Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:10
Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
10 13. The ruin is universal, overtaking all classes
10. morning is gone forth ] Rather: is come forth, the figure of a plant springing up; Job 14:2, “man cometh forth like a flower.” On “morning” see Eze 7:7; R.V. doom as there.
rod hath blossomed ] i.e. sprouted and grown so as to become a rod. The general scope of the passage seems to imply that the “rod” here is that by which Israel shall be chastised. In Jer 50:31 Babylon is named “pride” (R.V. marg.), and the words “pride has budded” may serve to explain “the rod has blossomed.” If the pride were that which the rod was to humble the words would better be attached to the next verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Eze 7:10
The rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
Sin in blossom
I. Beauty may be associated with evil. Well would it be for men to remember they may be thus connected in fact as well as figure. For there may be beauty of countenance and form that covers and quickens the corrupt, for in all Israel there were none to be so much praised as Absalom for beauty. And is not the genius of poetry often the brilliance of the fires of passion: and eloquence the engine of error, and art the bribe of superstition? Do not magnificent mansions and picturesque acres often stand chiefly as the symbols of the careful selfishness, the cold self-containedness of their owners? Yes, other evils than pride seem to have the blossoms that make the world exclaim beautiful, splendid, great! Such is the love of display, that there is many a man who for the spangles wears the funeral pall.
II. Success is no test of moral right or wrong. Pride blossoms, so does envy, so does selfishness, so sometimes does every bough on the upas tree of sin. Lowliness often seems sterile, so does love, so does prayer, so, indeed, often in the winter of our soul seems every branch on the tree of life. The Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, and had success. Judas betrayed Jesus, and had success. What then? We dare not test our life work and the work of others by the standard of success or failure.
III. The forces of retribution are ever at work. Just as the circulation of the sap through all the vessels of the tree, the influences of sunlight and air, and all the forces working out the mystery of growth are gradually and silently (though probably not silently, if our ears were keener) preparing for the hour of bud and blossom, all actions are ever setting at work retributive results. These results gradually, and sometimes silently, but ever surely, are tending to the crises that are days of judgment, and to the great crisis that is the day of judgment. (U. R. Thomas.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Behold the day] The same words are repeated, sometimes varied, and pressed on the attention with new figures and new circumstances, in order to alarm this infatuated people. Look at the day! It is come!
The morning is gone forth] It will wait no longer. The rod that is to chastise you hath blossomed; it is quite ready.
Pride hath budded.] Your insolence, obstinacy, and daring opposition to God have brought forth their proper fruits.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If you will open your eyes, you may see the lowering day of vengeance: see Eze 7:7.
The rod hath blossomed: this and what follows may refer either,
1. To Nebuchadnezzar and his Chaldeans, the rod of Gods anger; they flourish, are strong and heavy, like to last too long in their strength to break Israel. Pride hath budded; as they flourish in strength, they exceed in pride and arrogance, which buddeth forth in the haughty designs they lay of raising themselves on the ruins of all countries.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. rod . . . blossomed, pride . . .buddedThe “rod” is the Chaldean Nebuchadnezzar, theinstrument of God’s vengeance (Isa 10:5;Jer 51:20). The rod sprouting(as the word ought to be translated), c., implies that God does notmove precipitately, but in successive steps. He as it were hasplanted the ministers of His vengeance, and leaves them to grow tillall is ripe for executing His purpose. “Pride” refers tothe insolence of the Babylonian conqueror (Jer 50:31Jer 50:32). The parallelism(“pride” answering to “rod”) opposes JEROME’Sview, that “pride” refers to the Jews who despisedGod’s threats; (also CALVIN’S,”though the rod grew in Chaldea, the root was withthe Jews”). The “rod” cannot refer, as GROTIUSthought, to the tribe of Judah, for it evidently refers to the”smiteth” (Eze 7:9) asthe instrument of smiting.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold the day, behold, it is come,…. That is, the day of trouble and distress, said to be near, Eze 7:3;
the morning is gone forth; [See comments on Eze 7:7];
the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded; both these phrases may be understood of Nebuchadnezzar; he was the rod, with which the Lord smote his people, as the Assyrian monarch is called the rod of his anger,
Isa 10:5: and was a very proud prince, and had budded and blossomed, and had brought forth much bad fruit of that kind; see Da 3:15; or these may be separately considered; the rod may be interpreted of Nebuchadnezzar, which had been growing up, and preparing for the chastisement of the people of the Jews, and now was just ready to be made use of; and “pride” may respect the sin of that people, which was the cause of their being smitten with this rod, as the following words seem to indicate. The Targum is,
“a ruler hath budded, a wicked one hath appeared.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Second Strophe
Eze 7:10. Behold the day, behold, it cometh; the fate springeth up; the rod sprouteth; the pride blossometh. Eze 7:11. The violence riseth up as the rod of evil: nothing of them, nothing of their multitude, nothing of their crowd, and nothing glorious upon them. Eze 7:12. The time cometh, the day approacheth: let not the buyer rejoice, and let not the seller trouble himself; for wrath cometh upon the whole multitude thereof. Eze 7:13. For the seller will not return to that which was sold, even though his life were still among the living: for the prophecy against its whole multitude will not turn back; and no one will strengthen himself as to his life through his iniquity. Eze 7:14. They blow the trumpet and make everything ready; but no one goeth into the battle: for my wrath cometh upon all their multitude. – The rod is already prepared; nothing will be left of the ungodly. This is the leading thought of the strophe. The three clauses of Eze 7:10 are synonymous; but there is a gradation in the thought. The approaching fate springs up out of the earth ( , applied to the springing up of plants, as in 1Ki 5:13; Isa 11:1, etc.); it sprouts as a rod, and flowers as pride. Matteh, the rod as an instrument of chastisement (Isa 10:5). This rod is then called za=dho4n, pride, inasmuch as God makes use of a proud and violent people, namely the Chaldeans (Hab 1:6.; Jer 50:31 seq.), to inflict the punishment. Sprouting and blossoming, which are generally used as figurative representations of fresh and joyous prosperity, denote here the vigorous growth of that power which is destined to inflict the punishment. Both chamas (violence) and zadhon (pride) refer to the enemy who is to chastise Israel. The violence which he employs rises up into the chastening rod of “evil,” i.e., of ungodly Israel. In Eze 7:11 the effect of the blow is described in short, broken sentences. The emotion apparent in the frequent repetition of is intensified by the omission of the verb, which gives to the several clauses the character of exclamations. So far as the meaning is concerned, we have to insert in thought, and to take ekat o in a partitive sense: there will not be anything of them, i.e., nothing will be left of them (the Israelites, or the inhabitants of the land). (of them) is explained by the nouns which follow. and the . . , plural of or , both derivatives of , are so combined that signifies the tumultuous multitude of people, the multitude of possessions (like , Isa 60:2; Psa 37:16, etc.). The meaning which Hvernick assigns to hameh , viz., anxiety or trouble, is unsupported and inappropriate. The . is not to be derived from , to lament, as the Rabbins affirm; or interpreted, as Kimchi – who adopts this derivation – maintains, on the ground of Jer 16:4., as signifying that, on account of the multitude of the dying, there will be no more lamentation for the dead. This leaves the Mappik in unexplained. is a derivative of a root ; in Arabic, na=ha , elata fuit res, eminuit, magnificus fuit ; hence , res magnifica . When everything disappears in such a way as this, the joy occasioned by the acquisition of property, and the sorrow caused by its loss, will also pass away (Eze 7:12). The buyer will not rejoice in the property he has bought, for he will not be able to enjoy it; and the seller will not mourn that he has been obliged to part with his possession, for he would have lost it in any case.
(Note: “It is a natural thing to rejoice in the purchase of property, and to mourn over its sale. But when slavery and captivity stare you in the face, rejoicing and mourning are equally absurd.” – Jerome.)
The wrath of God is kindled against their whole multitude; that is to say, the judgment falls equally upon them all. The suffix in refers, as Jerome has correctly shown, to the “land of Israel” ( admath , Yisraeel ) in Eze 7:2, i.e., to the inhabitants of the land. The words, “the seller will not return to what he has sold,” are to be explained from the legal regulations concerning the year of Jubilee in Lev 25, according to which all landed property that had been sold was to revert to its original owner (or his heir), without compensation, in the year of jubilee; so that he would then return to his mimkar (Lev 25:14, Lev 25:27-28). Henceforth, however, this will take place no more, even if , their (the sellers’) life, should be still alive (sc., at the time when the return to his property would take place, according to the regulations of the year of jubilee), because Israel will be banished from the land. The clause ‘ is a conditional circumstantial clause. The seller will not return ( ) to his possession, because the prophecy concerning the whole multitude of the people will not return ( ), i.e., will not turn back (for this meaning of , compare Isa 45:23; Isa 55:11). As corresponds to the previous , so does to in Eze 7:12. In the last clause of Eze 7:13, is not to be taken with in the sense of “in the iniquity of his life,” which makes the suffix in superfluous, but with , the Hithpael being construed with the accusative, “strengthen himself in his life.” Whether these words also refer to the year of jubilee, as Hvernick supposes, inasmuch as the regulation that every one was to recover his property was founded upon the idea of the restitution and re-creation of the theocracy, we may leave undecided; since the thought is evidently simply this: ungodly Israel shall be deprived of its possession, because the wicked shall not obtain the strengthening of his life through his sin. This thought leads on to Eze 7:14, in which we have a description of the utter inability to offer any successful resistance to the enemy employed in executing the judgment. There is some difficulty connected with the word , since the infin. absolute, which the form seems to indicate, cannot be construed with either a preposition or the article. Even if the expression in Jer 6:1 was floating before the mind of Ezekiel, and led to his employing the bold phrase , this would not justify the use of the infinitive absolute with a preposition and the article. must be a substantive form, and denote not clangour, but the instrument used to sound an alarm, viz., the shophar (Eze 33:3). , an unusual form of the inf. abs. (see Jos 7:7), used in the place of the finite tense, and signifying to equip for war, as in Nah 2:4. , everything requisite for waging war. And no one goes into the battle, because the wrath of God turns against them (Lev 26:17), and smites them with despair (Deu 32:30).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Now Ezekiel uses another figure, but to the same purpose. He repeats what he had said before: the day is come, and he adds another part, that the morning had advanced But we said that the impious, when God connives at their sins, exult as it were in darkness without shame or fear. Since therefore they were as wanton as if they had obtained the license of night, the Prophet denounces that morning is at hand, because God would suddenly bring to light what they thought would be always hidden. Since therefore, when God retired, they supposed themselves in complete darkness, the Prophet recalls them to the consideration of the daily order of things: for light emerges immediately from the dawn. Thus he laughs at their folly, because they thought that God had his eyes shut, when for the time he dissembles. This therefore is the reason, as was fully explained yesterday, why the Prophet calls the sudden change morning Therefore the morning has arisen, afterwards, the rod has blossomed, pride has flourished It is not doubtful that he means Nebuchadnezzar by the rod, but interpreters vary on the context; for many refer the following verse to the king of Babylon: but others, in my judgment rightly, take it of the Israelites themselves. As to his saying the rod has blossomed, it refers to God’s forbearance. For when the Israelites had sinned a long while with impunity, they thought, as I said yesterday, that their peace with God would be perpetual. But here Ezekiel pronounces in opposition to this, that God had as it were a hidden root; as he who plants a tree waits for the time, till it rises to a just magnitude. Hence he compares Nebuchadnezzar to a rod which was growing. God could indeed without man’s assistance destroy the Israelites, and could also compel others to obey him: for all creatures are at hand to fulfill his commands; but here Ezekiel commends God’s forbearance, though he had planted the tree, from which the rod was to spring up with which he would smite the Israelites. So he reproves their sloth, because they did not reflect upon the time of their visitation, which God had determined in his secret counsel.
On the whole, in saying the rod has flourished, he refers to those steps which God takes in executing his judgments. For he does not act hastily after the manner of men, but just as a husbandman in sowing and planting. Hence God provides for his own use ministers of vengeance, and permits them to increase and to arrive at maturity. If therefore God does not hasten as we wish, we may know that he still has rods prepared, and if they are not yet grown to maturity, it is because the time which the Almighty has previously fixed is not yet arrived. Now it follows, that pride has budded I have just said that some referred this to the Babylonians, but I rather understand it of the Israelites. Hence God shows how the staff grew in Chaldea by which the Israelites were to be struck, and yet the root was among themselves. For here the noun “pride” is to be taken as usual in a bad sense: it does not denote simply haughtiness or arrogance, but that licentiousness which springs from a contempt of God. But this does not suit the Babylonians as far as God governed them with his hand, when he wished to take vengeance on the Israelites. But in this sense there is nothing forced, that the staff with which the Israelites were to be struck had increased, and yet it had no other origin than their sins, and hence that no other root need be sought for than this. Hence it flourished, but whence did it spring? from pride The seed therefore of this staff was the pride of the Israelites. But this pride is akin to impiety, and we know that they were blinded by their confidence when they despised God, and treated all his threats as vain. Hence the Prophet points out pride as the fountain of all evils. A clearer explanation follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
B. The Calamity Described 7:1027
In describing Judahs coming day of visitation Ezekiel stresses four points (1) the social disruption (Eze. 7:10-13); (2) the military dismay (Eze. 7:14-18); (3) the economic distress (Eze. 7:19-22); and (4) the political disorder (Eze. 7:23-27).
1. Social disruption (7:1013)
TRANSLATION
(10) Behold the day! Behold it comes; the turn has come forth; the rod has blossomed, arrogance has budded. (11) Violence has risen up for a rod of wickedness; none of them (shall remain) and none of their multitude, and none of their wealth nor any wailing among them. (12) The time has come, the day has arrived; as for the buyer, let him not rejoice, and as for the seller, let him not mourn; for wrath is upon all its multitude. (13) For the seller shall not return unto that which is sold, although they be yet alive; for the vision concerns the whole multitude which shall not return; neither shall they strengthen themselves, a man whose life is in his iniquity.
COMMENTS
The judgment rod of God Babylon had blossomed into an arrogant superpower (Eze. 7:10).[187] The violence practiced by the Jews had risen up for a rod of wickedness; i.e., the evil practices of the Jews had created the rod which will smite them.[188] In that day the whole population would be affected. None would escape. They would either perish or be carried away into exile. Nothing would remain of the multitude of the people or their wealth.[189] So great would be the loss that survivors would not wail[190] over the dead (Eze. 7:11).
[187] Others think the rod in Eze. 7:10 is the royal house of Judah which had blossomed and budded with arrogance.
[188] Cf. Isa. 10:5 where Assyria is called the rod of Gods anger; and Jer. 50:31 which underscores the arrogance of Babylon.
[189] KJV nor any of theirs, i.e., none of their offspring would be left alive. This translation is possible but not preferable.
[190] Some recent versions render the Hebrew noah as eminency. It is best to follow the older commentators in relating the word to nehi, = wailing.
That coming day would result in a complete socio-economic upheaval. Selling an inherited piece of property was normally an occasion of deep grief in the Old Testament world. But the seller of real estate would no longer be concerned with such sentimentality. On the other hand, the one who purchased that property would have no reason to rejoice. In the day of Gods wrath land holdings would be immaterial. Both the wealthy land buyer and the poverty-stricken seller would be faced with deprivation and death (Eze. 7:12). Never would the land seller be able to repossess his inheritance even though he might live through the judgment (lit., though their life be yet among the living). Jubilee observance where all property reverted to original owners would not be possible in the land of exile. According to the vision which Ezekiel had received, the Jews would be driven from their homes never to return during their lifetime (Eze. 7:13).
At first sight this prophecy seems to contradict Jer. 32:15; Jer. 32:37; Jer. 32:43 which states that properties would be bought and sold in Judah again following the exile. However, Ezekiel is speaking of his contemporaries. They would not live to reclaim their family inheritances. The men who lived a life of iniquity would not be able to strengthen themselves so as to withstand punishment (Eze. 7:13). Those driven out would not return, and those who remained in the land would die in their sins.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) The morning is gone forth.The same word as in Eze. 7:7, and in the same sensethe circle is complete, the end is reached, sin hath brought forth death. The rod is commonly understood of the Chaldan conqueror; but as the word is the same for rod and for tribe, and is very often used in the latter sense, it will be more in accordance with the connection to understand here a play upon the word. There will be then an allusion to the rods of the tribes in Num. 17:8. There the rod of Aaron was made to bud and blossom by Divine power in evidence of his having been chosen of God; here the rod representing the tribe at Jerusalem in its self-will and pride has budded and blossomed to its destruction. So the description continues in the next verse, Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness. Not a rod for the punishment of wickedness; but into a wicked people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Gone forth Rather, sprung up. (Compare Job 14:12.) On the meaning of the expression see Eze 7:6.
The rod hath blossomed The trees of their own planting have grown and borne fruit, and from these trees of abomination and pride (compare Eze 7:4) shall now be cut the rod of punishment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Behold the day, behold it comes. Your doom is gone forth. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness, none of them will remain, nor of their abundance (multitude of possessions), nor of their wealth. Neither will there be eminency among them.”
Once again emphasis is laid on the coming of a ‘day’ of God, previously expressed in terms of the coming of ‘the end’, of evil coming, of doom coming, of ‘the time’ coming. The inevitability of it is made apparent. And it is the day of tumult not of joyful shouting (Eze 7:7).
The picture here is full of irony and is taken from that of Aaron’s rod that budded which was ‘a token against the children of rebellion’ (Num 17:10). ‘The day’, the day of God’s anger, is coming and it will be like that. It will be like a crown of doom coming on them from God. In the days of Aaron the rods represented the leaders of the people (Num 17:2-3). They represented their authority. But they did not blossom. They were not God’s chosen one (Num 17:5). Now, however, their rod will blossom, God has chosen them, but He has chosen them for judgment. Their pride will produce its fruit. And that fruit will be violence, which will be a rod for the wicked, a rod which will destroy so that none of them remain, all the abundance of their possessions will be destroyed and their wealth will be taken away. Nothing will remain. They will no longer be eminent for eminency will no longer be among them. It will be the end of Judah as it is known, many will die and those who survive will have lost everything, possessions, wealth and status.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Ruin Accomplished
v. 10. Behold the day, v. 11. Violence, v. 12. The time is come, the day draweth near. Let not the buyer rejoice, v. 13. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, v. 14. They, v. 15. The sword is without, v. 16. But they that escape of them shall escape and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, v. 17. All hands shall be feeble, v. 18. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, v. 19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed, v. 20. As for the beauty of his ornament, v. 21. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, v. 22. My face will I turn also from them, v. 23. Make a chain, v. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, v. 25. Destruction cometh, v. 26. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor, v. 27. The king shall mourn,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Eze 7:10. The morning is gone forth The bud is put forth, or hath arisen, &c. Houbigant. Possibly the prophet, using the word matteh, which signifies both a rod and a tribe, intends to point out the once flourishing state of the tribe of Judah. The next verse has greatly perplexed the commentators; every one of whom, says Houbigant, I have consulted, but in vain; and think the following translation gives the true sense of it: Violence hath burst forth from the rod: safety shall not proceed from them nor from their riches, nor from their agitations: there shall not be any rest for them. See his note.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 7:10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
Ver. 10. The morning is gone forth. ] Matutina sententia, The decree bringeth forth, as Zep 2:2 See Trapp on “ Zep 2:2 “
The rod hath blossomed.
Pride hath budded.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 7:10-13
10’Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. 11’Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their wealth, nor anything eminent among them. 12The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for wrath is against all their multitude. 13Indeed, the seller will not regain what he sold as long as they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his iniquity.’
Eze 7:10-11 Notice the imagery of spring (i.e., budding, Israel’s evil has burst into flower).
1. The rod has budded (note this is where doom of Eze 7:7 can be understood as diadem)
2. Arrogance has blossomed
3. Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness
Israel thought her unique position as YHWH’s covenant people would protect her, even without obedience and faith! But this false sense of assurance (i.e., #2, arrogance) was about to be clearly rejected! I fear evangelicalism has this same false sense of security. Conservative theology must issue in Christlikeness, not self-righteousness and judgmentalism. Justification must issue in sanctification. An initial profession must issue in daily obedience and perseverance (cf. Luk 6:46; Eph 2:8-10; Jas 2:14-26). The covenantal method of being accepted by God has changed from a human-performance basis (OT) to a God-performance basis (NT), but the goal of a righteous people for the purpose of fellowship with God has not. It is affected by Genesis 3. Now God wants a righteous people to help those who do not yet know Him to come to Him. The goal has always been Christlikeness! Be careful not to confuse the changing method and the unchanging goal! Also be careful of a proof-texted assurance connected solely to an initial prayer or rite!
Eze 7:11
NASBnor anything eminent
NKJVnor shall there be wailing for them
NRSVno pre-eminence amoung them
TEVor their glory
NJB——–
REBnothing but turmoil in them
The meaning of eminent (BDB 627) is uncertain. The form is found only here. BDB lists eminence and distinction. Feinberg suggests lamentation or wailing (p. 45, i.e., no one left alive to bury or mourn the dead, cf. Eze 6:4-5).
Eze 7:12 Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn These VERBS are translated as JUSSIVES.
1. rejoice BDB 970, KB 1333, Qal IMPERFECT
2. mourn BDB 5, KB 6, Hithpael IMPERFECT
Eze 7:12-13 are a literary way of prophesying that all segments of society (i.e., rich and poor) will be judged by YHWH.
multitude This root (BDB 242) basically means a great noise (cf. Eze 7:11-14) and can refer to
1. tumult and confusion (cf. 1Sa 14:19; 2Sa 18:29; Psa 65:7; Isa 17:12)
2. a large crowd (cf. Eze 7:11-14; Eze 29:19; Eze 30:11; Eze 30:15; Eze 31:2; Eze 31:18; Eze 32:12[twice],16,18,20,24,25,26,31,32; Isa 13:4)
3. abundance of wealth (cf. 1Ch 29:16; Psa 37:16; Ecc 5:10; Isa 60:5)
In this context it refers to all of Israel (there is no distinction between righteous and wicked). They all are wicked!
Eze 7:13 This is a difficult verse to translate as the variety in the ancient versions shows. Some think that Eze 7:12-13 refer to the selling of property in relation to the Year of Jubilee (cf. Lev 25:13-16).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the rod hath blossomed: i.e. Nebuchadnezzar’s sceptre is ready.
pride = insolence, or presumption: i.e. Israel’s sin, which has called for the judgment.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 7:10-11
Eze 7:10-11
“Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth; neither shall there be eminency among them.”
AN OMEN OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Some have interpreted “the rod of wickedness” here as the avenging power of Babylon; but Cook stated that, “The prophet here has Israel in mind, not Babylon.
“Behold, the day, behold, it cometh” (Eze 7:10). It is truly remarkable how all of the prophets of the Old Testament, in their writings of judgments that would come upon various peoples, always spoke of them as culminating in `a day!’ “They saw in all calamities an ever-recurring omen of that day in which earth’s story would be judged as a whole. To us, as to them, all sufferings for wickedness are foretokens of that last day when the fire shall try every man’s work.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
it: Eze 7:6, 1Th 5:3
the morning: Eze 7:7
the rod: Eze 19:14, Eze 21:10, Eze 21:13, Num 17:8, Isa 10:5
pride: Pro 14:3, Pro 16:18, Isa 28:1, Dan 4:37, Jam 4:6
Reciprocal: Isa 21:12 – The morning Jer 1:11 – I see a rod Eze 7:12 – time Eze 12:23 – The days Joe 2:1 – for the Zep 1:7 – for the day Mal 4:1 – the day Mat 24:14 – and then Mar 13:29 – know Col 1:28 – teaching
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 7:10. These terms are all used figuratively and denote the same thought as tiiat in ihe preceding verse; namely, the final overthrow of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 7:10-11. Behold the day Which has lingered so long! it is come at last. The morning is gone forth The day of destruction is already begun. The rod hath blossomed As the same word which signifies a tribe, signifies also a rod, the meaning of this sentence may be, the tribe of Judah hath flourished, or hath been prosperous. The consequence is mentioned in the following words: Pride hath budded Her prosperity first filled her with pride, and that begat violence and all kinds of wickedness. Or the sense may be, Nebuchadnezzar, the rod of Gods anger, the rod of correction ordained for Judah, is grown in power and pride, in violence and cruelty, and is thus prepared to punish the Jews, whose pride and luxury, injustice and idolatry, have exposed them to this instrument of the divine vengeance. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness Some render this, Violence is risen up against the rod of wickedness, and understand it of the violent, impetuous Chaldean army rising up against the tribe of Judah, here called the rod of wickedness, to cut it down. None of them shall remain The Hebrew only expresses none of them, the words shall remain being supplied by our translators. Some versions read, None of them shall be free from evil. Neither shall there be wailing for them The calamity shall be so general, families will be cut off so entirely, and they will be so stunned, as it were, with the greatness of their affliction, and so taken up in providing for their own safety, that there will be no particular lamentation or wailing made for those who fall.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 7:10-18. That dreadful day, which would extinguish their political existence, would no less bring to an end all their social and commercial life. The proud blossoms of Judah would soon be smitten and withered. Buyers need no more rejoice when they made a good bargain, nor need sellers be sorry when they came off badly, for very soon they would all be levelled in one common catastrophe. The enemy would come, the alarm of war would be raised, but none would have the courage to go forth to the fight, so that destruction in its every form would reign unchecked, alike on those who remained in the city, and on those who escaped to the mountains, and everywhere would be seen the signs of mourning (sackcloth, shaven head, etc.). (This passage bristles with textual obscurities, which would not repay discussion here. Suffice it to say that in Eze 7:10 the rod is probably Judah or the royal house, and Eze 7:13 is referred by some to the property of the expatriated nobles: also in Eze 7:13 for the vision is touching read there is wrath upon.)
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
7:10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the {e} rod hath blossomed, {f} pride hath budded.
(e) The scourge is ready.
(f) That is, the proud tyrant Nebuchadnezzar has gathered his force and is ready.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord announced that the day of Israel’s doom was coming. Judgment was about to break forth as buds on a branch (cf. Num 17:8; Jer 1:11-12). The people’s violence had grown from a small shoot into a stout branch of wickedness. Nebuchadnezzar would prove to be the rod of God’s judgment. No eminent individuals and nothing of much value would remain. The time of judgment was so near that both buyers and sellers should refrain from their usual pursuits.
"The buyer who normally rejoiced over a good business deal should not be happy because he would not be able to possess the land he had purchased. And one forced to sell his land should not grieve because he would have lost it anyway." [Note: Dyer, "Ezekiel," p. 1241.]
It would be impossible for sellers to regain (by redemption or in a sabbatical or jubilee year) what they sold because everything would be swept away before a change could be made (cf. 1Co 7:29-31). Even iniquity would not change the prospect of coming judgment.
"Hardening oneself in sin would not accomplish immunity from punishment." [Note: Feinberg, p. 46.]
This pericope may be one or two oracles (Eze 7:10-13). The first two verses stress the imminence, comprehensiveness, and readiness of the judgment, and the last two its permanence and suddenness.
"It is amazing how easily messages of judgment are forgotten. These messages constantly must be reinforced." [Note: Cooper, p. 112.]
The last half of this chapter emphasizes the Judeans’ reactions to the coming judgment.