Ezekiel 2:10

Eze 2:10 And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Ver. 10. And he spread it before me.] Till Christ unfold heavenly mysteries, men understand them not. {Rev 5:5 Mat 11:27 1Jn 1:8-9; 1Jn 5:15} He is the excellent interpreter.

And it was written within and without.] To show abundance of miseries coming on the Jews and others.

Lamentation, and mourning, and woe.] Foretold all along this volume till chapter 40; sad songs, doleful ditties. הזה, gemitus sicut columbae moaning like doves. {Isa 38:14}

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.

He showeth what were the contents of this book: to wit, God’s judgments against the wicked.

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

within and without--on the face and the back. Usually the parchment was written only on its inside when rolled up; but so full was God's message of impending woes that it was written also on the back.

Next: Ezekiel Chapter 3

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 10. It was written within and without] Contrary to the state of rolls in general, which are written on the inside only. The Hebrew rolls are generally written in this way. There are several of such Hebrew rolls before me, all written on the inside only, consisting of skins of vellum, or parchment, or basil, a sort of half-tanned sheep or goat skin, sewed together, extending to several yards in length. Other Asiatic books were written in the same way. A Sanscrit roll of sixty feet in length, also before me, is written all on the inside; and a Koran, written in exceedingly small characters, about two inches broad and twelve feet long, and weighing but about half an ounce. But the roll presented to the prophet was written on both sides, because the prophecy was long, and to the same effect; that they might see the mind of God wherever they looked.

There was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and wo.] What an awful assemblage! קינים והגה והי kinim, vahegeh, vehi, lamentations, and a groan, and alas! Lamentations on all hands; a groan from the dying; and alas, or Wo is me! from the survivors. It was the letter that killeth, and is the ministration of death. What a mercy to have that which is emphatically called Το Ευαγγελιον, The glad tidings, the good news! Christ Jesus is come into the world to save sinners; and he wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Here are rejoicings, thanksgivings, and exultation.

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

He adds, after the volume was unrolled, that he saw it written on each side: by which words he understands not that any brief command was given to him, but that a length of much time was imposed. For if he had only spoken concerning the roll, the Jews might have contemptuously rejected him after three or four days, as if he had come to an ends” A roll was indeed offered to thee, but now thou hast spoken three or four times, is not this sufficient?” Hence, as the Prophet might meet with neglect, he says, the roll was written before and behind He now says, for such was his argument, that lamentations only were written there הגה, hegeh, signifies sometimes meditation and speech simply, but here, because it is connected with lamentations, there is no doubt that it is to be taken for a mournful strain. At length the particle הי, hei, is added in the sense of grieving. On the whole then, the Prophet teaches, that the instruction contained in the book was not sweet or pleasant, but full of sorrow, since truly God here showed proofs of his anger, and this cannot be apprehended unless by its causing grief and lamentations. Now, therefore, we understand that the Israelites were more and more exasperated, when the Prophet said, that he came like a herald who denounced war in the name of God, and, at the same time, had no message of peace. As to the rest of the people, we shall see afterwards, in many places, that he was a messenger of God’s mercy, but his duty was to rouse up the Jews, that they might feel God their adversary: thus the Prophet was sent with no other object than that of going, as an armed man, into the midst,, and uttering threats in the name of God. I cannot now proceed further, although what follows is connected with this subject.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(10) He spread it before me.—The roll was given to the prophet open, as the book in Rev_10:8, that he might first see it all as a whole, before becoming thoroughly possessed with it in detail. What he saw was “lamentations, and mourning, and woe;” in other words, this was the whole character of the message he was commissioned to bear until the great judgment in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple should be fulfilled, when, after Ezekiel 33, his prophecies assume a consolatory character. (See Introduction, VI)

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

And he spread it before me,.... Unrolled it, that what was written in it might he seen and read; that so, understanding it, he might deliver the contents of it to the people: thus the Gospel, and the mysteries of it, must be explained by Christ to his ministers; and their understandings must be opened before they will be capable of making them known to others: and

it was written within and without; on the back, of the vellum or parchment as well as inside; and such writings were called "opisthographa"; of this kind was the book John saw Rev 5:1. It was usual only to write on the inside; but when they had a great deal to write, then they wrote on the backside also (d); so that this roll being thus written denotes the largeness and abundance of the prophecies contained in this book; some respecting the Jews, and others the nations of the world. The Targum is,

"it was written before and behind, what was from the beginning, and what shall be in the end:''

and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe; afflictions, chastisements, and punishments, that should be inflicted upon the Jews, and other nations of the world; which, when made known to them, and especially when inflicted on them, would occasion sorrow and distress among them. In the Talmud, "lamentations" are interpreted of the punishments of the righteous in this world; "mourning" of the gift of reward to the righteous in the world to come; and "woe" of the punishments of the wicked in the world to come (e). The Targum is,

"if the house of Israel transgress the law, the people shall rule over them; but, if they keep the law, lamentation, and mourning, and sorrow, shall cease from them.''

(d) "----Aut summi plena tam margine libri Scriptus, et in tergo, nec dum finitus Orestes". Juvenal. Satyr. 1. (e) T. Bab. Erubin, fol. 21. 1.

Next: Ezekiel Chapter 3

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

He: Eze 2:9 it was the hand, here it is the person, he who held out his hand.

Spread it before me; unrolled it within that distance the prophet might read what was written therein.

Written within and without; on both sides, on that side which was inward when rolled upon its roundle, and on that side also that was outward, and as it were the back side: a long roll, and full on both sides; so would the sorrows of the Jews be.

Lamentations, and mourning, and woe; such things as would make the stoutest heart lament, inwardly grieve; and mourn, express it in visible tokens; and woe, sad thoughts and guesses at worse to come: so this prophet’s message would be a most heavy burden to the Jews and other nations against which he prophesied.

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

It was written within and without. Commonly such rolls, whether of vellum or papyrus, were written on one side only. This, like the tables of stone, (Exo_32:15) was written, as a symbol of the fulness of its message, on both sides. And as he looked at the roll thus "spread before" him, he saw that it was no evangel, no glad tidings, that he had thus to identify with his work, but one from first to last of lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Jeremiah had been known as the prophet of weeping, and was about this time (probably a little later) writing his own Lamentations (the Hebrew title of the book, however, is simply its first words) over the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel"s work was to be of a like nature. The word meets us again (Eze_19:1, 14 26:17 27:2, 32 28:12 32:2, 16) as the keynote of his writings. Out of such a book, though the glad tidings were to come afterwards, his own prophetic work was to be evolved.

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

And - The person, who held out his hand. Spread - Unrolled it. Within &c. - On both sides, on that side which was inward when rolled, and on that side also that was outward.

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

Eze 2:9-10; Eze 3:1-14. Compare the roll here with Zec 5:1-4; with the one of Rev 5:1-14, which the Lamb receives and opens, and the little roll in Rev 10:9-10. These rolls have the same meaning, namely, the Word itself, the message of tribulation and judgment, which is written therein.

The Word must be received and eaten, that is the spiritual lesson. Ezekiel obeyed. It was self surrender and though the message was a hard message, yet it was sweet unto him. Compare with Jer 15:16. Ezekiel was to speak the words of the Lord unto them; and the sender predicts failure. “The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee, for they will not hearken unto Me.” It was to make no difference to the prophet. His commission was to speak Jehovah’s words. Then cherubim and wheels are in motion. He is lifted up and Jehovah’s hand is strong upon him.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

before and behind That which existed from the beginning and that which is destined to be in the end.

lamentations The retribution of the righteous in this world.

and murmuring Heb. וָהֶגֶה. The gift of their reward, over which they will sing in the future.

and woe The woe of the wicked in the world to come.

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.