Ezekiel 20:46

Eze 20:46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop [thy word] toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

Ver. 46. Set thy face.] Prophesy freely and boldly against Jerusalem, which is south from Chaldea.

Against the forest.] Against Judea, which is mountainous and woody, having good and bad trees in it.

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.

20:46 turn and face the south (literally turn toward Teman): Teman was a town in Edom, southeast of Judah. • The Negev was southwest of the Dead Sea.

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

For Judah stood South from Babylon.

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

south . . . south . . . south--three different Hebrew words, to express the certainty of the divine displeasure resting on the region specified. The third term is from a root meaning "dry," referring to the sun's heat in the south; representing the burning judgments of God on the southern parts of Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital.

set thy face--determinately. The prophets used to turn themselves towards those who were to be the subjects of their prophecies.

drop--as the rain, which flows in a continuous stream, sometimes gently (Deu 32:2), sometimes violently (Amo 7:16; Mic 2:6, Margin), as here.

forest--the densely populated country of Judea; trees representing people.

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 46. Set thy face toward the south] Towards Judea, which lay south from Babylon, or Mesopotamia, where the prophet then dwelt.

The forest of the south field] The city of Jerusalem, as full of inhabitants as the forest is of trees.

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

46. the south] Though the reference is to Judah and Jerusalem (Eze_21:1-5), the term “south” hardly means the south of Palestine; rather the whole land of Palestine from the point of view of the prophet residing in the north. The “forest of the field” hardly refers to Lebanon, but belongs to the figure, which, however, Lebanon may have suggested (Eze_17:3; Jer_22:23). The “scorching” of all faces from north to south (Eze_20:47) is also part of the figure, though powerfully expressing the effect on all who behold the great judgments on Israel. There may be, however, a certain mixture of figures, those whose faces are scorched being no other than those who, regarded as trees, are consumed—viz. all flesh from the south to the north in Israel (Eze_21:3-4).

the south field] the field in the south, the land of Israel (Eze_21:3).

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.

And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it,.... Not only the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea should see the hand of the Lord in their destruction; but even all the neighbouring nations, the case was so clear and plain, the matter so visible:

it shall not be quenched; no stop put to it by all the art and power of man; so that it was a clear point that it was the Lord's doing.

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

Of the south. Jerusalem lay towards the south of Babylon, where the prophet then was, and is here called the forest of the south field, and is threatened with utter desolation. (Challoner) See chap. xxi. (Calmet) --- In Jerusalem there were good and bad. (Worthington)

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).

He was now in Babylon, north from Jerusalem, and being commanded to look toward the south, it is toward Jerusalem, and the land of Canaan.

Thy face; thy courage and undaunted mind, manifest in prophesying as thou art commissioned.

Drop; let thy word distil, begin with softer words ere thou shower down with the vehemency of a storm; prophesy so, Amo 7:16; Mic 2:6.

The forest of the south field, i.e. Jerusalem, which was become like a forest for multitude of inhabitants, for barrenness, wildness, degeneracy, and sheltering wild beasts; murderers lodged in her.

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

46. The south — Or, the south country. The land of Israel.

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

Drop thy word. The verb is used specially of prophetic utterances (Eze_21:2; Amo_7:6; Mic_2:6, Mic_2:11) and stands, therefore, in the Hebrew without an object. Toward the south. Three distinct words are used in the Hebrew for the thrice-repeated "south" of the Authorized Version.

(1) One which primarily means "the region on the right hand," sc. as a man looks to the east which Ezekiel also uses in; (Eze_47:19 Eze_48:28)

(2) the "shining land," used repeatedly in Eze 40 Eze 42. (Deu_33:23; Job_37:17; Ecc_1:6 Ecc_11:3) and

(3) the Negeb, the "dry" or "parched" land, the South (always in Revised Version with a capital letter), of Jos_15:21, and the historical books generally, the region lying to the south of Judah. The use of the three words where one might have sacrificed is, perhaps, characteristic of Ezekiel"s affluence of diction. The LXX treats all three as proper names, and transliterates them as Thaiman, Darom, and Nageb. Against this region and its inhabitants (they, of course, are the "trees") Ezekiel is directed to utter his words of judgment. The parenthesis in the last sentence gives the key to the prophet"s cypher writing. From Ezekiel"s standpoint on the Chebar, the whole of Judah is as the forest of the south. The "green tree," as in Psa_1:1, Psa_1:2, is the man who is relatively righteous; the "dry tree" is the sinner whose true life is withered; the "fire" the devastation wrought by the Chaldean invaders, as executing the Divine judgment. In our Lord"s words in Luk_23:31 we may probably find an echo of Ezekiel"s imagery.

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

The south - Look toward Jerusalem, and the land of Canaan. Drop thy word - Let thy word distil, begin with softer words, before thou shower down with the vehemency of a storm. The forest - Jerusalem, which was become like a forest.

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