a word · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
saying
לֵאמֹֽרle.Mor
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
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).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 20:45–end
We have here a prophecy of wrath against Judah and Jerusalem, which would more fitly have begun the next chapter than conclude this; for it has no dependence on what goes before, but that which follows in the beginning of the next chapter is the explication of it, when the people complained that this was a parable which they understood not. In this parable, 1. It is a forest that is prophesied against, the forest of the south field, Judah and Jerusalem. These lay south from Babylon, where Ezekiel now was, and therefore he is directed to set his face towards the south (Eze 20:46), to intimate to them that God had set his face against them, was displeased with them, and determined to destroy t…
An introductory brief description in enigma of the destruction by fire and sword, detailed more explicitly in Eze. 21:1-32.
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 20:43
And there shall ye remember your ways - Ye shall be ashamed of your past conduct, and of your long opposition to the Gospel of your salvation.
These promises may, in a certain limited sense, be applied to the restoration from the Babylonish captivity; but they must have their proper fulfillment when the Jews shall accept Jesus as their Savior, and in consequence be brought back from all their dispersions to their own land.
John Gill on Ezekiel 20:45
Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Or the word of prophecy, as the Targum. Here begins a new prophecy, and most properly a new chapter should here begin; for the next chapter is of the same argument with this, and an explanation of it, and an enlargement upon it. And here Ben Melech begins one; and so Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, and Castalio.
John Calvin on Ezekiel 20:44–end
Ezekiel 20:44
44. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
44. Et cognoscetis quod ego Iehovah, cum fecero vobiscum propter nomen meum, non secundum vias vestras malas, et secundum opera vestra corrupta, domus Israel, dicit Dominator Iehovah.
Here at length God pronounces that his glory would be chiefly conspicuous in the pity which he bestowed upon those who were desperate and abandoned, gratuitously and solely with respect to his own name. Hence Paul so specially celebrates; the grace of God in the first chapter of the epistle t…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 45 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field. And say to the forest of the south: Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. And I said, 'Ah, Lord GOD! They say of me, 'Does he not speak in parables?' LXX: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, set thy face towards Teman, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; and say to the forest of the south field: 'Hear the word of the LORD, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree.' The kindled flame will not be extinguished, and it will burn in it all faces from the south to the north: and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have kindled it: it will not be extinguished. And I said: By no means, O Lord, O Lord: they say to me: Is not this a parable? What does it mean to put or harden your face, we have explained more fully above. For the hardening of the face is necessary, and the hardness of the forehead, so that the Prophets may speak fearlessly what is commanded, especially when sad things are announced to the whole multitude of the people. But our translation expresses what they have said, that Nageb should be understood in Hebrew as the leader of the southern land or region, not Sare, as the LXX thought, which signifies the word leader and prince, but it is written Sade, which properly signifies land and region, and because of the similarity of the letters Daleth and Res, the error prevailed. But divine speech speaks in the metaphor of a leap against Jerusalem, which is the dwelling place of beasts and fierce men: that is, it sets it on fire, and all its trees are burned up. It does not call these trees, which were in need of fruit, but rather prepares them as if for a fire. And first it burns the green wood in it, secondly, that which we read in this same Prophet: 'And begin with my holy ones'; and afterwards the dry wood, which could not have any…
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
Prophecy · .Ezekiel — .Ezekiel
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).
The Burning Forest
Eze 20:45. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 20:46. Son of man, direct thy face toward the south, and trickle down towards the south, and prophesy concerning the forest of the field in the south land; Eze 20:47. And say to the forest of the south land, Hear the word of Jehovah; Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I kindle a fire in thee, which will consume in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the blazing flame will not be extinguished, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned thereby. Eze 20:48. And all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled it: it shall not be extinguished. Eze 20:49. And I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! they say of…
Like a parable, this prophecy both reveals and conceals its message, leading the people to complain that the prophet only talks in riddles (see Matt 13:10-17). It reveals the coming of an all-consuming judgment (a fire that will burn up every tree), but conceals who is being judged.
Rashi on Ezekiel 20:43
and you will quarrel Heb. וּנְקֹטֹתֶם, an expression of quarreling (קְטָטָה). Another explanation, following the Targum: וְתִּידַנְקוּן, and so does Jonathan render (9:4) הַנֶאֱנָחִים: “and those who groan,” demonir in Old French, to melt away.
