Ezekiel 12:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 12:4
Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
stuff
כֵלֶ֜יךָkhe.Lei.kha
H3627
something prepared · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
day
יוֹמָ֖םyo.Mam
H3119
daily · adverb
sight
לְעֵֽינֵיהֶ֑םle.'ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
stuff
כִּכְלֵ֥יkikh.Lei
H3627
something prepared · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
removing
גוֹלָ֛הgo.Lah
H1473
exile · noun, common feminine singular absolute
forth
תֵּצֵ֤אte.Tze'
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
even
בָעֶ֙רֶב֙va.'E.rev
H6153
dusk · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sight
לְעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔םle.'Ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
forth
כְּמוֹצָאֵ֖יke.mo.tza.'Ei
H4161
a going forth · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
captivity
גּוֹלָֽהgo.Lah
H1473
exile · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 39:4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city b…
2 Kings 25:4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (n…
Ezekiel 12:12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry…
Jeremiah 52:7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two wal…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 12:1-16
Perhaps Ezekiel reflected with so much pleasure upon the vision he had had of the glory of God that often, since it went up from him, he was wishing it might come down to him again, and, having seen it once and a second time, he was willing to hope he might be a third time so favoured; but we do not find that he ever saw it any more, and yet the word of the Lord comes to him; for God did in divers manners speak to the fathers (Heb 1:1) and they often heard the words of God when they did not see the visions of the Almighty. Faith comes by hearing that word of prophecy which is more sure than vision. We may keep up our communion with God without raptures and ecstasies. In these verses the prop…
by day--in broad daylight, when all can see thee.
at even--not contradicting the words "by day." The baggage was to be sent before by day, and Ezekiel was to follow at nightfall [GROTIUS]; or, the preparations were to be made by day, the actual departure was to be effected at night [HENDERSON].
as they that go forth into captivity--literally, "as the goings forth of the captivity," that is, of the captive band of exiles, namely, amid the silent darkness: typifying Zedekiah's flight by night on the taking of the city (Jer 39:4; Jer 52:7).
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 12:3
Prepare thee stuff for removing - Get carriages to transport thy goods to another place; signifying by this the captivity that was at hand.
John Gill on Ezekiel 12:4
Then shall thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight,.... Bring it forth, that they may be spectators of it; and "by day", that it might be manifest to them what was carried out; and this day by day, till all was removed:
as stuff for removing; that is intended to be removed from one place to another, and is carried away in the daytime, in the view of everyone:
and thou shall go forth at even in their sight; as a man, having removed his goods in the daytime, goes forth himself at evening: this denotes the flight of Zedekiah from Jerusalem in the night, Jeremiah 39:4;
as they that go forth into captivity: with a sorrowful countenance, in a mournful habit, and with airs and gestures…
The Church Fathers
(Ver. 4 seqq.) And you shall bring out your baggage like the baggage of an exile by day in their sight. And you shall go out in the evening before them, as one goes out into exile before their eyes. Dig through the wall for yourself, and you shall go out through it in their sight. You shall bear your baggage on your shoulders (Vulgate: you shall be carried): you shall escape in darkness (Vulgate: you shall be brought out). You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground: for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel. LXX: And you shall bring out your vessels of captivity by day in their sight. And you shall go out in the evening in their sight, as a captive goes out. Dig for yourself through the wall, and you shall pass through it in their sight. You shall be carried on your shoulders and go out in hiding. You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel. The prophet is commanded to act in a manner that Sedecias will do in truth. Gather, he says, your belongings (for these are the vessels of the one who is crossing over), while they are watching. And after they have seen what you are going to do, you will go out in the evening in the likeness of the one who is crossing over. We read that Zedekiah, with the wall secretly pierced, fled during the night to the deserts of the Jordan, and there he was captured by the Babylonians, and this signifies the wall being pierced. But when he says, 'you will carry on your shoulders,' your belongings are understood, and whatever they are accustomed to carry as a solace on the journey while fleeing. In the darkness you will escape ((or: you will lead out)); may you not be seen by anyone. You will cover your face, or by the blindness that befell him, the eyes will be plucked out by Nebuchadnezzar; or so that it is not recognized that he himself is the king, and the concern of the servants will be greater. And what follows: And you will not see the land, that signifies that he who is blind is led into Babylon, and will not see it. For I have given you as a portent to the house of Israel: for both the words and the deeds of the prophets have been spoken and fulfilled as a sign and a figure. And in Zechariah, extraordinary men are called, because they foreshadow the future (Zech. III). And in Hosea, God says: I have been compared to the hands of the…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezekiel · .Removes his belongings to il — .Removes his belongings to il
Prophets · Frequently in their actions, &c were made signs to the people — Frequently in their actions, &c were made signs to the people
Travellers · Preparations made by, alluded to — Preparations made by, alluded to
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Ezekiel 12:4
4. Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
4. Et effer vasa tanquam vasa captivitatis interdiu in oculis ipsorum: et tu egredieris vespere in oculis ipsorum secundum egressus captivitatis.
The other verses must now be added --
Keil & Delitzsch on Ezekiel 12:1-7
Symbol of the Emigration
Eze 12:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 12:2. Son of man, thou dwellest amidst the refractory generation, who have eyes to see, and see not; and have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a refractory generation. Eze 12:3. And thou, son of man, make thyself an outfit for exile, and depart by day before their eyes; and depart from thy place to another place before their eyes: perhaps they might see, for they are a refractory generation. Eze 12:4. And carry out thy things like an outfit for exile by day before their eyes; but do thou go out in the evening before their eyes, as when going out to exile. Eze 12:5. Before their eyes break through the w…
This section collects diverse prophecies and sign acts that are united in their condemnation of Jerusalem and its leaders.
12:1-2 The inhabitants of Judah were not the only ones who had stony, stubborn hearts that were reluctant to hear the prophet’s message (11:19). The exiles among whom Ezekiel lived were also rebellious people who would refuse to see that their ways were evil and decline to hear his message, just like those left behind in Judah.
Rashi on Ezekiel 12:4
like the departures of Heb. כְּמוֹצָאֵי, come issues, essues in Old French, [comme les issues in modern French] like the departures.
