25 You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day,.... This question is to be answered in the affirmative:
when I take from them their strength; their king and kingdom, their princes and nobles, their soldiers and men of might and war, their wealth and substance, their city and the inhabitants of it; or rather their temple, in which they placed their strong confidence: so the Targum,
"in the day when I shall take from them the house of their sanctuary;''
and which is called "the joy of their glory"; what they rejoiced and gloried in:
the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their mind, their sons and their daughters; for to these may those phrases be applied; as well as to the temple; they being desirable to them, to be spared and continued, and on whom the affections of their hearts were set, and for whose welfare they were very solicitous. So some render it "the burden or care of their souls" (p); though the Targum applies this, as the other to the temple, paraphrasing it,
"and the delight of their eyes shall be taken from them, and the beloved of their souls, which is better to them than their sons and their daughters.''
(p) "onus animae eoram", Munster; "curam, vel solicitudinem"; so some in Vatablus.
"The day" referred to in these verses is the day of the overthrow of the temple, when the fugitive "escapes." But "that day," in Ezekiel 24:27, is the day on which the fugitive brings the sad news to Ezekiel, at the Chebar. In the interval the prophet suspended his prophecies as to the Jews, as was foretold. Afterwards his mouth was "opened," and no more "dumb" (Ezekiel 3:26-27; compare Ezekiel 24:27; Ezekiel 33:21-22).
If Israel was not spared, much less the heathen utterly corrupt, and having no mixture of truth, such as Israel in its worst state possessed (1-Peter 4:17-18). Their ruin was to be utter: Israel's but temporary (Jeremiah 46:28). The nations denounced are seven, the perfect number; implying that God's judgments would visit, not merely these, but the whole round of the heathen foes of God. Babylon is excepted, because she is now for the present viewed as the rod of God's retributive justice, a view too much then lost sight of by those who fretted against her universal supremacy.
Sequel of the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Prophet Himself
Ezekiel 24:25. And thou, son of man, behold, in the day when I take from them their might, their glorious joy, the delight of their eyes and the desire of their soul, their sons and their daughters, Ezekiel 24:26. In that day will a fugitive come to thee, to tell it to thine ears. Ezekiel 24:27. In that day will thy mouth be opened with the fugitive, and thou wilt speak, and no longer be mute; and thus shalt thou be a sign to them that they may know that I am Jehovah. - As the destruction of Jerusalem would exert a powerful influence upon the future history of the exiles on the Chaboras, and be followed by most important results, so was it also to be a turning-point for the prophet himself in the execution of his calling. Hvernick has thus correctly explained the connection between these closing verses and what precedes, as indicated by ואתּה in Ezekiel 24:25. As Ezekiel up to this time was to speak to the people only when the Lord gave him a word for them, and at other times was to remain silent and dumb (Ezekiel 3:26 and Ezekiel 3:27); from the day on which a messenger should come to bring him the tidings of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, he was to open his mouth, and not continue dumb any longer. The execution of this word of God is related in Ezekiel 33:21-22. The words, "when I take from them their strength," etc., are to be understood in accordance with Ezekiel 24:21. Consequently מעזּם is the sanctuary, which was taken from the Israelites through the destruction of Jerusalem. The predicates which follow down to משּׂא refer to the temple (cf. Ezekiel 24:21). משּׂא נפשׁ, an object toward which the soul lifts itself up (נשׂא), i.e., for which it cherishes a desire or longing; hence synonymous with מחמל נפשׁ htiw suomynon in Ezekiel 24:21. The sons and daughters are attached ἀσυνδετῶς. בּיּום (in that day), in Ezekiel 24:26, which resumes the words 'בּיום ק (in the day when I take, etc.) in Ezekiel 24:25, is not the day of the destruction of the temple, but generally the time of this event, or more precisely, the day on which the tidings would reach the prophet. הפּליט, with the generic article, a fugitive (vid., Genesis 14:13). להשׁמעוּת אזנים, to cause the ears to hear (it), i.e., to relate it, namely to the bodily ears of the prophet, whereas he had already heard it in spirit from God. השׁמעוּת, a verbal noun, used instead of the infinitive Hiphil. את־הפּליט, with the escaped one, i.e., at the same time "with the mouth of the fugitive" (Hitzig). את expresses association, or so far as the fact is concerned, simultaneousness. The words,"then wilt thou speak, and no longer be dumb," do not imply that it was only from that time forward that Ezekiel was to keep silence, but point back to Ezekiel 3:26 and Ezekiel 3:27, where silence is imposed upon him, with the exceptions mentioned there, from the very commencement of his ministry; and in comparison with that passage, simply involve implicite the thought that the silence imposed upon him then was to be observed in the strictest manner from the present time until the reception of the intelligence of the fall of Jerusalem, when his mouth would be opened once more. Through the "words of God" that were given to His prophet (Ezekiel 4-24), the Lord had now said to the people of Israel all that He had to say concerning the approaching catastrophe for them to consider and lay to heart, that they might be brought to acknowledge their sin, and turn with sorrow and repentance to their God. Therefore was Ezekiel from this time forward to keep perfect silence toward Israel, and to let God the Lord speak by His acts and the execution of His threatening words. It was not till after the judgment had commenced that his mouth was to be opened again for still further announcements (vid., Ezekiel 33:22). - Ezekiel was thereby to become a sign to the Israelites. These words have a somewhat different meaning in Ezekiel 24:27 from that which they have in Ezekiel 24:24. There, Ezekiel, by the way in which he behaved at the death of his wife, was to be a sign to the people of the manner in which they were to act when the judgment should fall upon Jerusalem; whereas here (Ezekiel 24:27), למופת refers to the whole of the ministry of the prophet, his silence hitherto, and that which he was still to observe, as well as his future words. Through both of these he was to exhibit himself to his countrymen as a man whose silence, speech, and action were alike marvellous and full of meaning to them, and all designed to lead them to the knowledge of the Lord, the God of their salvation.
Their strength - Their walls and fortifications. The joy - All their public and private joys and hopes shall be destroyed in the destruction of the kingdom, and their children.
*More commentary available at chapter level.