| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, |
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| 2 'Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and thou hast said: |
Son of man – Ezekiel represented the Son of Man, and also the members of the Bride of Christ, every member of which is a watchman on the walls of Zion. R4881:5, 6[R4881:20]
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| 3 Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity [Are] of the land of the Canaanite, Thy father the Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. |
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| 4 As to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all. |
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| 5 No eye hath had pity on thee, to do to thee any of these, To have compassion on thee, And thou art cast on the face of the field, With loathing of thy person. In the day thou hast been born thou! |
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| 6 And I do pass over by thee, And I see thee trodden down in thy blood, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live, And I say to thee in thy blood, Live. |
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| 7 A myriad as the shoot of the field I have made thee, And thou art multiplied, and art great, And comest in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and thy hair hath grown And thou, naked and bare! |
Waxen great – Compare the description here given with that of the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. R802:3*
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| 8 And I pass over by thee, and I see thee, And lo, thy time [is] a time of loves, And I spread My skirt over thee, And I cover thy nakedness, And I swear to thee, and come in to a covenant with thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And thou dost become Mine. |
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| 9 And I do wash thee with water, And I wash away thy blood from off thee, And I anoint thee with perfume. |
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| 10 And I clothe thee with embroidery, And I shoe thee with badger's skin, And I gird thee with fine linen, And I cover thee with figured silk. |
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| 11 And I adorn thee with adornments, And I give bracelets for thy hands, And a chain for thy neck. |
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| 12 And I give a ring for thy nose, And rings for thine ears, And a crown of beauty on thy head. |
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| 13 And thou dost put on gold and silver, And thy clothing [is] fine linen, And figured silk and embroidery, Fine flour, and honey, and oil thou hast eaten, And thou art very very beautiful, And dost go prosperously to the kingdom. |
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| 14 And go forth doth thy name among nations, Because of thy beauty for it [is] complete, In My honour that I have set upon thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. |
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| 15 And thou dost trust in thy beauty, And goest a-whoring because of thy renown, And dost pour out thy whoredoms On every passer by to him it is. |
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| 16 And thou dost take of thy garments, And dost make to thee spotted high-places, And dost go a-whoring upon them, They are not coming in nor shall it be! |
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| 17 And thou dost take thy beauteous vessels Of My gold and My silver that I gave to thee, And dost make to thee images of a male, And dost go a-whoring with them, |
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| 18 And dost take the garments of thy embroidery, And thou dost cover them, And My oil and My perfume thou hast set before them. |
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| 19 And My bread, that I gave to thee, Fine flour, and oil, and honey, that I caused thee to eat. Thou hast even set it before them, For a sweet fragrance thus it is, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. |
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| 20 And thou dost take thy sons and thy daughters Whom thou hast born to Me, And dost sacrifice them to them for food. Is it a little thing because of thy whoredoms, |
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| 21 That thou dost slaughter My sons, And dost give them up in causing them to pass over to them |
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| 22 And with all thine abominations and thy whoredoms, Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, When thou wast naked and bare, Trodden down in thy blood thou wast! |
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| 23 And it cometh to pass, after all thy wickedness, (Wo, wo, to thee an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah), |
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| 24 That thou dost build to thee an arch, And dost make to thee a high place in every broad place. |
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| 25 At every head of the way thou hast built thy high place, And thou dost make thy beauty abominable, And dost open wide thy feet to every passer by, And dost multiply thy whoredoms, |
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| 26 And dost go a-whoring unto sons of Egypt, Thy neighbours great of appetite! And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms, To provoke Me to anger. |
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| 27 And lo, I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I diminish thy portion, And give thee to the desire of those hating thee, The daughters of the Philistines, Who are ashamed of thy wicked way. |
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| 28 And thou goest a-whoring unto sons of Asshur, Without thy being satisfied, And thou dost go a-whoring with them, And also thou hast not been satisfied. |
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| 29 And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms On the land of Canaan toward Chaldea, And even with this thou hast not been satisfied. |
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| 30 How weak [is] thy heart, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, In thy doing all these, The work of a domineering whorish woman. |
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| 31 In thy building thine arch at the head of every way, Thy high place thou hast made in every broad place, And hast not been as a whore deriding a gift. |
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| 32 The wife who committeth adultery Under her husband doth receive strangers. |
Her husband – Here the word "husband" means caretaker, referring to a union or covenant between Jehovah and Israel. R1388:6[R1388]
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| 33 To all whores they give a gift, And thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, And dost bribe them to come in unto thee, From round about in thy whoredoms. |
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| 34 And the contrary is in thee from women in thy whoredoms, That after thee none doth go a-whoring; And in thy giving a gift, And a gift hath not been given to thee; And thou art become contrary. |
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| 35 Therefore, O whore, hear a word of Jehovah, |
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| 36 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy brass being poured forth, And thy nakedness is revealed in thy whoredoms near thy lovers, And near all the idols of thy abominations, And according to the blood of thy sons, Whom thou hast given to them; |
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| 37 Therefore, lo, I am assembling all thy lovers, To whom thou hast been sweet, And all whom thou hast loved, Besides all whom thou hast hated; And I have assembled them by thee round about, And have revealed thy nakedness to them, And they have seen all thy nakedness. |
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| 38 And I have judged thee judgments of adultresses, And of women shedding blood, And have given thee blood, fury, and jealousy. |
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| 39 And I have given thee into their hand, And they have thrown down thine arch, And they have broken down thy high places, And they have stript thee of thy garments, And they have taken thy beauteous vessels, And they have left thee naked and bare. |
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| 40 And have caused an assembly to come up against thee, And stoned thee with stones, And thrust thee through with their swords, |
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| 41 And burnt thy houses with fire, And done in thee judgments before the eyes of many women, And I have caused thee to cease from going a-whoring, And also a gift thou givest no more. |
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| 42 And I have caused My fury against thee to rest, And My jealousy hath turned aside from thee, And I have been quiet, and I am not angry any more. |
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| 43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, And dost give trouble to Me in all these, Lo, even I also thy way at first gave up, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I did not this thought for all thine abominations. |
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| 44 Lo, every one using a simile, Doth use a simile concerning thee, saying: As the mother her daughter! |
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| 45 Thy mother's daughter thou [art], Loathing her husband and her sons, And thy sisters' sister thou [art], Who loathed their husbands and their sons, Your mother [is] a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. |
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| 46 And thine elder sister [is] Samaria, she and her daughters, Who is dwelling at thy left hand, And thy younger sister, who is dwelling on thy right hand, [is] Sodom and her daughters. |
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| 47 And in their ways thou hast not walked, And according to their abominations done, As a little thing it hath been loathed, And thou dost more corruptly than they in all thy ways. |
Corrupted more than they – "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment" than for Capernaum. (Matt. 11:23) HG149:6[HG149]
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| 48 I live an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done she and her daughters As thou hast done thou and thy daughters. |
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| 49 Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened. |
Sodom – The Sodomites possessed a very rich valley, making hard work unnecessary, which induced much idleness. PD24/35[PD24]
Sin there reached the enormity referred to by Paul in Rom. 1:18-32. R1617:6[R1617]
Pride – Prosperity develops pride, instead of gratitude to God and a realization of increased responsibility as a steward. Pride begets misrule, arrogance, injustice and tyranny. R2306:1[R2306]
Fulness of bread – Abundance of idleness is disastrous, making the downward course more rapid. SM157:1[SM157]; PD24/35[PD24]
Neglecting the poor and the needy. R3948:4[R3948]
Some modern instances: jewels worth $1,000,000 on one costume, $50,000 for two vases, $350,000 for a horse, $50,000 for a coffin, $5,000 for burying a dog, $50,000 for a single entertainment. D294[D294]
Such displays of luxury and extravagance will surely excite the envy and hatred of the poor against the wealthy. R2105:3[R2105]; D295[D295]
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| 50 And they are haughty and do abomination before Me, And I turn them aside when I have seen. |
Took them away – Not to eternal torment, but from present life with its privileges and advantages. R1617:6
The death of the Sodomites was merely the Adamic Death hastened, not the Second Death. OV43:2
Temporarily destroyed by fire as an example of the absolute annihilation which will ultimately come upon all wilful sinners, the Second Death. R4599:5, R5083:5
All human right in the earth was abrogated by the death sentence upon the sinner. R5335:6
As I saw good – Good, because it made an example of them for those who should afterward live ungodly. R1779:2, R1270:4
As with the Canaanites, their further continuance would be neither for their good nor for the Lord's glory. R5335:6
In all these things God had a wise purpose; and in his own time he will make that purpose manifest to all, as he even now makes it manifest to the saints. R675:5
If death ends all probation, why did God see good to take this people away without giving them a chance of salvation through "the only name?" R259:2; A111
Because it was not yet their due time. In "due time" they will be awakened from death, come to a knowledge of the truth, and have a full opportunity for life everlasting. A111; R5083:5, R1779:2, R1270:5, R545:5, R259:2; PD24/35
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| 51 As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done. |
Samaria – God here speaks of Israel and compares her with her neighbor Samaria. R259:2
Half of thy sins – The chastisement and discipline necessary to Sodom's and Samaria's restoration to righteousness will be less severe than for some who are of the natural lineage of Abraham. R1374:2, R5363:5
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| 52 Thou also bear thy shame, That thou hast adjudged to thy sisters, Because of thy sins that thou hast done more abominably than they, They are more righteous than thou, And thou, also, be ashamed and bear thy shame, In thy justifying thy sisters. |
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| 53 And I have turned back [to] their captivity, The captivity of Sodom and her daughters, And the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, And the captivity of thy captives in their midst, |
When I shall – Under the New covenant, under Messiah's Kingdom. PD24/35
Bring again – The Sodomites will be raised from death and brought to a knowledge of God. R5179:6, R4881:3
The Sodomites could not have had their judgment yet--their second judgment. Like the rest of us, they suffered in the first judgment which came upon Father Adam. HG223:2[HG223]
Future probation is a doctrine of the Bible. R477:1*
Their captivity – In death, all are captives. R7:6, R259:3[R259], R545:6[R545], R236:1; A112[A112]
Captivity of Sodom – "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust." (Acts 24:15) R351:1*
In selecting so extreme an example of clemency, our Lord evidently intended that we should see that the sacrifice which he gave was unquestionably "a ransom for all." HG336:3
Since Jesus says they were all destroyed (Luke 17:29), this must be by a restor R413:2
In the midst – Sodom, Samaria and Israel will all be raised together. R8:1
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| 54 So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them. |
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| 55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Do turn back to their former state, And Samaria and her daughters Do turn back to their former state, And thou and thy daughters do turn back to your former state. |
Thy sisters – The Lord will humble their pride by restoring peoples whom Israel detested as inferiors and sinners. SM211:2[SM211]
Shall return – Even the Sodomites who are held up, all through the Bible, as examples of wickedness, and "as suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7), are to share in the restitution. HG17:3[HG17]; HG14:5[HG14]
Their former estate – To open the prison doors of the grave--restitution. R8:1[R8], R259:3[R259], R4881:3[R4881]; A112[A112]
The Sodomites will be sharers in that restitution. R4594:4[R4594]
Not to judgment merely, and then to heaven or hell. HG39:5[HG39]
Of human perfection--to all who will receive Christ and obey him. R1718:4[R1718], R3452:5[R3452]
Your former estate – Their former estate is as much beneath the Kingdom, which flesh and blood cannot inherit, as our present position is beneath that of the angel Gabriel. HG36:5[HG36]
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| 56 And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy, |
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| 57 Before thy wickedness is revealed, As [at] the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram, And of all her neighbours, the daughters of the Philistines, Who are despising thee round about. |
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| 58 Thy devices and thine abominations, Thou hast borne them, an affirmation of Jehovah. |
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| 59 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have dealt with thee as thou hast done, In that thou hast despised an oath to break covenant. |
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| 60 And I I have remembered My covenant with thee, In the days of thy youth, And I have established for thee a covenant age-during. |
Remember my covenant – "For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance." (Rom. 11:29) R8:1, R259:3
I will – Showing that the Lord was not speaking ironically to the Jews. (Matt. 11:23) He was not saying that hebut had no intention of restoring either. OV227:6; HG346:1
Establish unto thee – The Lord's dealings with other nations will be through natural Israel. R4464:5; CR59:5; PD24/35
Everlasting covenant – The Lord will restore Sodom, Samaria and Israel, and establish his covenant with them through Messiah in the Millennial Age. R4599:5
As the old Law covenant was with Israel only, so the New (Law) covenant will be with Israel only. Other nations will share it by becoming Israelites. R4321:1
Jesus is the Mediator of the New (Law) covenant, under which he will establish his Mediatorial Kingdom for the blessing of Israel and the world. R4476:1
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| 61 And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant. |
Shalt remember – Raised with the same nature and personality and able to recall their former degraded condition. R360:5, R604:3*
Be ashamed – "They shall look upon him whom they pierced and mourn." (Zech. 12:10) R517:1*
If our ways are not right, they should be amended and not justified by saying, "It is my way." R705:3
Christ will set men's sins in order before them, and they must freely confess their sins and bear their shame. R1646:4
Shalt receive – The Lord's dealings with other nations will be through natural Israel. F4464:5
Thy sisters – Sodom and Samaria, representing other nations of the world. R4464:5
I will – God is not here speaking ironically, as some suggest. R259:3
Give them unto thee – The Lord clearly indicates that his dealings with outside nations will be through natural Israel. CR59:5
For daughters – The nations are to be instructed and blessed under the New covenant by becoming "daughters" to Israel. R4464:6, R4371:3, R4575:4, R130:5
"Thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters to be nursed at thy side." (Isa. 60:4) D638
Other nations will become Israelites, "proselytes of the gate," not under the Old, but under the New covenant. R4321:1
They will enjoy, as "daughters of Judah," the highest degree of happiness they are capable of appreciating. HG27:4
That she may instruct them and bring them into harmony with God's plans. R447:4*, R659:4*
Not by thy covenant – Not by the Law covenant, but by the New covenant. R4464:6, R4371:3, R4575:4, R236:1; CR59:5; SM212:T, Q622:1
Israel's Old covenant will cover them until they are brought under the new Mediator of the New covenant. Q134:2
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| 62 And I I have established My covenant with thee, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah. |
I will establish – The Jews are to be the first to experience restitution favor. OV120:5
My covenant – The New Law covenant. SM212:T, CR59:5; R4354:6, R4575:4
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| 63 So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!' |
That – In order that. SM212:T
Confounded – Ashamed. R4881:4
Open thy mouth – In boasting or complaint. R4881:4
Pacified – In the redemption accomplished by our Lord. R4881:4
"And so all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:26) OV228:1
The promised restitution is not based on the merits of Israel, the Samaritans or the Sodomites. R259:4, R546:1
That thou hast done – Which he declares to be worse than Sodom had done (see verses 47 and 48). R1618:1
Saith the Lord GOD – When God signs his name to a statement this way we must believe it. R259:4, R8:1, R546:1
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