Ezekiel 5:13

Eze 5:13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken [it] in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

Ver. 13. Then shall mine anger be accomplished.] God is then said to be angry when he doth what men do when angry - viz. (1.) Chide; (2.) Smite.

And I will be comforted.] This also is spoken after the manner of men, who are much comforted when they can be avenged. Their song is, Oh, how sweet is revenge!

“ Animumque explesse iuvabit. ” - Virgil

The same word in Hebrew that signifieth vengeance, signifieth comfort also; for God will be comforted in the execution of his wrath. But what a venomous and vile thing is sin, that causeth the most merciful God to take comfort in the destruction of his creature!

And they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal.] That is, seriously threatened by my prophets, whom they have vilipended and derided, but shall now feel the weight of their words.

When I have accomplished my fury in them.] This he doth not usually all at once, but by degrees. He suffereth not his whole wrath to arise till there be no remedy. {as 2Ch 36:16}

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_5:13

Thus shall Mine anger be accomplished.

Gods anger against sinners

1. God goes on by degrees in His wrath against a people. He had in times past corrected them like a father, He would now execute them like a judge; the drops of His wrath had done no good, now they should have the full vials.

2. Wrath let out against a sinful people, ofttimes lies long upon them. I will cause My fury to rest upon them. They were seventy years under Gods displeasure in Babylon.

3. God takes pleasure in executing judgment, in accomplishing His wrath, and causing His fury to rest upon impenitent and incurable sinners, He will be comforted in it (Pro_1:26).

4. The Word of God may be preached among a people, and they, through ignorance and malice, not know it, nor entertain it.

5. Wicked men shall be convinced, and left without excuse. They shall know that I the Lord have spoken; they eyed men and not Me, they deemed it mans voice, not Heavens; but they shall find that it was the voice of God amongst them.

6. God will justify His servants in their zealous labours for Him. They shall know that I have spoken it in My zeal. It is God speaks in the prophets; it is His zeal they express. Let men be zealous against sin, the iniquities of the times, they are counted mad, fiery fellows, troublers of Israel, seditious, factious, etc.

7. The Lord is intense, and will not recall His indignation, when He deals with unfaithful, covenant-breaking persons. As in Gods zeal there is intense love towards His Church (when God promises mercy to His people, it is sealed with this, The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do it, 2Ki_19:31), so here is intense hatred, wrath against His enemies. (W. Greenhill, M. A.)

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

That is, I will not be pacified, till I be revenged, Isa. 1:24.

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

cause my fury to rest upon them--as on its proper and permanent resting-place (Isa 30:32, Margin).

I will be comforted--expressed in condescension to man's conceptions; signifying His satisfaction in the vindication of His justice by His righteous judgments (Deu 28:63; Pro 1:26; Isa 1:24).

they shall how--by bitter experience.

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. I will cause my fury to rest] My displeasure, and the evidences of it, shall not be transient; they shall be permanent upon you, and among you. And is not this dreadfully true to the present day?

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

In this verse the Prophet only teaches what he had said before, but by way of confirmation, namely, that God’s vengeance would be horrible and unceasing until the destruction and extinction of the people. There are some who think that this was interposed that God might mitigate the rigor of his vengeance, and so this verse, according to them, contains a promise of pardon; but it is rather a threat. For what they assert — that God would cause his anger to cease — cannot stand. For it follows afterwards they shall know that I Jehovah have said it, when I shall have filled up my wrath or anger against them And the context, as we shall afterwards see, will refute that comment. Let this, then, remain fixed, that the Prophet does not here promise the people any mitigation of their punishment, but goes on denouncing the vengeance which he formerly mentioned.

First he says, it shall be filled up: כלה, keleh, signifies sometimes “to finish,” but also, “to be accomplished,” “to consume,” and also, “to be consumed.” In this place God signifies that there should be no end to the punishments until he was satisfied. The image is taken from men desirous of vengeance, whose eagerness does not cease till they satiate themselves with revenge. God, therefore, here likens himself to men when he speaks of the end or fulfillment of his anger. Now he adds, I will cause my fury to rest upon them, that is, my fury shall be, as it were, fixed upon them. For “rest” is not to be received here for “cease,” for wrath is said to rest when it has spent itself, but God wishes here to mark by his Prophet the perseverance or untiring course of his vengeance. My wrath, therefore, shall rest upon them, that is, it shall not remove or pass away; for God is said to withdraw his hand when he ceases to punish us, but here the rest of his wrath is its perpetual continuing. He adds, I will take comfort Here God transfers to himself what properly does not belong to him, for he does not delight himself after the manner of men when he takes vengeance on wickedness; but we know that God’s judgment cannot be comprehended, unless he puts on the character of man, and in some manner transforms himself. Hence he is said to receive comfort in the approbation of just judgment. For this comfort signifies, that God cannot bear the contempt of his law — then that the malice of man is so desperate, that the judge must at length appear in his own nature; not that he indulges in any passions, as is sufficiently known, but because we cannot otherwise conceive him to be a just judge, unless he declare himself pleased with vengeance, when he sees men so utterly abandoned and beside themselves, as not to be otherwise recalled to penitence.

He afterwards adds, and they shall know that I Jehovah have spoken it Here God obliquely blames the stupidity of the people, because they not only despised all prophecies, but also proudly laughed at his threats. As often, then, as the Prophets declared the vengeance and judgments of God, they gave material for laughter to a perverse and impious people, and their obstinacy so blinded them that they did not think it was God who spoke; for they supposed that men only would be their adversaries, and hence their rage against the Prophets. For if they had thought that they had spoken by divine inspiration, they would never have dared to rise against them so madly; but because they thought that the Prophets uttered in public their own comments, therefore they strove with them in forgetfulness of God. The Jews, therefore, did not acknowledge him. But let us mark the source of their ignorance: they turned aside their senses from God of their own accord, as at this time many do not think that God speaks when his truth is openly shown from the Scriptures. Why do they not think so? because they are unwilling. Hence this blindness was voluntary and affected, so to speak, in the ancient people, since they imagined that the prophecies would be without effect. This is the reason why the Prophet says, then they shall know that I have spoken, because, as the proverb is, experience is the fool’s teacher; since, therefore, they rejected all threats, it came to pass that, by the teaching of calamity, they perceived too late that God was the speaker. And so there is an antithesis between experimental knowledge, and blindness which arises from an evil disposition and a contempt of God. For when he says, they shall know when he has fulfilled his wrath, that knowledge shall be too late and unfruitful. Lastly, God here pronounces, that he would inflict just punishment on their voluntary ignorance, from which the Jews should know, whether they would or not, that the prophecies against which they had closed their eyes had proceeded from himself alone.

He says also, that he had spoken in his zeal, or jealousy, because the Prophets were thought to be very furious when they thundered so against the impious. God therefore here acquits those whom we know were commonly esteemed fanatics, and says that he spoke in his zeal, because the impious, when they wish to load the servants of God with envy, object that he is mild and merciful, and that it does not accord with his character to speak roughly and sharply. God therefore says that he also uses zeal, or anger, that the Jews might not think his Prophets carried away with inconsiderate zeal and fervor, since we know that they fell into that grievous error. It follows —

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.

(13) I will be comforted.—The word employed here is used in two different senses: either that of feeling compassion, and so of repenting of one’s anger, as in Isa_12:1; Isa_49:13; Isa_51:3; Isa_51:12; Isa_52:9, &c.; or of consoling oneself by taking vengeance, as in Gen_27:42, Isa_1:24 (Authorised Version, ease myself). (Comp. also Eze_31:16; Eze_32:31.) The latter is evidently the meaning here; the Divine honour, wounded by the sins of the chosen people and dishonoured before the heathen, should be vindicated by their punishment in the sight of all the world.

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

13. my fury to rest upon them] Rather: will quiet (assuage, or, appease) my fury. Zec_7:8, “have quieted my spirit in the North country.” The phrase again, ch. Eze_16:42, Eze_21:17, Eze_24:13.

I will be comforted] i.e. appeased by the vengeance taken on the people’s sins, cf. Isa_1:24 (the word is for hithneḥamti).

in my zeal] The word, usually rendered “jealousy,” expresses the heat of any passion, here resentment, ch. Eze_16:38; Eze_16:42, Eze_23:25, Eze_36:5-6, Eze_38:19. Cf. ch. Eze_2:5, Eze_6:10, Eze_24:22.

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 shall mine anger be accomplished,.... Finished, perfected, consummated, by bringing the above judgments upon them, pestilence, famine, and sword, and by scattering them to every wind: what had been threatened long, and only some drops of it were let fall in times past, now was poured forth to the uttermost:

and I will cause my fury to rest upon them; to continue and abide upon them, and not move, at least for the space of threescore and ten years; see Zac 1:12;

and I will be comforted; by taking vengeance on them; so satisfying his justice, and easing him of his enemies; see Isa 1:24; a speech after the manner of men; who, when they have been affronted, and have avenged themselves, are easy in their minds, and satisfied:

and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal; that is, they shall find by experience that what the Lord had spoken by his prophets, and had threatened to bring upon them, was said in earnest, and arose from a jealousy for his own glory; this will be a clear case, and out of question:

when I have accomplished my fury in them; by the utter destruction of them; as follows:

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

Comforted - In the sense of “consoling oneself” and “feeling satisfaction in punishing;” hence, to “avenge oneself.”

The fury is to “rest” upon them, abide, so as not to pass away. The “accomplishment” of the divine anger is not the “completion” in the sense of bringing it to a close, but in the sense of carrying it out to the full.

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

Comforted, or revenged, chap. xxiv. 14., and Isaias i. 24.

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).

Thus; in this terrible and relentless manner already declared.

Mine anger; my provoked justice, not passion, shall be executed to the full of that I intend and have spoken.

My fury: after the manner of man is this spoken, and implies the great and hot displeasure of the Lord.

To rest; my bowels were troubled how to spare, and yet to punish, but now I will rest from such strugglings between my mercy and my justice; this shall be glorified, and I will be at ease.

I will be comforted; I did what in reason they could expect, and more than I was bound to, for their preservation; but nothing would prevail. O Israel, thou art destroyed, but it is my satisfaction thou hast destroyed thyself, and canst not charge it on me.

They shall know; these ruined ones by sad experience shall know.

In my zeal; in that indignation against your sins which the love of my own glory stirred up within me. In my provoked jealousy I spake, and will act against a persisting, perfidious, and adulterous wife, and it shall be known when I have finished my work.

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

13. I will be comforted — “Either as rejoicing in the punishment of evil for its own sake (as Deu_28:63; Isa_1:24), or because the punishment does its work in leading men to repentance.” — Plumptre.

They shall know that I the Lord have spoken it — Constantly does Jehovah affirm that this punishment of Israel will produce among the nations an acknowledgment of his own power and Godhead. The object which he sought to accomplish, and did partially accomplish, by his wonderful deliverances of the Israelites, he will now accomplish by his equally wonderful punishments. Israel’s sin cannot minish Jehovah’s glory. The prophets need not plead for mercy to the disobedient people on the ground that otherwise the heathen would think Jehovah had not the power to deliver. The judgments upon the chosen people should be so startling that all would acknowledge that their God had forsaken them.

Zeal — Literally, jealousy, heat of the soul. Jehovah could not accept, as did the heathen gods, a divided worship. This distinguished him among all gods. The heathen could worship many gods, but Jehovah grew hot with indignation if his worshiper recognized any other deity whatsoever. To the ancient world this was God’s most distinguished characteristic. The word may sound badly to modern ears, but jealousy, in the Bible sense, is the heat of love, and the emphasis of that monotheism which has conquered the earth.

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

I will cause my fury to rest upon them, etc.; Revised Version, I will satisfy, etc. The phrase meets us again in Eze_16:42 Eze_21:17 Eze_24:13. To "rest" here is to "repose" rather than to "abide." The thought is that a righteous anger, like that of Jehovah, rests (i.e. is quieted) when it has done its work, and that in this sense God is "comforted," either as rejoicing in the punishment of evil for its own sake (as in Deu_28:63; Isa_1:24) or because the punishment doesits work in leading men to repentance. Israel may be comforted, because God is comforted as he sees that his judgments have done their work, and that his wrath can find repose. Have spoken in my zeal. The thought implied is that what is spoken in the earnest purpose of "zeal" will assuredly be carried into execution. (comp. Isa_9:7 Isa_37:32) Men might deride the prophet"s warning as an idle threat. It would prove itself to have come from God.

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

Comforted - In executing my vengeance. In my zeal - For my own glory.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues to speak to the people of Israel and Judah.

my wrath will be completed

"I will no longer be angry because I will have done everything I wanted to do because I was angry"

I will cause my fury toward them to rest

The word "fury" means violent anger, and here it is a metonym for punishment. "I will stop punishing them because I will have punished them fully." (See: Metonymy)

I will be satisfied

You may need to make explicit why Yahweh will be satisfied. AT: "I will be satisfied that I have punished them enough" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

when I have completed my fury against them

"when I have finished punishing them"

translationWords

wrath

desolate

reproach

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

and I shall cause My fury against them to subside When I avenge Myself against them, My fury will subside, and My spirit will not oppress Me.

and I shall be comforted Heb. וְהִנֶחָמְתִּי. And I shall be comforted from the pain that you inflicted upon Me.

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.