Ezekiel 36:13

Eze 36:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou [land] devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations;

Ver. 13. Thou land devourest up men,] {a} scil., By pestilence, famine, sword, evil beasts: thou art an unlucky land, an unblest country, feral and fatal to thine inhabitants. Hesiod saith the like of his country Ascre; and another {b} of St David’s in Wales, that it is a place neither pleasant, fertile, nor safe. Strabo saith the like of Judea, but with a despiteful mind. {as Eze 36:5} Those malevolent spies said no less. {Num 13:32}

{a} Terra abortiens populos.

{b} Girald., Cambrens.

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 36:13-15. Because they say, Thou land devourest men — Or, thy people. The country of Judea (as appears from what is here said) was spoken of by the neighbouring nations with disgrace, as a country particularly fatal to its inhabitants, where more died by famine, pestilence, and the sword, than in any other place: and therefore God here says, that there should be no more any occasion to give this character of Judea, for that these judgments and frequent calamities should cease in it. Therefore thou shall devour men no more — Thou shalt be free from such destructive judgments as have, in past ages, consumed thy people. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen — Neither shall thy inhabitants hear any more the scoffs of the heathen nations round, reproaching them on account of their grievous calamities, as if they were an accursed people, forsaken by their God, and abandoned to destruction. Neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall, &c. — Or, as the Chaldee and some other ancient versions translate the words, Neither shalt thou bereave thy people any more, an interpretation adopted by Bishop Newcome. The Vulgate renders the clause, Et gentem tuam non amittes amplius — And thou shall not lose thy nation (or people) any more, that is, by these remarkable calamities. Those who think these promises were fulfilled in the restoration of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon, and their re-establishment in their own land, take the expressions no more, and not any more, in a limited sense, and understand thereby only a long period of time: but it seems more reasonable to suppose that these and such like prophecies, of which there are many in the Scriptures, remain yet to be accomplished, and that they respect the future restoration of the Jews to their own land, after their conversion to Christianity.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This the enemies imputed as the reproach of the land, which God did for the sins of the people according to his just judgments.

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

Thou land devourest up men--alluding to the words of the spies (Num 13:32). The land personified is represented as doing that which was done in it. Like an unnatural mother it devoured, that is, it was the grave of its people; of the Canaanites, its former possessors, through mutual wars, and finally by the sword of Israel; and now, of the Jews, through internal and external ills; for example, wars, famine (to which Eze 36:30, "reproach of famine among the heathen," implies the allusion here is).

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

(13) Thou land devourest up men.—Comp. Num_13:32, a passage probably in the prophet’s mind, though he uses it for a different reason. Israel had so often sinned, and so often, in consequence, suffered the Divine punishments, that the heathen, not recognising the true cause, superstitiously attributed the result to something in the land itself.

With the promises of this chapter comp. Isa_54:1-8. It is impossible to interpret that passage otherwise than of spiritual blessings; and Ezekiel, as a devout Jew, as well as a prophet, was thoroughly penetrated with the same hopes as are there expressed by the evangelic prophet.

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

13. Comp. the report of the spies, Num_13:32, “the land is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” The land whose population perishes of scarcity is regarded as itself devouring them. It is doubtful if there is any reference to such things as the unhealthy situation of the land (2Ki_2:19), or even to the wars by which the country had been decimated. The true meaning is given Eze_36:30.

bereaved thy nations] thy nation, i.e. population, and so Eze_36:14-15. The plur. could hardly refer to the two nations, Israel and Judah (Eze_35:10), although it might possibly be used like “peoples” of the nation considered as made up of a number of portions (Hos_10:14). The land of Israel was subject to droughts (Jer_14:1; 1 Kings 17 seq., Amo_4:7), to blasting and mildew (Amo_4:9), as well as to the scourge of locusts (Joel 1). Comp. the struggles with famine which the returned exiles had, Hag_1:10-11; Hag_2:17.

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.

Thus saith the Lord God, because they say unto you,.... The Heathens that dwelt round about the land of Judea said to the mountains, or to the whole land,

thou land devourest up men; eats up the inhabitants of it; which is part of the ill report the spies, in the times of Moses, brought on it, Num 13:32, to which the allusion is here; suggesting, that either the air was unwholesome; or that the land did not produce a sufficiency of food to support the inhabitants of it; or that the curse of God was upon it; and that one judgment or another was ever on it; either famine, or pestilence, or the sword of the enemy, or internal broils among themselves, or wild beasts, whereby the inhabitants of the land were wasted and consumed:

and hast bereaved thy nations; the several tribes, of men and children; so that they were diminished and depopulated: the allusion seems to be to miscarrying women, or such who kill their children in the womb, and become abortive.

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

The judgments which God sent upon the land, had so destroyed the inhabitants that men deemed it a fatal land, which brought destruction to all that should occupy it (compare 2Ki 17:25).

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

Men. This remark was very ancient, Numbers xiii. 33. Wars had almost always raged in the country. (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).

They say; the heathen round about, the enemies of Israel, accuse the land of destroying its natives, and bring an evil report on it.

Devourest up men; either by intestine wars, or foreign invasions, or by unhealthful air, or by multitude of wild beasts, or by barrenness and famine, thou killest them, art like a womb that conceives often, but almost as often miscarrieth, as the word implieth.

Hast bereaved; consumed thy nations, so the French; deprived them of their hope of increasing in numbers of men, as a miscarrying womb deprives a family of hoped children.

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

They - The heathen round about.

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

General Information:

This continues Yahweh's message to the mountains of Israel. The message is meant for the people of Israel.

they are saying to you

"other nations are saying to you mountains"

You devour men

Not enough food growing in Israel so that people die is spoken of as if the mountains of Israel were devouring the people. AT: "You cause many people to die" (See: Metaphor)

bereaving your nation of children

"you cause your people's children to die"

you will not consume people any longer

Not enough food growing in Israel so that people die is spoken of as if the mountains of Israel were consuming the people. AT: "you will no longer cause the people to die" (See: Metaphor)

This is the Lord Yahweh's declaration

Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 5:11. AT: "This is what the Lord Yahweh has declared" or "This is what I, the Lord Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

Nor will I allow you to hear the insults of the nations any longer

This speaks of the mountains as if they were able to hear when people insult them. AT: "I will no longer allow the other nations to insult you" (See: Personification)

you will no longer have to bear the shame of the peoples

Experiencing shame is spoken of as if the mountains could bear shame. AT: "the peoples will no longer cause you to feel ashamed" (See: Personification and Metaphor)

or cause your nation to fall

Here "to fall" is an idiom that means to be defeated in battle. AT: "or cause your people to suffer defeat" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

Lord Yahweh

devour

nation

declare

shame

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

You are a devourer of men This land is accustomed to destroying its inhabitants. The Amorites perished therein, and the Jews perished therein.

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.