1Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Also, son of man, thus says the LORD God to the land of Israel: ‘An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3The end is now come upon you, and I will unleash My anger upon you, and will judge you according to your ways, and will repay you for all your abominations. 4My eye shall not spare, nor have pity, but I will reward you for your detestable sins; and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ 5“Thus says the LORD God: ‘Disaster - an unprecedented disaster - has come! 6An end has come; the end has come! It has finally come! 7Doom has come upon you, who dwell in the land; the time has come, the day of trouble is near, shouts of panic, and not joy, is heard upon the mountains. 8I will shortly pour out My fury and vent My anger upon you; and I will judge you according to your ways, and will repay you for all your abominations. 9And I will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways and your abominations that are in your midst; and you shall know that it is I, the LORD, Who punishes you. 10Behold the day, behold, the day of doom has come! The rod of arrogance has blossomed, false pride has budded. 11Violence has grown into a rod that will punish them for their wickedness; none of them shall remain, none of that crowd, nor any of their wealth - nothing of value. 12The time has come, the day draws near; do not let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for My wrath is upon all of them. 13For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, even if he survives and is left alive; for the vision applies to their whole multitude (nation), which shall not return; nor shall any obtain security for himself by wicked or dishonest acts in his life. Verses 12 and 13 seem to focus upon the impact upon buyer and seller (commerce) activity that they will experience from the punishment that God has determined to inflict upon Israel. The buyer will have no reason to rejoice, because he will not enjoy what he has bought; nor the seller have reason to regret parting with what he sells. The Chaldeans will now be in charge. These two verses seem to spell out what this will mean to Israel’s buying and selling of property, which God has now stated, in emphatic terms, that He intends to do – the abrupt change that even the survivors will experience in their culture from what they have known and enjoyed: there will be no more “business as usual” for Israel. The judgement upon the nation of Israel is universal – no exceptions: none of them, nor their wealth, shall continue as before. Verse 13 may also refer to the negating of the year of Jubilee, wherein Israelites who have been separated from their inheritance would have it restored to them. The Chaldeans that have seized their lands will feel no compunction to observe this law that was instituted by the God of Israel. (v13). 14‘They have blown the trumpet to prepare for the battle, but no one will go to the battle; for My wrath is upon all of them. 15The sword is outside, and the pestilence and famine are within; those in the country shall die by the sword; and those that are in the city shall die from famine and pestilence. 16And those that survive these shall flee to the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them regretting their iniquity. 17All hands shall be limp, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18They shall also cover themselves with sackcloth, and terror shall overwhelm them; and shame shall show on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 19They shall throw their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be worthless; their silver and their gold shall not be able to save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they shall not satisfy their souls, nor fill their stomachs, because they have stumbled over their own iniquity. 20The beauty of their jewelry they have debased by making it into their abominable images and their detestable idols; therefore, I have made them vile in their sight. 21And I will give their wealth into the hands of the strangers and to the wicked of the earth for loot, and they shall pollute it. 22 I will also avert My eyes from them, as the robbers enter and desecrate and defile My sacred place (Temple). 23‘Prepare chains for My people; for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24Therefore, I will bring the worst of the wicked nations, and they shall take possession of their houses; I will also put an end to the pompous pride of the powerful, and their sanctuaries shall be defiled. 25Destruction comes; and when they seek peace, there will be none. 26Disaster shall follow disaster, and rumor shall follow rumor. Then shall they seek a vision from the prophet, but counsel shall perish from the priest, and wisdom from the elders. 27The king and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble. I will do to them according to their ways and what they deserve. I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.’” Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |