Ezekiel 20:47

“And say to the forest of the south, &c.] To the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea: hear the word of the Lord; attend to it, and receive it, believe it, and take warning from it: thus saith the Lord God, behold, I will kindle a fire in thee; in Jerusalem; meaning that he would send great calamities among them, the sword of the Chaldean army, famine, and pestilence; and that at last it should be burnt with fire, and the remainder of the inhabitants be carried captive: and it shall devour every green tree, and every dry tree; all sorts of persons should be consumed by one or other of the above calamities, high and low, rich and poor, good and bad; and if good men should suffer, comparable to…”

“fire--every kind of judgment (Eze 19:12; Eze 21:3, "my sword"; Jer 21:14). green tree . . . dry--fit and unfit materials for fuel alike; "the righteous and the wicked," as explained in Eze 21:3-4; Luk 23:31. Unsparing universality of the judgment! flaming flame--one continued and unextinguished flame. "The glowing flame" [FAIRBAIRN]. faces--persons; here the metaphor is merged in the reality.”

“This paragraph is in the Hebrew text, Septuagint and Vulgate the beginning of Ezekiel 21:0 to which it belongs, as it contains a prophecy delivered in a form which is there explained. It may, however, be regarded as a link between the foregoing and following prophecies, being a general introduction to seven words of judgment about to be pronounced in development of that which has just been delivered. Ezekiel 20:46 In this verse occur three Hebrew synonyms for “south,” denoting: (1) the region on the right, Teman 1 Samuel 23:24; (2) the region of dryness, Negeb Joshua 15:4; (3) the region of brightness, Darom Deuteronomy 33:23. The variety of terms helps the force of the application. Chebar…”

“Every green tree - All that flourish, and all that are poor. All faces - All persons and orders of men, from one end of the land to the other. Ezekiel 20:49”

“20:47 A green tree does not normally burn easily, whereas a dry tree provides easy kindling. This fire of judgment would be so intense that it would burn all kinds of trees.”

“I will kindle: I will send war; and it shall destroy all ranks and characters of the people. Eze 15:6, Eze 15:7, Eze 19:14, Eze 22:20, Eze 22:21; Deu 32:22; Isa 9:18, Isa 9:19, Isa 30:33; Jer 21:14 green: Eze 17:24; Luk 23:31 the flaming: Isa 66:24; Mar 9:43-49 from the south: Eze 21:3, Eze 21:4; Isa 24:1-6 Ezekiel 20:48”