The Mystery of Ephraim

Earlier, we have established that this prophecy that Ezekiel delivered was not to be fulfilled during his time, but that its timing was a great distance into the future (Ezekiel 12:27), into our time and the message is primarily for the United States of America and secondarily its European allies.

Remember, the Targum, whose origin was in the Aramaic language, could be traced to Ezra speaking to the returning exiles who couldn’t understand Hebrew, but was expounded to them in a language they could understand.

Ezekiel 15

¹ And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — the word of prophecy from the Lord, as the Targum renders it. So if Ezra sees it as a prophecy, it is a reference to the future; into the endtime, our time.

² “Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? — the house of Israel is often compared to a vine, so why is the vine tree more valuable than any tree; it’s certain that the vine is esteemed only on account of its fruit.

³ Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? Or will men take a peg from it to hang any vessel thereon? — shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? Is there one good piece of timber in the whole vine fit for building a house, or ship, as there is in the oak, elm, or other wild forest trees?

— will the carpenter and joiner, the house or ship builder, employ it to build houses, make beams, rafters, floors, build ships with, make masts of, or any vessel or utensil for the use of man?

⁴ Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the middle of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? — behold, the vine or the wood is cast into the fire for fuel, that is; a vine tree when cut down, or a branch when cut off, it is good for nothing else;

— and that is generally put to use; it is suggested would be the end of the house of Israel; who were become by their sins like a wild vine, and were fit fuel for the fire of his wrath;

— the fire devoureth both ends of it; the branch cast into it, and so is quickly consumed. In Isaiah 9:12 “the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind, and they devour Israel with open mouth.”

⁵ Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work. How much less shall it be meet yet for any work when the fire hath devoured it and it is burned? — if the wood is cast into the fire, the wood is useless for any purpose; but what if it have been cast into the fire, and half burned, what of it then?

— MSG “Hardly. When it was whole it wasn’t good for anything. Half-burned is no improvement. What’s it good for?

⁶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. — so this was fulfilled to Jerusalem in 70 AD, where “I have given to the fire for fuel;” to be burnt, as other trees of the forest are, and along with them; again in 132-135 AD; and could reoccur during the endtime for the house of Israel.

⁷ And I will set My face against them: they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. — the house of Israel will be surrounded at all sides, fires everywhere, no place to run to;

— they shall go from one calamity to another; those that escaped the famine and pestilence will fall by the sword; and those that escaped famine, sword and pestilence, would be carried into captivity;

— the Targum says, “I will execute my vengeance on them, because of the words of the law, which were given out of the midst of fire; they have transgressed, and people who are strong as fire shall consume them.”

— or another saying: “Out of the frying pan into the flame.”

⁸ And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.” — a clue for time of desolation perhaps. The house of Judah had evidently failed to observe the land’s one-year-in-seven Sabbath which was set at 70 years, so the period of iniquity was for a deficit of 490 years.

— for in II Chronicles 36:21 it says, “The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.” This is a reference to Jeremiah 25:11;

— so, as to better understand Ezekiel 4, could the iniquity of the house of Israel set at 190 years (Septuagint) while that of the house of Judah set for 40 years all due to the abmination for not keeping the land sabbath?

Ezekiel 16

¹ Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, — the Targum renders it, the word of prophecy from the Lord. So if Ezra sees it as a prophecy, it is a reference to the future; into the endtime, our time.

² “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations — cause Jerusalem to know; men, even shepherds, often are so blind as not to perceive their guilt which is patent to all. “Jerusalem” represents the whole kingdom of Judah.

³ and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity are of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hittite.

— thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite; Abraham and Sarah, who were, properly speaking, the one the father, the other the mother, both were Chaldeans; and neither Amorites nor Hittites; but because they dwelt among them, are so called; and since before their conversion they were idolaters, as those were;

— besides, the Jews who descended from Judah, and from whom they have their name, very probably sprung from ancestors who might be Amorites and Hittites: since Judah married the daughter of a Canaanite, and such an one seems to be Tamar, he took for his son Er, and by whom he himself had two sons, Pharez and Zarah.

⁴ And as for thy nativity, on the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to soothe thee. Thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. — thy navel was not cut; alluding to what is done to a newborn infant, when the midwife immediately takes care to cut the navel string, by which the child adheres to its mother, and takes in its breath and nourishment in the womb;

— the Targum refers it, “neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee: which also is done, to an infant as soon as born, to cleanse it from the menstruous blood, to make the flesh sleek, and smooth, and amiable; which is done in hot water:

— thou wast not salted at all; which was done, either by sprinkling salt upon it, or using salt and water as a detersive of uncleanness, to prevent putrefaction, to dry up the humours, and harden the flesh, and consolidate the parts;

— or from the MSG

“‘On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren’t bathed and cleaned up, you weren’t rubbed with salt, you weren’t wrapped in a baby blanket. No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to care for you tenderly in these ways. You were thrown out into a vacant lot and left there, dirty and unwashed—a newborn nobody wanted.

⁵ No eye pitied thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person on the day that thou wast born. — but thou wast cast out in the open field; alluding to infants exposed by their unnatural parents, or unkind nurses, and left in an open field, or any desert place to perish for want, unless some kind providence appears for them;

— this open field may be the land of Egypt, where Jacob and his posterity were, being driven out of Canaan by a famine; and where, after the death of Joseph, they were exposed to the hardships and cruelties of the Egyptians;

— and this loathing of thee on the day that thou wast born, the Targum paraphrases it, “and he (Pharaoh) decreed a full decree to cast your male children into the river, to destroy you when you were in Egypt.”

⁶ “‘And when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, “Live”; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, “Live.” — the Israelites were trodden under foot by the Egyptians, when they made them to serve with rigour, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field;

— the Targum paraphrases it, “for it was manifest before me that you were afflicted in your bondage” as they sighed and cried because of their bondage, the Lord looked upon them with an eye of pity and compassion, and delivered them;

— these could be a reminder of the house of Israel happening again, this time for 190 years (Septuagint) instead of the 210 years in Egypt.

⁷ I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxed great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breasts are fashioned and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. — and thine hair is grown; an euphemism, expressive of puberty, which in females was at twelve years of age, and coming of age.

⁸ “‘Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swore unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest Mine. — God espoused Israel and took her under his protection as a husband doth his wife.

⁹ Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. — these verses describe the purifications and preparations for marriage to one of high rank.

¹⁰ I clothed thee also with embroidered work and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. — and I clothed you with various garments, the desirable things of your enemies;

— Wikipedia: The production of silk originated in China in the Neolithic period, although it would eventually reach other places of the world (Yangshao culture, 4th millennium BC). Silk production remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during the latter part of the 1st millennium BC, though China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years.

¹¹ I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands and a chain on thy neck. — such as the marriage gifts to Rebekah.

¹² And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. — a jewel on thy forehead; literally, a nose-ring on thy nostril, the custom of the time sanctioning this mode of ornament.

¹³ Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour and honey and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. — and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom;

— the Targum says, ”and ye became rich, and were greatly strengthened, and prospered, and ruled over all kingdoms.”

¹⁴ And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.

₁₅ “‘But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and played the harlot because of thy renown, and poured out thy fornications on every one that passed by: his it was. — but thou didst trust in thine own beauty; as the early American pilgrims did upon the new land bestowed on them;

— in their outward prosperity and grandeur; in their riches, wealth, and wisdom; and in the extent of their dominions, as manifest destiny dictates;

— and in such men as America’s Founding Fathers; including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe and Benjamin Franklin; together with several other key players of their time, structured the democratic government of the United States and left a legacy that has shaped the world. are apt to put their trust and confidence, and to be elated with, and grow proud and haughty, as a woman because of her beauty.

— and playedst the harlot because of thy renown; now playing the the role of a harlot among the nations round about them, for their wisdom, riches, and power; which was a snare unto them, as a woman’s beauty is to her; and they were admired and courted, and complimented by their neighbours, and so drawn into idolatrous practices, as women into fornication and adultery by the admirers of them;

— idolatry, which is here meant, is frequently signified by playing the harlot, or by fornication and adultery: or “thou playedst the harlot in thy name” alluding to the custom of harlots, notorious infamous ones, who used to set their names over the apartments, to direct men unto them; and so it may denote how famous and notorious the Israelites were for their idolatries, and how impudent in them;

— Rashi interprets this of the calf of the wilderness, and other idolatries which the tribe of Dan committed there; but it rather respects the idolatries committed from the times of Solomon to the captivity, which were many, and often repeated; and though sometimes a stop was put to them by pious princes, yet broke out again: so trusting in a man’s own righteousness, or in any outward thing, is idolatry; and also false worship and superstitious observances.

¹⁶ And of thy garments thou didst take, and decked thy high places with divers colors and played the harlot thereupon. The like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. — this declares how the idolaters put their chief delight in those things which please the eyes and outward senses.

¹⁷ Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of My gold and of My silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thyself images of men and didst commit whoredom with them, — a beautiful woman, now taking the image of a man, as described by John Gill:

— Gill: some were in the shape of women, others in the shape of men; here only male images are mentioned, because the idolatrous Israelites are represented by an adulterous woman committing adultery, with men; and these were made by themselves, of their jewels of gold and silver; or of their golden and silver vessels, which they had to eat and drink out of; these, they melted down and made idols of them in the form of men;

— just as the molten calf was made of the earrings of the women, Exodus 32:3; to which some refer this passage: and as it was a piece of egregious folly in themselves to part with their jewels and plate for such purposes, and of great ingratitude to God, their benefactor, so of the grossest stupidity and ignorance to worship images so made; which was equally as stupid, or more so, than if a woman should embrace the image of a man, instead of a man himself, as it follows.

— and didst commit whoredom with them: the images: that is, idolatry, which is spiritual adultery.

¹⁸ and tookest thy embroidered garments and covered them; and thou hast set Mine oil and Mine incense before them. — the land being a land of oil olive; or which was to light the lamps in the temple with; or was used in sacrifice to the Lord; and the incense, which was offered unto him on the altar of incense; these were set upon the altars of idols.

¹⁹ My meat also which I gave thee; fine flour and oil and honey, wherewith I fed thee; thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord God; — meat, fine flour, oil and honey; much of these luxuries are well intended for the early years of United States of America.

²⁰ Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this thy whoredoms a small matter, — hast sacrificed the children unto the idols; this is a terrible development of idolatries; that is all the daily distractions away from God of our new generation of western societies.

²¹ that thou hast slain My children and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? — to qualify as a nation of priests (Exodus 19:6), they need to pass through the fire by way of purification and dedication; else they would fill the Temple with so much filths.

²² And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare and wast polluted in thy blood. — this what God will do dealings with the house of Jacob; with their ingratitude; forgetting the miserable condition they were in Egypt, and their trials and protection through the surrounding nations.

²³ “‘And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (Woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God), — woe, woe unto thee; this parenthetical exclamation has an awful effect coming like a lightning flash of judgement the show the indignation of the Lord amidst the black clouds of Israel’s guilt.

²⁴ that thou hast also built unto thee a brothel house, and hast made thee a high place in every street. — such arched rooms in a a brothel used in connection with the worship of idols for licentious purposes.

²⁵ Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. — thy beauty to be abhorred; that is, spiritual fornication; she had yielded so much that, like a worn-out prostitute, her tempters became weary of her.

²⁶ Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbors, great of flesh, and hast increased thy whoredoms to provoke Me to anger. — even with the golden calf of the wilderness, the Israelites turned with avidity to the worship of Egypt;

— and during the subsequent ages, and remained ever ready to develop herself, as in the calves of Jeroboam (1Kings 12:28-30), and then claiming Bethel and Dan as centers of worship instead of Jerusalem.

²⁷ Behold, therefore I have stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way. — the daughters of the Philistines: idolaters, but they are more honest than the Israelites; they were constant to their own god, and did not, as the Israelites, lewdly go a whoring with every idol they saw.

²⁸ Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them and yet couldest not be satisfied. — playing whore with the Assyrians; and yet couldn”t be satisfied;

— with their idols, and the worship of them, but sought out for new gods, and new modes of worship; like a lewd woman, who having prostituted herself to one, and to another, yet remains insatiable, and seeks out for other lovers.

²⁹ Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. — thou hast multiplied thy idolatries in Canaan by sending unto Chaldea to borrow from thence the Chaldean rites, to add to the abominations already practised in Canaan, before the carrying away of Jehoiachin to Chaldea.

³⁰ “‘How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman, — having a weak heart; unstable, like water that melts away. Neither hast strength of judgement to discern the truth and purity of religion, nor hast strength of resolution to hold fast to it.

³¹ in that thou buildest thine eminent place at the head of every way and makest thine high place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot in that thou scornest hire,

— from MSG

“‘What a sick soul! Doing all this stuff—the champion whore! You built your bold brothels at every major intersection, opened up your whorehouses in every neighborhood, but you were different from regular whores in that you wouldn’t accept a fee.

³² but as a wife that committeth adultery, that taketh strangers instead of her husband! — that takes other men into her bed instead of her husband, not for the sake of gain, but lust;

— and this is the case of modern Ephraim, who are a wicked people and an idolatrous generation; who took strange gods to worship instead of the true God, who had been a husband to them.

³³ Gifts are given to all whores, but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. — they give gifts to all whores; they gave the Egyptians, Assyrians and other allies, money, to gain their friendship, and procure alliances with them.

³⁴ And it is the contrary in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms; and in that thou givest a reward and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

— whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms; the house of Jacob, the Israelites followed the examples, customs, and practices of the Gentiles, in worshipping of their idols; but the Gentiles did not follow the Jews, they kept to their own gods, and did not worship the God of Israel;

³⁵ “‘Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! — the sentence to be pronounced; O harlot, hear the word of the Lord; adjudging to be slain with the sword, to be stoned and burned; the crime for which is to be read in the name of the harlot.

³⁶ Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy filthiness was poured out and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children which thou didst give unto them,

— thy filthiness; literally, thy brass, that is, money, which, with which she hired and bribed her lovers as said in the previous verses, Israel had lavished upon the surrounding nations.

³⁷ behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated. I will even gather them round about against thee and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

— when the going gets tough, the tough gets going; and American allies (Germany, Italy, Turkey, S Arabia, UAE, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, S Korea, the Philippines and even Japan?) will take their own interests first, team up with other enemies of the United States (Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Iran, N Korea, Russia and China?) and will turn against America;

— nar, it is not these countries’ doings, but it is God’s will that will cause these allies to be against the United States, and it is again God’s will through his spirits that will trap the United States in a snare (And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My [not China’s nor Russia’s] snare, Ezekiel 17:20; and he will be like a pig caught in a cage squealing away to no avail) then uncover her nakedness, American nakedness.

— then and only then, perhaps, the world will finally uncover all the experiments Professor Ralph Baric and other associates have ventured at Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is God Himself that will lay a net to trap the United States; He is the Overseeing GrandMaster; not China, not Russia, these are only pawns on a chessboard.

³⁸ And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. — and I will judge thee as women that break wedlock; the marriage covenant, defile the marriage bed, and were adulteresses, who by the law of Moses should be punished with death.

³⁹ And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place and shall break down thy high places. They shall strip thee also of thy clothes and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. — they shall strip thee also of thy clothes; thy fairjewels, alluding a lot to prostitutes, their maintainers in the end stripping them of all they had given them;

— thy idol temples, shall break down thy high places; lots of palaces, museums, on display of these treasures, now; but shall leave thee naked and bare;

— lots of stolen arts “take thy fair jewels” the vessels of thy glory; the vessels of the sanctuary of gold and silver of other countries, and their own household furniture, with all their riches (from the Opium War booties, the Old Summer Palace looting, etc) and substance from other countries, will be laid naked and have to be returned.

⁴⁰ They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones and thrust thee through with their swords. — a company; an assembled army; you had your assemblies for your idol worship, and God will have also an assembly, but it shall be of the “Chaldeans” Habakkuk 1:6, and others, to destroy you for your idolatry;

— and thrust thee through with their swords; such as attempted to escape out of the city, or fell into the hands of the enemy when it was taken, were slain with the sword.

⁴¹ And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgements upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

— and they shall burn thine houses with fire; as the houses in Jerusalem were by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, even the temple, the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and the houses of great men, even all the houses in the city; shall be burned with fire.

⁴² So will I make My fury toward thee to rest, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet and will be no more angry. — after his judgement executed, God will be quiet, and will be no more angry: the effects of his anger cease, and he at peace with Israel, and they with him.

⁴³ Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast made Me fret in all these things, behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God; and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

— from the Voice

“Because you failed to remember the days of your youth but instead you infuriated Me with countless perverted love affairs, I will pay you back for every ounce of indecency you instigated. I, the Eternal Lord, proclaim this. Did you not add vulgar acts to your streak of shocking sins?” The Voice

⁴⁴ “‘Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, “As is the mother, so is her daughter.” — saying, as is the mother, so is her daughter; an ancient and common proverb, used to express a likeness and agreement between persons their nature and disposition, in their behaviour, conduct, and conversation.

— so the Targum says: “as are the works of the mother, so those of the daughter.” That is, once practised by the Amorites and Hittites, they are now continued by the Israelites.

⁴⁵ Thou art thy mother’s daughter, who loatheth her husband and her children, and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

— the Targum says, “was not your mother Sarah among the Hittites? [but] she did not do according to their works; and though your father Abraham was among the Amorites, [yet] he walked not in their counsels.”

⁴⁶ And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, who dwell at thy left hand; and thy younger sister, who dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. — the temple looked to the east; Samaria was on its left, and Sodom on its right hand;

— Samaria, she and her daughters; the initial inhabitants maybe be Israelites, but starting with Jeroboam, they adopted idolatories, worshipping their calves at Dan and Bethel. The fanciful Samaritans came later, but they added more idolatories as Sun-worshippers.

— today more than 98.5 percent of Christians are honoring the SUN by observing SUNday. They have “their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the SUN toward the east,” Ezekiel 8:16. At even (erev) on the Fourteenth, onset to begin their passover, the Samaritans face the west as the SUN is setting. How awesome the sight is, exclaims Fred Coulter, for such a surreal ceremony to take place.

— others, following the SUN-worshipping Samaritans, the Church of God Communities are showing their contempt by having their “wavesheaf offering” and Pentecost on a SUNday; always on SUNdays. And these are supposedly in God’s sanctuary, but God says He is a jealous God, so these pretenters could be spewed out of His mouth! No? Regardless, there are those being described in Revelation 3:17 ~ wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: or else I will spew thee out of My mouth (v16,19).”

— Sodom and her daughters; witness the proliferation of LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (questioning), intersex, asexual (agender)); are prevalent in western societies. Thou “madest for thyself images of men,” Ezekiel 16:17). Women been changed into men, and men into women, all images of what they did in Sodom.

— Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that count darkness as light, and light as darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20

⁴⁷ Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done according to their abominations, but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. — as if that were a very little thing; these Samaritan Sun-worshipping, were considered as little thing; same as the proliferation of LGBTQIA; no big deal! And they all look upon any criticism with contempt!

— “Not only did you imitate the ways and follow the shocking actions of your sisters, but soon you became even more corrupt than they ever were” The Voice translation; the Targum says, “if thou hadst walked in their ways, and done according to their abominations, thy sin would have been small.”

⁴⁸ As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. — as I live, saith the Lord God; this is an oath, which the Lord God swore;

— who, because he couldn’t swear by any greater, he swore by himself; and this he did to confirm, that the sins of modern house of Israel were greater than those of Samaria and Sodom; which might not be easily believed, but it is as true as he is the living God.

⁴⁹ Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy; — pride; which was the sin of the devils, and the cause of their ruin; the sin of our first parents, by which they fell, and destroyed themselves, and their posterity;

⁵⁰ and they were haughty and committed abomination before Me. Therefore I took them away as I saw good. — and they were haughty; Sodom and her daughters, the inhabitants of that place, and the cities adjacent; they lifted up themselves above God and man;

⁵¹ Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. — but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they; than Samaria and her daughters, or the ten tribes; or more guilty than Sodom and Samaria;

⁵² Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou. Yea, be thou confounded also and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

— hast judged thy sisters; had approved the judgements upon Samaria and Sodom; as it is always easy for man to approve judgements upon the sins of others; but now this must be brought home to herself for her own greater sins.

⁵³ “‘When I shall bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring back the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them,

— from the Voice

However, I am going to restore the fortunes of your sisters—Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters—and I’ll restore your fortunes too.

⁵⁴ that thou mayest bear thine own shame and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. — bear thine own shame; by being put on a level with those whom thou has much despised.

⁵⁵ When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

⁵⁶ For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, — you didn’t mention your sister Sodom when you were feeling proud of yourself.

⁵⁷ before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria and all who are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee round about. — but that was before your evil was exposed! Now you are looked down upon by everyone! The daughters of Syria and all of her neighbors and the daughters of Philistia despise you!

⁵⁸ Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord. — thou hast borne your own abominations, openly and publicly; your iniquities were written as it were upon your foreheads, and to be seen of all; your punishment was due unto yourselves.

⁵⁹ “‘For thus saith the Lord God: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. — you will get what you deserve from Me because you have despised My oath and broken our covenant.

⁶⁰ Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. — the covenant to be established shall be an everlasting covenant.

⁶¹ Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. — then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed; it brings persons to a sense of their sins, and to an ingenuous acknowledgment of them, with shame and blushing;

— I will give them unto thee for daughters; all the heathen nations, not merely Sodom and Samaria, are meant by “thy sisters, elder and younger.”

⁶² And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, — thou “shall know that I am the Lord” expressed numerous times, implying that neither those teaching in the synagogues nor those in their numerous churches know God today!

⁶³ that thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.’”

— from MSG

“‘God, says, I’ll do to you just as you have already done, you who have treated my oath with contempt and broken the covenant. All the same, I’ll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I’ll make a new covenant with you that will last forever. You’ll remember your sorry past and be properly contrite when you receive back your sisters, both the older and the younger. I’ll give them to you as daughters, but not as participants in your covenant. I’ll firmly establish my covenant with you and you’ll know that I am God. You’ll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you’ve done, it will leave you speechless.’” The Message Bible

In conjunction with this chapter, a great youtube to watch here (Brian Berletic vs Daniel Dumbrill)

“I HAVE SEEN A HORRIBLE THING IN THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL” HOSEA 6:10

~ by Joel Huan on October 27, 2022.

Posted in Ezekiel