as a combined whole. This is the nature of Biblical prophecy.
‘And am sanctified in them in the sight of the nations.’ The purpose of their deliverance and restoration is so that God might be ‘set apart’ in men’s eyes as the One Who is Almighty and can do anything by His power and yet as the One Who is righteous and fully punishes sin.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
Ver. 25. Now will I bring again. ] Three things he here promiseth his people, notwithstanding all the sorrow, (1.) Effectual vocation; (2.) Justification here; (3.) Glorification. Eze 39:29 The Sun of righteousness loves not to set in a cloud.
And will be jealous.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 39:25-29
25Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. 28Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:25-29 For those who see every prophecy as eschatological, this paragraph must refer to the post-exilic period introduced by Cyrus the king of Medo-Persia.
Prophecy characteristically takes a current situation (positive or negative) and projects it into a future setting. How God’s people live today determines what future they will experience. To take prophecy literally misses the point. To take prophecy unconditionally misses the point. To take prophecy as modern western prose misses the point! See Special Topic: OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY .
Eze 39:25 Jacob This is the Patriarch from whom the name Israel comes (cf. Gen 32:28). YHWH is promising to have mercy (BDB 933, KB 1216, Piel PERFECT) on all the exiled people of God (i.e., the northern and southern kingdoms, cf. Eze 36:10; Eze 37:21-22).
I shall be jealous for My holy name The VERB (BDB 888, KB 1109, Piel PERFECT) describes YHWH’s special love and care for Israel (cf. Exo 34:14; Deu 4:23-24), through whom He will reveal Himself to the world. They failed (cf. Eze 36:22-23), but now through the new covenant (cf. Eze 36:22-28; Jer 31:31-34; Joe 2:28-32), He will succeed!
Eze 39:26 Israel will remember and be ashamed of her rebellion and sin (cf. Eze 6:9; Eze 16:61; Eze 16:63; Eze 20:43; Eze 36:31-32).
There is some variation in the translations of Eze 39:26.
1. forget (BDB 674, ), NASB, NRSV, TEV, NJB, NIV, REB
2. bear (BDB 669, ), Peshitta, NKJV, JPSOA, NET Bible
Eze 39:28 I made them go into exile It was not the power of the pagan deities of the nations of the Ancient Near East, but YHWH’s judgment (i.e. Jer 29:4; Jer 29:7; Jer 29:14; Amo 5:27) and personal activity (i.e., He used Assyria, Babylon, and later Persia for His revelatory and redemptive purposes). This is the major theological issue in Ezekiel (i.e., God’s holy name).
Eze 39:29 I shall have poured out My Spirit The VERB (BDB 1049, KB 1629, Qal PERFECT) is used of YHWH’s equipping presence
1. for life, Eze 37:14
2. for new covenant, Eze 11:19; Eze 36:26-27; Joe 2:28 (all mankind)
3. for fertility, Isa 32:15; Isa 44:3
In the OT God’s Spirit is used in the sense of His power to accomplish His will in the world. The full NT Trinitarian sense does not occur. See Special Topic: Spirit in the Bible , Special Topic: Personhood of the Spirit , and Special Topic: THE TRINITY .
This is a sacrificial term (cf. Lev 17:13; Deu 12:16; Deu 15:23). It is used of pagan practices in Eze 16:15; Eze 23:8).
Just a balancing note about this VERB. It is also used of YHWH pouring out His wrath on the disobedient (cf. Isa 42:25; Jer 7:20; Lam 2:4; Eze 21:31).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Now: i.e. after the destruction of Gog; i.e. after the “gathering” but before the final “Restoration”, and therefore before the Millennium. See note on Eze 38:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 39:25-29
Eze 39:25-29
“Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.”
ISRAEL TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Eze 39:25-29)
This final paragraph is not a part of the Gog prophecy. “The prophecy here returns to the point of view in Ezekiel 33-37. “These verses also form a fitting conclusion to the whole prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1-39) down to this point.
“I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel …” (Eze 39:29). This promise had already been conveyed to Israel in Ezekiel 6 and in Eze 37:14, also in Joe 2:28 and Zec 12:10; and, “The citation of Joel’s words by Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Act 2:17) prove that he regarded the remarkable effusion of the Holy Spirit upon that day as a fulfillment of the promise here recorded by Ezekiel. Therefore, we must construe the verb, “I have poured out” in this promise as a prophetic perfect, in which a promise of God is given as something already done.
There is no evidence whatever that Israel as a whole ever manifested any evidence of being possessed of the Spirit of God during the pre-Christian centuries, nor in their wholesale rejection of the Christ when he came.
Returning, for a moment to the Gog, Magog prophecy, we should observe that Gog is depicted as “the last enemy,” “at the end of the times,” and that it is presented as gathering together against God and his people the nations from the “uttermost parts of the earth.” All of the ancient enemies of Israel such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Antiochus, all long ago departed from the stage of human affairs and had presumably perished. But notice also another tremendously important deduction that is required by this. “The boundaries of Israel, at that remote time, shall stretch far beyond the limits of ancient Palestine”!
For those who wish to pursue further the implications of this remarkable prophecy, we refer to that place in the Apocalypse of the Apostle John (Rev 20:9; Rev 20:9), where according to Keil, and also according to the conviction of this writer, the Gog, Magog prophecy is concluded.
A Prophecy against Gog – Eze 38:1 to Eze 39:29
Open It
1. What character, historical or fictional, is the personification of evil in your mind?
2. What is your favorite story of the triumph of an underdog?
Explore It
3. To whom was Ezekiel told to address his next prophecy? (Eze 38:1-3)
4. What gathering of the enemies of Israel would be accomplished by God “pulling them together”? (Eze 38:4-6)
5. What great invasion would be plotted by Gog? (Eze 38:7-9)
6. For what purpose would the various nations arrive at an evil scheme? (Eze 38:10-13)
7. Why was God going to allow a great assault on Israel? (Eze 38:14-16)
8. For what response would God be poised when Gog threatened Israel? (Eze 38:18-23)
9. What did God intend to do to the homeland of the aggressors while they fell in battle on the mountains of Israel? (Eze 39:1-6)
10. What is God prepared to defend in the great battle of the nations? (Eze 39:7-8)
11. After Gods intervention in their behalf, what unusual provisions would Israel have for years to come? (Eze 39:9-10)
12. How does Ezekiel describe the magnitude of the death and destruction wrought against the forces of Gog? (Eze 39:11-16)
13. What gory “sacrifice” would the birds and wild beasts have set before them? (Eze 39:17-20)
14. In this demonstration of His glory, what would the nations see and what would Israel understand? (Eze 39:21-22)
15. Why did God want the rest of the nations to be clear on His reasons for turning against Israel in the past? (Eze 39:23-24)
16. What are the various ways in which God will show compassion on His people in the future? (Eze 39:25-29)
Get It
17. Where should the people of God turn for help in times of trouble?
18. Of what nations of the earth is God the Lord?
19. In what way is God the Lord of every nation on earth?
20. What comfort can Gods people take in knowing how God will use evil for His purposes?
21. How should we react if the enemies of God rise up to challenge blessings that He has given to us?
22. Why would the land need to be cleansed after the great battle in which Gog is defeated?
23. In your opinion, of all the blessings promised to Gods people in this prophecy, which is the greatest? Why?
Apply It
24. How can you tell at least one other person this week of the Lords gracious blessings in your life?
25. What frightening evil power in your life or in your world can remind you throughout the week to praise God for His omnipotence?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Now will: The return of a few Jews from Babylon, and their continuance, increase, partial reformation, and prosperity, till the days of Christ, followed by their present long continued dispersion, under the frown of God, and destitute of his Spirit, could in no degree answer to these predictions. Hence we must conclude, that some future events, exactly suitable to them, shall yet take place relative to the nation of Israel. Eze 34:13, Eze 36:21, Eze 36:24, Isa 27:12, Isa 27:13, Isa 56:8, Jer 3:18, Jer 23:3, Jer 30:3, Jer 30:10, Jer 30:18, Jer 31:3, Jer 32:37, Amo 9:14, Rom 11:26-31
the whole: Eze 20:40, Eze 37:21, Eze 37:22, Jer 31:1, Hos 1:11
and will: Eze 36:4-6, Eze 36:21-23, Joe 2:18, Zec 1:14, Zec 8:2
Reciprocal: Deu 30:4 – unto Psa 85:1 – thou hast Psa 106:47 – gather Isa 14:1 – set Isa 29:22 – Jacob shall Isa 43:5 – I will Isa 59:21 – this Isa 65:9 – I will Jer 3:12 – and I will not Jer 14:21 – for Jer 33:26 – and have Jer 46:27 – I will save Jer 49:39 – I will Jer 50:4 – the children of Israel Jer 50:19 – bring Eze 16:53 – bring Eze 26:20 – and I shall set Eze 37:11 – whole house Eze 38:19 – in my Eze 39:27 – I have Dan 9:19 – thine Dan 12:1 – thy people Hos 2:14 – and speak Joe 3:1 – when Mic 4:6 – and I Nah 1:2 – General Zep 2:7 – turn Zec 1:16 – I am Zec 10:6 – I will save Act 2:36 – all Act 3:19 – when
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 39:25. As soon as Gods wrath was satisfied against his people. His mercy and love for them came into action and the captivity was brought to a close. The terms Jacob and whole house of Israel are very significant Let the reader refer to the comments in chapter 37: 15-22 regarding the so- called lost 10 tribes, and connect them with the italicized words in this verse. It will be clear to all that the whole house of Israel does not mean 2 tribes only.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 39:25-26. Therefore now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob See note on Eze 34:13; Eze 36:24. And have mercy upon the whole house of Israel On the ten tribes with the two. This bringing back the captive Jews and Israelites, and gathering them from their dispersions, will be an act of mere mercy. By sin, indeed, they deserved to be made captives; but no righteousness of theirs did or could deserve deliverance from captivity. It was not extremity of justice that so punished them, but it will be the riches of mercy that thus pardons and redeems them. After they have borne their shame The shame and reproach due to their sins; and all their trespasses That is, the punishment of those trespasses, committed when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid When they were in a state of peace, prosperity, and safety, which should have obliged them to love and obedience; but even then they sinned, as if dangers and calamities would never overtake them. Strange ingratitude! to cast off the fear of God, and all regard to his law, when he had set them free from the fear of all enemies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A summary of God’s blessing on Israel 39:25-29
This message forms a fitting conclusion to the whole section of prophecies about Israel’s restoration to the Promised Land (chs. 33-39) as well as to those about future invasion (chs. 38-39).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord promised to restore the fortunes of Jacob, namely, the descendants of the devious patriarch who anticipated the corporate character of the Israelites. Obviously not all Jewish people are devious, but Scripture indicates that many of Jacob’s descendants behaved as he did. The Lord promised to have mercy on all of them. He would do this because He wanted to maintain His reputation for holiness (uniqueness as the only true God). When He restored them to security in the land following this invasion they would forget their former disgrace and treachery against Him. Similarly it was when Jacob returned to the Promised Land from Paddan-aram that he experienced a life-transforming experience (Genesis 32).