Ezekiel Chapter 7

Old Testament Major Prophet 27 Verses

What is Ezekiel 7 about?

Dramatic visions of God's glory, Israel's corporate restoration, and the eschatological Temple given to the exiled priest-prophet. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
3Now is the end upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.
4And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity; but I will bring thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
5Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh.
6An end is come, the end is come; it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh.
7Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day is near, [a day of] tumult, and not [of] joyful shouting, upon the mountains.
8Now will I shortly pour out my wrath upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations.
9And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways; and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, do smite.
10Behold, the day, behold, it cometh: thy doom is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
11Violence 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.
12The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
13For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they be yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, none shall return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.
14They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but none goeth to the battle; for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
15The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword: and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16But 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.
17All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
18They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
19They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
20As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations [and] their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it unto them as an unclean thing.
21And 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 profane it.
22My face will I turn also from them, and they shall profane my secret [place]; and robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.
23Make the chain; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
24Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pride of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be profaned.
25Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
26Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumor shall be upon rumor; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
27The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying.] Or again, as the Arabic version; for this is a distinct prophecy from the former; though of the same kind with it; and was delivered out, either immediately upon the former; or, however, some time between that and the following in the next chapter, which has a date to it. The Targum calls it the word of prophecy from the Lord.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“LAMENTATION OVER THE COMING RUIN OF ISRAEL; THE PENITENT REFORMATION OF A REMNANT; THE CHAIN SYMBOLIZING THE CAPTIVITY. (Eze. 7:1-27) An end, the end--The indefinite "an" expresses the general fact of God bringing His long-suffering towards the whole of Judea to an end; "the," following, marks it as more definitely fixed (Amo 8:2).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“A dirge. Supposing the date of the prophecy to be the same as that of the preceding, there were now but four, or perhaps three, years to the final overthrow of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“An end - An end of God's patience, and of the peace and welfare of the people. Ezekiel 7:4”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“7:1-27 Ezekiel 7 contains three messages of doom (7:3-4, 5-9, 10-27). They reminded Judah that their forthcoming destruction was not a random twist of fate but an act of the Lord’s judgment. 7:1-2 As the prophet unfolded his message, the scope of the threatened judgment kept increasing, like ripples spreading outward from a stone dropped into a pond. Now the judgment he announced was not just for Israel, as in ch 6, but against the whole land, east, west, north, or south. This global judgment upon God’s people would be tantamount to the end of the world. Judgment was no longer imminent, as in the previous…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 2
“unto: Eze 12:22, Eze 21:2, Eze 40:2; Ch2 34:7 An end: Two or three manuscripts read ketz ba, ba hakketz "the end cometh, come is the end;" which is supported by all the ancient versions. Eze 7:3, Eze 7:5, Eze 7:6, Eze 11:13; Gen 6:13; Deu 32:20; Jer 5:31, Jer 51:13; Lam 1:9, Lam 4:18; Amo 8:2, Amo 8:10; Mat 24:6, Mat 24:13, Mat 24:14; Pe1 4:7 Ezekiel 7:3”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“The End Cometh Eze 7:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me thus: Eze 7:2. And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An end to the land of Israel! the end cometh upon the four borders of the land. Eze 7:3. Now (cometh) the end upon thee, and I shall send my wrath upon thee, and judge thee according to thy ways, and bring upon thee all thine abominations. Eze 7:4. And my eye shall not look with pity upon thee, and I shall not spare, but bring thy ways upon thee; and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee, that ye may know that I am Jehovah. - ואתּה - .havoheJ ma I, with the copula, connects this…”
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