Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 7:21
And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
21. Because of this abuse of their silver and gold in making it into idols it shall become the prey of the Chaldeans, who shall profane it, turning it from a sacred to a common use. In a certain sense all that was in Israel was sacred, and the mere fact of the heathen taking possession of it profaned it. Hos 10:6, It (the calf) shall be carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb; cf. Isa 46:1-2; Mic 1:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will give it, my temple,
into the hands, power and possession,
of the strangers, foreigners, who by direction of my law were excluded coming to it, they now shall enter into it, and take the riches of it as lawful prey.
To the wicked: this description of these men, strangers by their distance of place, and the worst of men on earth, by their proud, cruel, and fierce disposition.
Pollute it; enter, spoil, tear down, and use the temple as a vile place, and make no difference between this and other places. This I think the proper sense; some say the text speaks of the rich idols which the idolaters accounted most holy, and on which they laid out their treasure, and which now the Chaldeans should plunder and pollute.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. strangersbarbarous andsavage nations.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey,…. The Babylonians, who lived in a foreign country, and were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel; the temple was suffered of the Lord to fall into their hands as a prey; who spoiled it of all its riches and glory, and carried away the vessels of gold, of silver, and of brass, and other valuable things; see Jer 52:17;
and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; meaning the same persons, and the same thing, and the same use they should make of it; for not the wicked of the world in general are meant, but of the land, or this land; the land of Babylon, where the prophet was:
and they shall pollute it; by entering into it and spoiling it, by pillaging and burning it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
I have said that I do not approve of twisting these words to the sanctuary, as some interpreters do. Hence I do not doubt that the Prophet still speaks of the people. He changed indeed the number in the former verse, for at the beginning he had used the singular number: now he returns again to the singular number, and designates the people. I will deliver it, says he, into the hand of strangers. This was more severe than if they had been oppressed by any domestic tyranny: nor do I doubt that by strangers the Prophet signifies remote and barbarous nations, as we know that those with whom we have no communication are more savage against us. First, therefore, he says, they shall be the slaves of strangers; he adds, the impious of the earth: he means that their enemies should be so cruel and wicked, that no pity or equity was to be expected from them. The sum is, that God’s wrath would be terrible since he had borne the iniquities of the people so long. Hence we gather that wicked and abandoned men are God’s scourges, and are governed by his will and hand. Since it is so, we gather that God so works by them that he is pure from all alliance with their faults, because he so exercises his judgments by means of them, that he appears without blame with regard to them; but they are condemned deservedly, because either their own avarice or ambition, or other lusts destroy them. I shall give them therefore into the hands of strangers to destroy them: then, to the wicked of the earth for a prey, and they shall profane them By this word interpreters have been induced to take this verse with reference to the sanctuary. But we know that חלל, chelel, is taken in another sense — to slay. This word therefore may be explained, that there shall be a general slaughter of the people: because the enemies not content with the booty and spoil, shall also slay the captives when they have obtained the victory. But I willingly retain the sense “profane,” which means the same as “ render vile,” because the Prophet seems to me to allude to all kinds of abuse, as when we do not consider for what purpose things are intended, but rashly and thoughtlessly, contemptuously, and even insultingly dissipate them. It means therefore that such should be the insolence of their enemies, that they should waste and lay in ruins not only the people’s substance, but also their persons: although this may be here referred to the substance itself: for a robber is said to prey upon a man when he takes away whatever he has and leaves him naked: in this sense we may conveniently explain what the Prophet now says. But that simple explanation satisfies me, namely, that the enemy shall so disperse the people generally, that there shall be no difference. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
21. These golden gods, upon which they have depended for help, will be captured by the enemy and the vessels of sacrifice will be turned to base uses (Mic 1:7; Hos 10:6).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
Ver. 21. And I will give it into the hands. ] So he did the pleasant land to be plundered, the sanctuary also to be rifled and ransacked by the Babylonians, Syrians, Romans, &c. See Lam 1:10 , See Trapp on “ Lam 1:10 “
And to the wicked of the earth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
strangers = foreigners.
wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha’, App-44.
pollute = profane.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ki 24:13, 2Ki 25:9, 2Ki 25:13-16, 2Ch 36:18, 2Ch 36:19, Psa 74:2-8, Psa 79:1, Jer 52:13-23
Reciprocal: Isa 64:11 – holy Jer 12:7 – I have given Jer 19:13 – defiled Jer 51:51 – for strangers Lam 2:7 – they have Lam 5:2 – General Dan 11:31 – they shall pollute Zep 1:13 – their goods
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 7:21. The temple was to be given into the hands of strangers (the Babylonians), and they shall pollute it (2Ki 25:9).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
7:21 And I will give it into the hands of the {q} strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.
(q) That is, of the Babylonians.