Ezekiel 11:15

Eze 11:15 Son of man, thy brethren, [even] thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, [are] they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.

Ver. 15. Thy brethren, even thy brethren,] i.e., Thine unbrotherly brethren of Jerusalem seek to unbrother and to unchurch thee and the rest of thy fellow captives. See Isa 65:5. Papists and sectaries deal so by us.

The men of thy kindred.] Viri vindiciarum tuarum, or they that have the right of redemption.

And all the house of Israel.] Tota domus Israelis, quanta quanta est. The Jerusalemites challenged the Lord, and the land, and all therein, to be theirs, excluding, and as it were excommunicating, the captives at Babylon, who were dear to God. So dealt the scribes and Pharisees by the Christians; {Joh 16:2 Act 26:9-11} so did the Rogatian heretics and the Donatists, who gave themselves out, as now the Papists do, to be the only Catholics. The Arians called the orthodox, by way of scorn and contempt, Ambrosians, Athanasians, Homousians, &c.

Get ye far from the Lord.] Gressus removete, profani: Ita in malam crucem: εις κορακας. Ye are cut off from the people of God, and may go whither you will; we are heirs and owners of the promises, ye are outcasts and abjects.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:15-16 Those who remained in the land regarded the exiles as far away from the Lord, with no one to protect their interests in their family land holdings. Relatives (literally men of your redemption) would normally have redeemed Ezekiel’s family property if he fell into debt or other trouble. Since the exiles had been transported as family groups, there was no one left in Judah to guard their inherited properties. • he has given their land to us! Those remaining in the land considered the exiles to be under God’s judgment and their ancestral lands to have been forfeited. The very opposite was true. The future of Israel lay with the far-off exiles, as the Lord had gone into exile with them and would be a sanctuary to them during their time in exile (see 11:22-23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They that remained still at Jerusalem thus reproached them that were gone into captivity, as though they were cast off and forsaken of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

thy brethren . . . brethren--The repetition implies, "Thy real brethren" are no longer the priests at Jerusalem with whom thou art connected by the natural ties of blood and common temple service, but thy fellow exiles on the Chebar, and the house of Israel whosoever of them belong to the remnant to be spared.

men of thy kindred--literally, "of thy redemption," that is, the nearest relatives, whose duty it was to do the part of Goel, or vindicator and redeemer of a forfeited inheritance (Lev 25:25). Ezekiel, seeing the priesthood doomed to destruction, as a priest, felt anxious to vindicate their cause, as if they were his nearest kinsmen and he their Goel. But he is told to look for his true kinsmen in those, his fellow exiles, whom his natural kinsmen at Jerusalem despised, and he is to be their vindicator. Spiritual ties, as in the case of Levi (Deu 33:9), the type of Messiah (Mat 12:47-50) are to supersede natural ones where the two clash. The hope of better days was to rise from the despised exiles. The gospel principle is shadowed forth here, that the despised of men are often the chosen of God and the highly esteemed among men are often an abomination before Him (Luk 16:15; Co1 1:26-28). "No door of hope but in the valley of Achor" ("trouble," Hos 2:15), [FAIRBAIRN].

Get you far . . . unto us is this land--the contemptuous words of those left still in the city at the carrying away of Jeconiah to the exiles, "However far ye be outcasts from the Lord and His temple, we are secure in our possession of the land."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Get you far from the Lord] These are the words of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, against those of Israel who had been carried away to Babylon with Jeconiah. Go ye far from the Lord: but as for us, the land of Israel is given to us for a possession, we shall never be removed from it, and they shall never return to it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) Thy brethren—i.e., those who were with Ezekiel in the Captivity. The expression is made emphatic by repetition, and by the addition, “men of thy kindred.” The people remaining in Jerusalem, with arrogant confidence in themselves, and without sympathy for the exiles, had said to them, by words and by deeds, “We are holier than you; we dwell in the chosen city, we have the Temple, the appointed priesthood and sacrifices, and we have in possession the land of the Church of God; you are outcasts.” The prophet is taught that these despised exiles, deprived of so many privileges, are yet his true brethren, and that he is to regard these as his true kindred rather than the corrupt priests at Jerusalem. In this word there is an allusion to the office of Göel, the next of kin, whose duty it was in every way to assist his impoverished or unfortunate kinsman. Still further, these exiles are called “all the house of Israel wholly; “the others, not these, are cast out, and God will make His people from those who are now undergoing His purifying chastisement. This contrast is carried out in the following verses.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. the men of thy kindred] Lit. the men of thy redemption. This could only mean, the men to be redeemed, or delivered, by thy intercession—the men for whom thou shouldst pray. Such a sense is difficult to draw from the words. In usage the term has not the meaning of “kindred.” Probably the word should be so read as to mean “exile”—the men of thy exile, i.e. thy fellow captives.

are they unto whom] It is better to regard the first words in the verse down to “wholly” as exclamations: “thy brethren, thy brethren, thy fellow exiles, and all the house of Israel, all of it! they unto whom …” The sentence is not strictly grammatical, but the exclamations give an answer to the prophet’s anxious question, “wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” (Eze_11:13). The destruction of them of Jerusalem is no full end; the fellow-exiles of the prophet and all the house of Israel scattered abroad (ch. Eze_4:4, Eze_36:16) remain. The second half of the verse is loosely attached to the first—they to whom, &c.

Get ye far from the Lord] A slight alteration in a point would give the sense: of whom … have said (say), They are far from the Lord. The change is hardly necessary. Those left were in possession of the temple, the abode of Jehovah, and had the assurance of his presence, in which those gone forth had no part, for to go into a foreign land was to come under the dominion of other gods, according to the words of David, “For they have driven me out this day from having part in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods” (1Sa_26:19, cf. Deu_4:28; Deu_28:36; Deu_28:64; Jer_16:13; Hos_9:3). See ch. Eze_8:12, Eze_9:9, for the expression of a different mood of feeling.

is this land given] is the land. Comp. the expression of similar pretensions, ch. Eze_33:24.

16 seq. Answer of Jehovah. It is true he has scattered the exiles among the nations; but he will again gather them.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred,.... Or, "of thy redemption" (l); to whom the right of redemption of his lands and possessions belonged, as it did to those that were next akin. The Septuagint, by a mistake of the word, render it, "the men of thy captivity"; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions, following them. It is true those were his fellow captives who are here meant; some of them that were carried captive were his brethren by blood, and all by nation and religion; and these phrases, and the repetition, of them, are designed not only to excite the prophet's attention to, and to assure them of what is after declared; but to take off his concern for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who had used his brethren ill, and to turn his thoughts and affections towards his friends in Chaldea. Kimchi thinks that these three expressions refer to three captivities; the captivity of the children of Gad and Reuben; the captivity of Samaria, or the ten tribes; and the captivity of Jehoiachin. It follows,

and all the house of Israel wholly are they; or,

"all the house of Israel, all of them,''

as the Targum; that is, all the whole house of Israel. The Septuagint render it, "all the house of Israel is made an end of"; the Syriac version, "shall be blotted out"; and the Arabic version, "shall be cut off"; all wrong; since these words are not a threatening to the ten tribes, or those of the Jews in captivity, for all that follows is in favour of them; but only point at the persons the prophet is turned unto, and who are the subject of the following discourse. A colon, or at least a semicolon, should be here put; since the accent "athnach" is upon the last word;

unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, get ye far from the Lord; Kimchi interprets it, from the land of the Lord, the holy land; they being carried captive into a foreign country. The Targum is,

"from the fear of the Lord;''

the worship of the Lord; they being at a distance from the temple, and the service of it. These words are an insult of the inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the captives, suggesting that they were great sinners, and for their sins were taken away from their own land, and carried to Babylon; and that they deserved to be excommunicated from the house and people of God, and were so; and indeed this is a kind of a form of excommunication of them:

unto us is this land given in possession; you have forfeited your right to it, and are disinherited; we are sole heirs, and in the possession of it, and shall ever continue in it. The Syriac version reads this and the preceding clause as if they were the word of the Israelites to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, thus;

"because they said to them, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, depart from the Lord, for unto us is given this land for an inheritance.''

The Arabic version indeed makes them to be the words of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but render the last clause thus; "to you" (that is, "the Israelites") "is given the land for an inheritance".

(l) "viri redemptionis tua", Montanus, Heb. "viri redempturae tuae", Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thy kindred - The original word is derived from a root, suggesting the ideas of “redeeming” and “avenging” as connected with the bond of “kindred.” The word, therefore, conveys here a special reproach to the proud Jews, who have been so ready to cast off the claims of blood-relationship, and at the same time a hope of restoration to those who have been rudely thrown aside.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thy brethren, &c. He speaks of them that had been carried away captives before, who were despised by them that remained in Jerusalem; but, as the prophet here declares to them from God, should be in a more happy condition than they, and after some time return from their captivity. (Challoner) --- David had been insulted in like manner, 1 Kings xxvi. 19. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Son of man: see Eze 2:1.

Thy brethren; thy nearest kindred, which it seems were left in Jerusalem, and were grown as bad as the rest, though theirs were of a priestly lineage. Their degeneracy and unjust censure is more noted in the repetition of the word brethren.

Of thy kindred; of the same parentage, to whom thou hadst right of redemption, if either their person or estate was to be sold; men who should have been as tender in affection as they were near in blood.

All the house of Israel; all that are now in captivity, be they more or less, of whatsoever condition and rank, these are the men of whom the Jerusalemites speak.

Have said; that is, censure and condemn as greatest sinners, and unworthy longer to dwell in the holy land, and tacitly infer that they were better, and should be safer now they were rid of them.

Get you far from the Lord; ye, or they, are gone far from the Lord; you are apostates, or irreligious, a company of backsliders: much as the heathens accused the Christians of atheism.

Unto us; who keep to the temple and holy city, and have not yielded to the Babylonish tyranny, who stand for our ancient privileges, are not, as you, betrayers of our country: thus you may suppose they boast.

This land; promised, holy, blest land, Canaan, where our fathers dwelt. This land is ours.

Given in possession; we shall never be put out of possession, but still it shall be our inheritance.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. The men of thy kindred, etc. — The verse is very difficult, but should probably be translated: “Son of man, [behold] thy brethren! thy brethren, then, men of thy redemption and the whole house of Israel, the whole of it, even they, of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, They are from the Lord: unto us is the land given in possession.” The word “kindred” is literally “redemption,” and the “men of thy redemption” would mean the men who could be delivered by his intercessory prayers. The LXX. and the Peshito give, however, another reading, “the men of thy captivity;” that is, fellow-exiles. Jehovah, in his answer to Ezekiel’s cry of protest against making a full end of the house of Israel, assures the prophet that even if all the population of Jerusalem is destroyed, there will still be a “remnant” left. The real house of Israel can no longer be found in the holy city. The Jerusalemites boast that they are the true Israel, since they have the temple and the Lord of the temple with them (Eze_33:24), but the fact is that the Lord of the temple has gone with the captives into Babylon and will himself be to them both Lord and sanctuary.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The men of thy kindred, etc. The full force of the phrase can hardly be understood without remembering that the word for "kindred" implies the function and office of a goel, the redeemer and avenger of those among his relations who had suffered wrong (Lev_25:25, Lev_25:48; Num_5:8) and the point of the revelation is that Ezekiel is to find those who have this claim on him, his true "brethren," not only or chiefly in his natural relations in the priesthood, but in the companions of his exile (the LXX, following a different reading, gives, "the men of the Captivity"), and the whole house of Israel, who were in a like position, who were condemned by those who had been left in Jerusalem. As in Jeremiah"s vision, (Jer_24:1) they were the "good figs;" those in the city, the vile and worthless. They were the remnant, the residue, for whom there was a hope of better things. They were despised as far off from the Lord. They were really nearer to his presence than those who worshipped in the temple from which Jehovah had departed. Ewald and Smend take the words as indicative: "Ye are far," etc.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thy brethren -- thy nearest kindred, which it seems were left in Jerusalem. Their degeneracy is more noted in the repetition of the word brethren. Gone far - Ye are gone far from the Lord; as much as the Heathens accused the Christians of atheism.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Your brethren, your brethren The exile of Samaria and the exile of Jeconiah.

and the entire house of Israel who have gone into exile.

to whom...said About whom theythe dwellers of Jerusalem who have not been exiled with Jeconiah, over whom Nebuchadnezzar enthroned Zedekiahsaid. Now they ridicule their brethren who have been exiled, and say about them, “They have distanced themselves from the Lord.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.