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A.C. 595. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

* Or, divided above.

9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched * upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15¶ Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were +Or, strakes. dreadful; and their + rings were full of eyes round about

them four.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over 1 Or, of life. against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit Or, of life. of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of

the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, A. C. 595. stretched forth over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

26 ¶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone and : upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

EZEKIEL II.

1 Ezekiel's commission. 6 His instruction. 9 The roll of his heavy prophecy.

1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake

unto me.

tions.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled Heb. naagainst me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

of face.

4 For they are timpudent children and stiffhearted. I+Heb. hard do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither

A.C. 595. *Or, rebels.

be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are + Heb. rebel- most rebellious.

lion.

8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy r Rev. x. 9. mouth, and eat that I give thee.

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9¶ And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

10 And he spread it before me: and it was written within and without and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

EZEKIEL III. VER. 1-22.

1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that

roll.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then 8 Rev. x. 9. did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweet

Heb. deep of lip, and heavy

ness.

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4 ¶ And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech of tongue; and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; 6 Not to many people § of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearwould they not kened unto thee.

and so ver. 6.

Heb. deep of

and Or,

of language.

had

sent thee, &c.

have hearken

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ed unto thee? 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Is*Heb. stiff of rael are impudent and hardhearted.

forehead and hard of heart.

t Jer. i. 8.

8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them,

Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or A. C. 595. whether they will forbear.

12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living crea

tures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels Heb, kissed. over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I

went + in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand + Heb. bitter. of the LORD was strong upon me.

15¶Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that

the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

+ Heb. hot anger.

17 "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the u ch. xxxiii. house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

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teousnesses.

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his x ch. xviii. 24. Srighteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-Heb. righblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

SECTION III.

Prophecy of the Miseries and Destruction of Jerusalem.

EZEKIEL III. VER. 22, TO THE END.

22 ¶ And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

y ch. i, 1.

A. C. 595.

24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them :

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them *Heb. a man * a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

reproving.

27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

EZEKIEL IV 25.

1 Under the type of a siege is shewed the time from the defection of Jeroboam to the captivity. 9 By the provision of the siege, is shewed the hardness of the famine.

1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem :

25 Bishop Warburton has some curious observations on the emblematical mode of teaching by the use of types, an instance of which we read in this chapter. Language, he observes, as appears from the nature of the thing, from the records of history, and from the remains of the most ancient languages yet remaining, was at first extremely rude, narrow, and equivocal; so that men would be perpetually at a loss, on any new conception, or uncommon accident, to explain themselves intelligibly to one another. The art of enlarging language by a scientific analogy being a late invention: this would necessarily set them upon supplying the deficiencies of speech by apt and significant signs. Accordingly in the first ages of the world, mutual converse was upheld by a mixed discourse of words, and ACTIONS. Hence came the Eastern phrase of the voice of the sign (Exod. iv. 8.); and use and custom, as in most other affairs of life, improving what had arisen out of necessity, into ornament, this practice subsisted long after the necessity was over; especially among the Eastern people, whose natural temperament inclined them to a mode of conversation, which so well exercised their vivacity, by motion; and so much gratified it, by a perpetual representation of material images. Of this we have innumerable instances in Holy Scripture, as, where the false prophet pushed with horns of iron, to denote the entire overthrow of the Syrians—where Jeremiah, by God's direction, hides the linen girdle in a hole of the rock near Euphrates-where he breaks a potter's vessel in sight of the people-puts on bonds, and yokes, and casts a book into the Euphrates-where Ezekiel, by the same appointment, delineates the siege of Jerusalem on a tile-weighs the hair of his beard in balances carries out his houshold stuff-and joins together the two sticks for Judah and Israel. By these actions the prophets instructed the people in the will of God, and conversed with them in signs: but where God teaches the prophet, and, in compliance with the custom of that time, condescends to the same mode

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