Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:14
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath [is] upon all the multitude thereof.
14 18. Fruitlessness of the defence
14. Preparations for the defence are made but there is no courage to face the enemy, for the wrath of God upon them predetermines their defeat.
even to make all ready ] Rather: and have made (inf. abs.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14 27. Picture of the dissolution of the state
(1) Eze 7:14-18. The trumpet shall sound the alarm, but none shall prepare himself for the battle. The sword shall devour without and famine consume within. A paralysing terror shall seize upon all.
(2) Eze 7:19-22. They shall cast their gold and silver into the streets, for it cannot buy wherewith to appease their hunger. Their wealth which was their pride and which they used to further their abominations shall become the prey of the invader.
(3) Eze 7:23-27. The city is full of violence therefore it shall be given over to the worst of the heathen. Perplexity and stupefaction shall seize king and people, priest and prophet alike. They shall know Jehovah when his judgments overtake them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 14. They have blown the trumpet] Vain are all the efforts you make to collect and arm the people, and stand on your own defence; for all shall be dispirited, and none go to the battle.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The house of Israel have published their resolution for war, and summoned in all fit for arms, if the words be read as here. Or if in the imperative mood, Blow ye, &c., they are a smart irony against the preparations the Jews can possibly make for repelling the enemy, and defending their city.
To make all ready; persons fit for the war and all warlike provisions, a thing necessary in case of invasions, but in their case a vain attempt. There is not a man going to the war, (as the Hebrew,) all are backward in this danger.
My wrath; that displeasure which takes away their prudence and courage, that these men of might sleep, and none finds his hands or weapons, Isa 29:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. They have blown thetrumpetrather, “Blow the trumpet,” or, “Letthem blow the trumpet” to collect soldiers as they will, “tomake all ready” for encountering the foe, it will be of noavail; none will have the courage to go to the battle (compare Jer6:1), [CALVIN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready,…. That is, the Jews, when they understood that the enemy was approaching, blew the trumpet, to give the inhabitants of their several cities and towns warning of it; that they might gather together, provide themselves with armour, and put themselves in a posture of defence, or go forth to meet the enemy, and stop his progress: or, “blow ye the trumpet”, so the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and so may be considered as an irony or sarcasm; blow the trumpet, as an alarm of war, and see what will be the effect of it:
but none goeth to the battle: not having courage enough to face the enemy, but instead of that find to the fortified cities, and particularly to Jerusalem: the reason of this timidity and cowardice was,
for my wrath [is] upon all the multitude thereof; the intention of God was to destroy them all by one means or another; and therefore a heart was not given them to defend themselves, or oppose the enemy.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here the Prophet adds, although the Israelites provide themselves with every aid, and prepare all things for carrying on the war, nay, while they omit nothing for the best fortification, yet when it came to the point, their hopes would be vain, and all the supplies which they prepared for themselves of no avail. However, therefore, they may blow the trumpet, and prepare all things, he says, yet no one goes out to battle The reason must be marked, since God’s indignation was upon the whole multitude of them, that is, because God determined to destroy them all. Now it follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. The military dismay (7:1418)
TRANSLATION
(14) They have blown the trumpet and all is made ready, but none is going to the battle; for My wrath is against all its multitude. (15) The sword is without and the pestilence and the famine within; the one who is in the field shall die by the sword, and the one who is in the city, famine and pestilence shall consume him. (16) And should fugitives escape, they shall be upon the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each in his iniquity. (17) All hands shall droop, and all knees shall run with water. (18) And they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and terror shall cover them; shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon all their heads.
COMMENTS
Organized resistance to the coming invasion would fail. Sin had destroyed the moral courage of the nation, the will to resist. Preparation for war had been made, but the troops had not the strength nor courage to withstand the enemy. The alarm trumpet sounded, but the terrified troops refused to enter into battle (Eze. 7:14 a). Gods wrath saps their powers of resistance. Courage flees before the forces of God. Their fear is justified, however, because the wrath of God had gone forth against all its multitude, i.e., army. Death would stalk the whole land. The sword of the Chaldean army would cut off all escape beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Within the city itself famine and pestilence (disease) would take their toll (Eze. 7:15).
The no escape of Eze. 7:15 is immediately qualified in the following verse. The few refugees who would escape the city would take to the mountains to escape death. Like doves of the valley, they would occupy the lofty heights and deep ravines. There they would bemoan their fate as they realized that the disaster was the result of their iniquity (Eze. 7:16). Despair would render the fugitives helpless. All hands shall droop in dismay and helpless exasperation. The knees would run with water, i.e., because of their fear those refugees would not be able to control their kidney functions.[191] (Eze. 7:17).
[191] Others interpret the phrase metaphorically as expressive of complete paralysis of strength. Still others think the reference is to sweat caused by fear.
The refugees would openly manifest their dismay. Sackcloth would be worn upon the body, but they would act as though they were covered with terror (pallatsut). Heads would be shaved. Shame (busha) would be etched on every face shame because of what had happened; greater shame because of why it had happened (Eze. 7:18).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14) None goeth to the battle.The last thought is followed up here. The people are so enfeebled by their sins as to have no power against the enemy. Consequently (Eze. 7:15) they shall all perish, directly or indirectly, at the hands of their foes.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Even to make Literally, and made.
None goeth to the battle Here is pictured the “collapse of Judah’s military preparations in the hour of danger.” The soldiers are struck with fear before they have struck a blow. God has deserted them, and his wrath makes cowards of brave men. (Compare Lev 26:6; Deu 28:25; Deu 32:30.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready. But none goes to battle. For my wrath is on all their multitude. The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine inside. He who is in the field will die with the sword, and he who is in the city famine and pestilence will devour him.”
The description of their grim fate goes on. They will have made their preparations, the rallying call will have gone out, the trumpet will have sounded. But none will go out to battle. For when they see the forces arrayed against them they will know that it is useless. Whether outside or in they will die. Perhaps there is also the thought that by the time this trumpet blew they were too weak to fight. Those on the outside will perish by the sword, those on the inside by famine and pestilence, by shortage of food and water, and resulting disease. Thus anyone out in the open country will die, slain by the sword of the invaders, anyone on the inside will be devoured by food shortage and disease. And why? Because God’s wrath is on the whole multitude, on all of them.
(There were, of course, always a few exceptions, including Jeremiah. But God was addressing the mass of people who were almost all in rebellion. He would in fact show mercy to the small remnant who returned to the land from exile, conditional on their not fleeing to Egypt (Jer 42:8-12). But as usual they rebelled against Him. So the genuinely faithful were very few).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
I include the whole under one reading for the sake of shortness. In these verses is contained, the effect which must always follow God’s judgment. No rank, no state, no condition of man is exempt. When the sword is without, and the pestilence within, both the king and the beggar fall under the sweeping visitation. Grace only makes. a difference, when the Lord comes to discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not, Mal 3:18 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 7:14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath [is] upon all the multitude thereof.
Ver. 14. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready. ] But all to no purpose, since God hath dispirited them (as he did the old Canaanites, the Saxons and Piers in that Victoria Halleluiatica, the Germans against the Hussites in Bohemia, &c.), and struck them with a panic terror, with utter despondency, so that they were feeble and fainthearted, and the strong were become as tow. Isa 1:31
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 7:14-22
14’They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude. 15The sword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also consume those in the city. 16Even when their survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, each over his own iniquity. 17All hands will hang limp and all knees will become like water. 18They will gird themselves with sackcloth and shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces and baldness on all their heads. 19They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling. 20They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. 21I will give it into the hands of the foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. 22I will also turn My face from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.’
Eze 7:14 They have blown the trumpet Military preparations will fail because of the fear of the soldiers (cf. Eze 7:17).
SPECIAL TOPIC: HORNS USED BY ISRAEL
Eze 7:15 Here are the three main enemies that YHWH arrayed against His people:
1. the sword – the Babylonian army
2. the plague – sickness within the walled cities
3. famine – no food within the walled cities
These three are the recurrent threat of divine judgment (cf. Lev 26:25-26; 2Ch 20:9; Jer 14:12; Jer 21:7; Jer 21:9; Jer 24:10; Jer 27:8; Jer 27:13; Jer 29:17-18; Jer 32:24; Jer 32:36; Jer 34:17; Jer 38:2; Jer 42:17; Jer 42:22; Jer 44:13; Eze 5:12; Eze 6:11-12; Eze 7:15; Eze 12:16).
Eze 7:16 Even those few who escape to the mountains will be helpless and sorrowful (i.e., like doves, cf. Isa 38:14; Isa 59:11). Most who try to escape by fleeing the walled cities into the supposed safety of the countryside will also die (cf. Eze 7:15; Eze 33:27). There is no safety!
Eze 7:17 All resistance will be ineffective because of the paralyzing fear striking the cities’ defenders (cf. Eze 21:7; Eze 22:14; Isa 13:7).
knees will become like water This is literally, knees shall run with water (NASB margin). It possibly refers to fear causing urination.
Eze 7:18 This is a series of mourning rites.
1. gird with sackcloth (cf. Eze 27:31; Isa 22:12; Amo 8:10)
2. pull out or shave (cf. Eze 5:1) their hair (cf. Eze 27:31; Eze 29:18; Amo 8:10)
SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES
shame will be on all faces This was a common idiom (cf. Jer 51:51; Oba 1:10; Mic 7:10).
Eze 7:19-22 These verses describe Israel’s gods.
1. money and commerce
2. gold and silver idols
3. YHWH’s temple and its wealth have become a boast of pride, not sanctity and faith
Babylon will take Israel’s collected wealth, individually and corporately.
Eze 7:19 abhorrent thing This term (BDB 622, cf. Eze 7:20) is used of unclean or impure things or acts.
1. menstrual period, cf. Eze 18:6; Eze 22:10; Eze 36:17; Lev 12:2; Lev 15:19-20; Lev 15:24-25
2. having sex with a brother’s wife, Lev 20:21
3. contact with a corpse (note Eze 6:4-5), Num 19:9; Num 19:13; Num 19:20-21; Num 31:23
4. idolatry, cf. Eze 7:19-20; Ezr 9:11; Lam 1:17
their silver and gold shall not be able to deliver them This has two possible meanings.
1. Babylon will not take ransom to spare them (cf. Zep 1:18)
2. their personal idols of gold and silver cannot deliver them; they are thrown out into the streets
Neither can their wealth buy them food because of the siege!
an occasion of stumbling The original meaning of the VERB for faith was a stable stance. The opposite was slipping in the miry clay or stumbling in the way. Therefore, stumbling (BDB 506) is the contrasting concept from faith.
This phrase is literally for the stumbling block of their iniquity and is used only in Ezekiel, but often (cf. Eze 14:3-4; Eze 14:7; Eze 18:30; Eze 44:12). The prophet must have coined the phrase. Wealth is not always a blessing!
Eze 7:20
NASBHis ornaments
NKJVhis ornaments
NRSVtheir beautiful ornaments
TEVonce they were proud of their beautiful jewels
NJBthey used to pride themselves on the beauty of their jewelry
REBtheir beautiful jewelry
The context (i.e., Eze 7:20-22) seems to imply the temple’s treasures, but it must be noted His is not in the text and the ornaments may refer to (1) personal jewelry (BDB 725, cf. Exo 33:4-6) of Eze 7:19 or (2) their idols (i.e., BDB 1055, detestable things). If so, then the secret place of Eze 7:22 refers to Jerusalem (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 1074, while in vol. 3, p. 686, a different word study author asserts it is the temple), not the temple (note Eze 7:24).
Eze 7:21 foreigners This VERB, be a stranger, BDB 266, KB 267, Qal PERFECT, is used of invading enemies (cf. Eze 7:21; Eze 11:9; Eze 16:32; Eze 28:7; Eze 28:10; Eze 30:12; Eze 31:12).
They are characterized as the wicked of the earth. Babylon followed the military practices of the Assyrians. Both were merciless, vicious people. In Eze 7:24 they are called the worst of the nations.
Eze 7:22 I will also turn my face from them The face of God was an idiom for His personal presence and care for His covenant people (cf. Eze 39:23-24; Eze 39:29; Isa 59:2). Israel’s protection, peace, and prosperity depended on Him. When He left, hope left!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
They have blown. Some codices, with Septuagint, and Vulgate, read “Blow ye”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 7:14-18
Eze 7:14-18
“They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth forth to battle; for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine are within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, pestilence and famine shall devour him. But those of them that escape shall escape, and shall be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one in his iniquity. All the hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.”
THE COLLAPSE OF JUDAH’S MILITARY POWER
The trumpet would indeed sound; but it would not be for a year of jubilee, but for the onset of devastating war. The people, absolutely powerless because of their guilt and debaucheries would not be able to answer the call to defend the city.
“The three scourges mentioned by Jeremiah, sword, pestilence and famine (Jer 14:18) are here seen as divided between the city and the countryside”; but there can be no doubt whatever that all of them were also operative within the city itself.
“Like doves in the valleys …” (Eze 7:16). “As doves moan lamentably when driven through fear from their nesting places, so shall the remnant of Israel who escape death moan in the land of their exile.
“All knees … weak as water …” (Eze 7:17). “This expression is unique to Ezekiel, and we shall meet it again in Eze 21:7. The thought is paralleled in Isa 13:7 and in Jer 6:24. It just means that all of the strength of the once mighty people has been sinned away. They are now powerless before their enemies.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
have: Jer 4:5, Jer 6:1, Jer 51:27
for: Eze 7:11, Eze 7:12, Isa 24:1-7, Jer 6:11, Jer 7:20, Jer 12:12
Reciprocal: Num 10:9 – then ye shall Hos 8:1 – the trumpet
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 7:14. when a movement was about to be made in ancient times a trumpet was sounded as a signal to ail interested parties. (Jer 6:1.) The people in Jerusalem were theoretically ready to travel yet no one was disposed to face the foe. The wrath of God was very much In evidence by the presence of the invading army, or at least by indications that it would be present at any time. They would be forced to flee for refuge to places of safety among the mountains. Their mournful state is likened to that of a, dove whose characteristic cry is known to all. But the bewailing of the people of Judah was to be embittered by the knowledge that it was for their own sins.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
7:14 {o} They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath [is] upon all its multitude.
(o) The Israelites made a brag, but their hearts failed them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Israelites had prepared to fight the Babylonians, but they would not be successful because the Lord Himself would fight against His people. The sword would devour those outside Jerusalem, and plague and famine would consume those within. Even the few survivors who escaped would mourn their desperate condition. Everyone would lose heart, and traditional signs of mourning would be everywhere. Ancient Near Easterners wore rough camel’s hair clothing (sackcloth) to make themselves miserable and so keep thoughts of selfish enjoyment aside.
"The prophet is hereby [Eze 7:17] referring to the loss of bladder control that occurs in a moment of extreme crisis [when he says, literally, "All knees will run with water"]." [Note: Block, The Book . . ., p. 261.]