Ezekiel 24:13

Eze 24:13 In thy filthiness [is] lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

Ver. 13. In thy filthiness is lewdness,] i.e., Thou art desperately stiff and stubborn; thy disease is complicated, and threateneth death.

Because I have purged thee,] i.e., Called upon thee by my prophets to "cleanse thyself of all filthiness of flesh and spirit"; sought also to purge thee by the soap of afflictions, and by the cudgel of calamities. {Isa 1:16; Isa 27:9 cf. Isa 1:5-7}

And thou wast not purged.] From thy sin, which had gotten into thy very frame and constitution, was weaved into the texture of thine heart.

Thou shalt not be purged.] But shalt perish in thy sins - which is worse than to die in a ditch - "and pine away in thine iniquities." {Eze 24:23} He who is filthy, shall be filthy still; a fearful sentence.

Till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.] Till I have purged thee in hell fire, which will be ever doing, but never be done; donec omnia tela vindictae meae in te exhausero, till I have emptied my quiver, spent my wrath upon thee.

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.

Eze_24:13

Thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness.

Obstinacy in sin

1. Obstinacy in sin provokes God to the destruction of sinners. Her scum shall be in the fire. Jerusalem shall be burnt, and why? In thy filthiness is lewdness; thou art obstinate, hardened in thy wickedness. All sin offends, some sins provoke to judgments, obstinacy provokes to destruction (Jer_44:15).

2. In Scripture language, that is said to be done which God or men endeavour to do, though it be not done. I have purged thee. God using means, and endeavouring, by His prophets, mercies, threats, and judgments, to purge Jerusalem from her sin, is called purging, though Jerusalem were not purged.

3. A people may have the means, and not improve the same for their good.

4. People may so slip the time of repenting, and turning to God, as that it may be too late for them to go about the same; they may sin away the time of mercy. Time present is the acceptable time (2Co_6:2).

5. Those who have had means, and not profited thereby, God will deal most severely with--there is no mercy, but altogether judgment for them. The fig tree in the vineyard had stood there three years, and was not better at last than at first; the influences of heaven, and fatness of the earth, had done it no good; and behold the severity of the owner: Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (Luk_13:7). (W. Greenhill, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24:13-14 All that remained for Jerusalem was judgment without pity because of her wicked deeds and her refusal to turn back to the Lord.

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

I labored by sending my Prophets to call thee to repentance, but thou wouldest not.

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

lewdness--determined, deliberate wickedness; from a Hebrew root, "to purpose."

I have purged thee--that is, I have left nothing untried which would tend towards purging thee, by sending prophets to invite thee to repentance, by giving thee the law with all its promises, privileges, and threats.

thou shalt not be purged . . . any more--that is, by My gracious interpositions; thou shalt be left to thine own course to take its fatal consequences.

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 13. In thy filthiness is lewdness] זמה zimmah, a word that denominates the worst kinds of impurity; adultery, incest, c., and the purpose, wish, design, and ardent desire to do these things. Hers were not accidental sins, they were abominations by design, and they were the worse in her, because God had cleansed her, had separated the Israelites from idolatry and idolatrous nations, and by his institutions removed from them all idolatrous incentives. But they formed alliances with the heathen, and adopted all their abominations therefore God would not spare them. See Eze 24:14.

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

13. In thy … lewdness] Or, because of thy lewd filthiness, cf. Eze_16:27, thy lewd way.

shalt not be purged … more] i.e. shalt never be purged, till, &c., or purged so as to be again clean, till, &c.

caused … to rest] appeased, Eze_5:13, Eze_8:18, Eze_16:42.

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.

In thy filthiness is lewdness,.... Consummate wickedness joined with impudence, and an obstinate persisting in it; though her sins were so abominable and filthy, yet she was not ashamed of them, nor could be reclaimed from them; but, like a lewd woman, or an old harlot, was bold and impudent:

because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged; made use of means for the purgation of them, by his prophets, and by exhortations and instructions given by them, and by various corrections and chastisements; but all in vain, and to no purpose, they were all without effect:

thou shall not be purged from thy filthiness any more till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee; there was no other way left to purge her from her sins, but by the fire of his wrath, and the fury of his anger, in her utter destruction.

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

Thy. Hebrew, "In thy crime there is design," or malice. This rendered the Jews so hateful (Calmet) and irreclaimable. (Haydock) --- God had given them abundant instructions (Calmet) and graces; but all was contemned. (Haydock) --- When the fire of tribulation does not amend sinners, they are sentenced to hell fire. (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).

In thy filthiness, in thy sinning, is lewdness; deliberate resolution grown up to obstinacy and boldness, with impudence that will not be corrected.

I have purged thee; used all sorts of proper means to purge, advice, reproof, chastisements, threats of sorer sufferings, by prophets, by the rod, sometimes gentler, sometimes rougher, 2Ch 36:15; Jer 18:11,12.

Thou wast not purged; wouldst not part from thy sins, and purify thy heart and ways, Jer 25:3-7.

Thou shalt not be purged; all further use of means shall be forborne; I will preach no more by prophets to call thee to repentance, but to condemn thee for pot repenting; God will from henceforth refer them to his sore destroying judgments, which are his fury, and which shall cease when this sinful kingdom, destroyed, can no longer provoke God as they had done formerly.

Till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee: see Eze 5:13; 6:12; 16:42; 21:17.

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

13. In thy filthiness is lewdness — Or, R.V., margin, “For thy filthy lewdness.” (See Eze_16:27.) This includes not only the act, but the evil purpose.

Caused… to rest — Rather, satisfied. (See Eze_5:13; Eze_16:42.)

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

Ineffectual discipline.

Men who are providentially entrusted with the care and training of the young, or with the probation of undisciplined members of society, often have reason to complain that their endeavors seem to be utter failures, that there is no response to the appeal which by language and by action they are constantly addressing to those who are placed beneath their charge. It is very instructive to all such to observe what was the result of Jehovah"s dealing with Judah and Jerusalem. It is not to be disputed that the results in question were perfectly known to the Omniscient before they came to pass. Yet it seemed good to him, in dealing with moral agents, to afford them the means of repentance, and to furnish them with inducements to repentance. Lamentable is the record of what without irreverence we may term the Divine experience: "I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged.

I DIVINE DISCIPLINE. There is presumed the need for such discipline. It is because the metal is mixed with dross that it is cast into the furnace. It is because the patient is sick that medicine is administered. It is because the wheat and the chaff are intermingled that the winnowing-fan is employed. And it is because the heart and life of the individual or the nation are contaminated with evil that the chastening hand of God intervenes to purge away the mischief the dross, the chaff. The means employed is usually affliction in some one or more of the many forms it assumes. One heart is reached in one way, another by a way altogether different; one nation is humbled by pestilence or famine, another by defeat in war and privation of territory.

II THE MOTIVE AND PURPOSE OF DIVINE DISCIPLINE. To the careless observer it may seem as if such experiences as those described were evidences of malevolence in the Governor of the world. But in fact it is otherwise. "Whom he loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every child whom he receiveth." The son does not always understand his father"s treatment of him, and does not always accept that treatment with submission and gratitude; neither does he always profit by it as he might do. Yet the treatment may be wise and well adapted for purposes alike of probation and of education; and the time may come when, looking back with enlarged experience and maturer judgment, he may approve his father"s action. So is it with God"s dealing with his great family. The Father of the spirits of all flesh has at heart the welfare of his offspring, his household. He knows that uninterrupted prosperity would not be beneficial, that many lessons could never be acquired amid circumstances of ease and enjoyment, that character could not by such experience be formed to ripeness and moral strength. It is through trials and afflictions that true men are fashioned. And the same is the case with nations. Israel had to wander and to fight in the wilderness. England has only reached her present position by means of many generations of conflict and many epochs of adversity. God has "purged" his people, not because he is indifferent to their sufferings, but because he is solicitous for their welfare, which only through sufferings can be achieved.

III THE APPARENT FAILURE OF DIVINE DISCIPLINE. There is a pathetic tone in the assertion, "I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged." The explanation of this failure is to be found in the mysterious fact of human liberty. An eminent philosopher has said that he would be content to be wound up like a clock every morning, if that would ensure his going right throughout the day. Determinism is mechanism; it reduces man to the level of a machine. But this is not the true, the Divine idea of man. God evidently designs to do something better with man than to constrain him. He even gives to man the prerogative of resisting the high motives which he in wisdom and mercy brings to bear upon him. And when he perceives that the purposes of discipline are not fulfilled, he laments, "I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged." Yet it is not for us to say that even in such cases there has been real failure. Ends may be answered of which we cannot judge; good may be done which we cannot see; preparation may be making for advanced stages which we are now incapable of comprehending. Doubtless in many cases the "purging" which is ineffectual here and now will be brought about hereafter, and perhaps above. It is open to us to believe, with the poet

That nothing walks with aimless feet, That not one life shall be destroyed Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God has made his work complete. T.

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

Lewdness - Or obstinacy and boldness. Purged thee - Used all means to purge thee.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues telling a parable to Ezekiel about a cooking pot that represents Jerusalem. This parable continues through Ezekiel 24:14. (See: Parables)

until I have satisfied my fury upon you.

This speaks of Yahweh punishing the people in his anger as if it were his "fury" that were punishing them. AT: "until I am finished punishing you and am no longer furious with you" or "until I have punished you and I am longer angry with you" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

shame

clean

clean

free

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

With your defilement With defilement of lewdness you will perish.

Since I purified you by reproving you through the prophets, and you did not become purified, etc.

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.