Ezekiel 22:25

“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, &c.] Not of the prophets of the Lord, but of her prophets; such as were agreeable to her, the false prophets. The Targum renders it, “a company of scribes;” the interpreters of the law; these entered into a confederacy together against the true prophets, and agreed to prophesy the same things, to flatter the people with peace and prosperity, when sudden destruction was at hand: like a roaring lion ravening the prey; that roars when hungry, and while it is tearing the prey in pieces; so these false prophets thundered out their menaces against the true prophets, and those that adhered to them; clamouring against them as enemies to the…”

“conspiracy--The false prophets have conspired both to propagate error and to oppose the messages of God's servants. They are mentioned first, as their bad influence extended the widest. prey--Their aim was greed of gain, "treasure, and precious things" (Hos 6:9; Zep 3:3-4; Mat 23:14). made . . . many widows--by occasioning, through false prophecies, the war with the Chaldeans in which the husbands fell.”

“The sixth word of judgment. The special sins of princes, priests, and people. Ezekiel 22:26 Violated - Better as in margin; to offer “violence” to the Law is to misinterpret it. It was the special office of the priests to keep up the distinction between “holy” and “unholy,” “clean” and “unclean” Leviticus 10:10. Ezekiel 22:28 See the marginal reference note. Ezekiel 22:30 The land might be said to perish for the lack of such interpositions as saved their forefathers when Moses “stood in the gap.” This was a proof of the general corruption, that there was not in the city sufficient righteousness to save it from utter destruction. Prince, prophet, priest, all fail. return to 'Top of Page'…”

“A conspiracy - A contrivance, to speak all alike, smooth words, and give out promises of peace and safety. Thereof - Of the land. The treasure - As a reward of their lies. Made her - By persuading Zedekiah to hold out the war, which filled Jerusalem with dead husbands, and forlorn widows. Ezekiel 22:26”

“22:25-29 This list of Jerusalem’s sins focuses on the sins of the leaders in Judah (cp. Zeph 3:3-4). • princes: The princes and other leaders had abused their power by killing innocent people and seizing their wealth. The priests had sinned by not teaching people the law so that they could distinguish between holy and profane, clean and unclean. The prophets announced false visions instead of a true word from God. As a result, the people went astray for lack of guidance.”

“a conspiracy: Eze 13:10-16; Kg1 22:11-13, Kg1 22:23; Jer 5:30, Jer 5:31, Jer 6:13; Lam 2:14, Lam 4:13; Pe2 2:1-3 like: Eze 22:27-29; Isa 56:11; Hos 6:9; Mic 3:5-7; Rev 13:11, Rev 13:15 ravening: That is, from the Saxon reafian, seizing and devouring it with eagerness and rapacity. they have devoured: Eze 13:19; Jer 2:30, Jer 2:34; Mat 23:14; Mar 12:40; Luk 20:47; Rev 17:6, Rev 18:13 Ezekiel 22:26”