Ezekiel 23:24

Eze 23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, [which] shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

Ver. 24. I will set judgment before them,] i.e., I will put thee into their hands to be punished.

And they shall judge thee according to their judgment.] Without mixture of mercy; whereas I use in the midst of judgment to remember mercy.

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.

Or, laws.

Hebrew, I will give judgment before them.

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

with chariots--or, "with armaments"; so the Septuagint; "axes" [MAURER]; or, joining it with "wagons," translate, "with scythe-armed wagons," or "chariots" [GROTIUS].

weels--The unusual height of these increased their formidable appearance (Eze 1:16-20).

their judgments--which awarded barbarously severe punishments (Jer 52:9; Jer 29:22).

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

(24) With chariots, wagons, and wheels.—The word translated “chariots” occurs only here, and is thought to mean some weapon of war. It would be better to translate, with weapons, chariots, and wheels. The clause “I will set judgment before them,” is equivalent to I will entrust to them the judgment upon thee.

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

24. with chariots] The term is entirely unknown; LXX. from the north. Boettcher suggested the word “multitude” (Eze_26:10), a sense which Frd. Del. (Baer, Ez. p. xi.) thinks can be reached through the Assyr., the present word remaining unchanged. For people peoples.

set judgment] i.e. commit it unto them, Deu_11:26; 1Ki_8:46.

according to their judgments] lit. with their judgments, which are cruel and savage, Eze_23:25.

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 they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels,.... With "chariots", in which were their princes and great men, their chief commanders, generals, and captains, and in which they fought, as was usual in those times; and with "wagons", to carry their provisions and warlike stores; and with "wheels", that is, either with chariots and wagons that ran upon wheels, or with wheels for them in case they should break down; the first of these words here, according to some Jewish interpreters, as Donesh in Jarchi, signifies warlike instruments in general; and the second word is used for chariots: and so the whole is paraphrased by the Targum,

"and they shall come against thee with instruments of war, with chariots and wheels;''

all which denotes how well prepared they should be, and with what swiftness they would come:

and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler, and shield, and helmet, round about; a multitude of people, a vast army gathered out of all the provinces of Babylon, having bucklers and shields about their bodies, and helmets on their heads to protect and defend them; and these should surround the city of Jerusalem. So the Targum,

"an army of people, armed with shields and helmets, shall set themselves against thee round about:''

and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments; that is, I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall judge and condemn you; not according to my laws and yours, but according to their own laws, according to the customs and usages among them, according to the law of nations; they shall deal with you as rebels and covenant breakers, such Zedekiah was; he broke covenant with the king of Babylon, and rebelled against him: and this was fulfilled when he fell into his hands, and when he slew his children before his face, and then put out his eyes.

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

With chariots ... - Better “with armor, horsemen, and chariot.”

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

Judgments, at Reblatha, 4 Kings xxv. 6.

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).

They, mentioned before, Eze 23:23,

shall come against thee, or upon thee, surprise thee with a speedy march, for they were swift in their course.

With chariots; the Hebrew is of larger sense, and more properly speaks all kind of arms for the war, a thorough furniture; so the Chaldee paraphrase, with instruments of war, or arms.

Wagons, Heb. chariots, and is oftener so rendered; for expedition, for ease of their commanders on their march, and for strength against the enemy in the battle.

Wheels; whether distinct from all other, or whether prepared lest in their march the carriage wheels should break, and they be at a stand, therefore beforehand store of these were provided.

An assembly; a mighty confluence of people, and a mixture, where the worst and cruellest are the most numerous.

Which shall set against thee buckler, and shield, and helmet; yet for their own defence well armed, and with armature fitted to defeat the arrows and offensive weapons of their enemy, and to maintain a siege, such as they should weary Jerusalem with.

I will set judgment before them; give them a power by their victory, and in right of conquest over their rebels, as well as mine; and I will give them a spirit of judgment to discern the greatness of this people’s sins.

They shall judge thee; plead with thee, convince, condemn, and execute sentence upon thee.

According to their judgments; to their will, power, wrath, and custom against rebels, for these are their rules of judgment; all which appeared when the chief of all the people were condemned to slavery, the wise counsellors and valiant commanders sentenced to die, Zedekiah’s children slain, his own eyes put out, and city and temple to be burnt.

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

24. Chariots, wagons, and wheels, and… people — R.V., “weapons, chariots, and wagons, and… peoples.” Delitzsch gives an Assyrian word, meaning “multitude,” which is very like the unknown Hebrew word translated “chariots” in A.V.

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

With chariots, wagons, and wheels, etc. The first word is only found here, and probably means" armor." So the Revised Version, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They shall judge thee according to their judgments ; sc. shall execute the judgment which God has assigned to them after their own manner, so their usual cruel treatment of barbarous nations.

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

And wheels - Lest in their march the carriage wheels should break, a store of these were provided. An assembly - A mighty confluence of people. I will set - Give them a power in right of conquest over their rebels, as well as mine, and I will give them a spirit of judgment to discern the greatness of this people's sins. Judge - Condemn, and execute sentence upon thee. According - To their will, power, wrath, and custom, against rebels; for these are their rules of judgment.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues his metaphor in which he speaks of the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria as if they were two prostitutes. This metaphor continues through Ezekiel 23:34. (See: Metaphor)

will come against you

This is an idiom. AT: "will attack you" (See: Idiom)

with weapons

The Hebrew word translated here as "weapons" is rare. Many modern versions translate it in this way, but some versions leave this phrase out.

They will set large shields, small shields, and helmets against you all around

These defensive items are used to refer to various types of soldiers. AT: "Soldiers will attack you on all sides carrying large shields, small shields, and wearing helmets" (See: Metonymy)

For I will set my jealous anger on you, and they will deal with you in fury

Here Yahweh speaks of causing the armies to attack them because he is angry with them as if his anger where something that he was placing upon them. AT: Because I am very jealous for you, I will cause them to act furiously towards you" (See: Metaphor)

They will cut off your noses and your ears

This describes the punishment in Babylon for married women who slept with men that are not their husbands. AT: "They will punish you as an adulteress, by cutting of your noses and your ears" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

your survivors will fall by the sword

The word "fall" is a euphemism for "die." The word "sword" is a metonym for soldiers who kill with swords. AT: "men will kill your survivors with their swords" (See: Euphemism and Metonymy)

your survivors will be devoured by fire

This speaks of the survivors being burned by fire as if the fire were an animal attacking and eating them. This can be stated in active form. AT: "your survivors will be burned by fire" or "fire will burn your survivors" (See: Personification and Active or Passive)

translationWords

chariot

punish

anger

remnant

sword

descend

devour

fire

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

weapons [Heb. הֹצֶן]. Dunash (p. 59) explained it as one type of weapon, but I say that it is an expression of the surroundings of camps like (Num. 33:55): “and camps (וְלִצְנִינִים) in your sides,” [which Onkelos renders:] and camps surrounding you. Menachem (p. 150) explains הֹצֶן like (Ps. 91:4): “His truth is an encompassing shield (צִנָה וְסֹחֵרָה), but Dunash does not agree with him, and the Targum supports Dunash, rendering: they will come upon you with weapons. הֹצֶן is like בְּהֹצֶן, with weapons, and הֹצֶן could mean the same as חֹצֶן, from (Isa. 49:22): “and they shall bring your sons בְּחֹצֶן,”which means with the arm, and so too: “And they will come upon you הֹצֶן,” meaning [as with] an army, as (Dan. 11:15), “and the arms (וּזְרוֹעוֹת) of the south,” meaning the armies of the south.

and I shall place judgment before them What is incumbent upon Me to judge. I will make them My agents to execute the judgment.

with their judgments A judgment that I did not write in My Torah, but which is one of the judgments of their customs, and what is it? Blinding the eyes, that they blinded Zedekiah’s eyes.

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.