And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

And he shall break it as a potter's vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd wherewith to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.

And it shall be broken small, as the potter's vessel is broken all to pieces with mighty breaking, and there shall not a sherd be found of the pieces thereof, wherein a little fire may be carried from the hearth, or a, little water be drawn out of the pit.

And he shall break it as the breaking of a potter's vessel, that is broken in pieces unsparingly; and in the pieces of it there shall not be found a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to scoop water out of the cistern.

And he shall break it as a potter's vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the cistern.

And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a piece to take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit.

And He hath broken it As the breaking of the potters' bottle, Beaten down, He doth not spare, Nor is there found, in its beating down, A potsherd to take fire from the burning, And to draw out waters from a ditch.

And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a shard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water with out of the pit.

And he will let it be broken as a potter's vessel is broken: it will be smashed to bits without mercy; so that there will not be a bit in which one may take fire from the fireplace, or water from the spring.

And it will be crushed, just as the earthen vessel of a potter is destroyed by a sharp blow. And not even a fragment of its earthenware will be found, which might carry a little fire from the hearth, or which might draw a little water from a hollow.

Et contritio ejus quasi contritio vasis figulorum, quod absque misericordia comminuitur; nec in ejus fractura invenitur testa adignem e foco ferendum, vel aquam e puteo hauriendum.

And the breaking of it shall be. When a wall has fallen, some traces of the ruin are still to be seen, and the stones of it may be applied to use, and to some extent the wall may even be rebuilt. But here the Prophet threatens that they who are puffed up with obstinacy against God shall perish in such a manner that they cannot be restored, and all that is left of them shall be utterly useless. Accordingly, he employs the metaphor of a potter's vessel, the broken fragments of which cannot be repaired or put together. These threatenings ought to make a deep impression upon us, that we may embrace with reverence the word of God, when we learn that punishments so severe are prepared for those who despise it; for the Prophet threatens that they shall be utterly destroyed and ruined, and takes away all hope of their being restored. Nor is the threatening groundless; for we see how they that despise God, when they have been twice and three times cast down, still do not cease to raise their crests; for nothing is more difficult than to root out the false confidence from their hearts. [1]

Footnotes

1 - Here the Author departs from his usual manner, by omitting all mention of the concluding and highly expressive clause of the verse. "For gvh, (gEbEh,) the English version has pit,' Lowth, cistern,' and most other writers well;' but in Ezekiel 47:11, it denotes a marsh' or pool.' Ewald supposes a particular allusion to the breaking of a poor man's earthen pitcher, an idea which had been suggested long before by Gill: as poor people are wont to do, to take fire from the hearth, and water out of a well in a piece of broken pitcher.'" -- Alexander. All must admit, that when one cannot find a "sherd" fit for the meanest purpose, the vessel is broken in pieces. -- Ed

And he shall break it as the breaking - That is, its breaking shall be like the breaking of a potter's vessel. The Septuagint reads it, 'And its fall (τὸ πτῶμα to ptōma) shall be like the breaking of an earthen vessel,'
As the breaking of the potter's vessel - That is, as an earthen, fragile vessel, which is easily dashed to pieces. The image here is all drawn from the bursting forth, or the complete ruin of the swelling wall; but the sense is, that the Jewish republic would be entirely broken, scattered, demolished.
He shall not spare in the bursting of it - Figuratively in the bursting of the wall; literally in the destruction of the Jewish state and polity.
A sherd - A piece of pottery; a fragment.
To take fire from the hearth - Large enough to carry coals on.
Or to take water withal out of the pit - Out of the fountain, or pool; that is, it shall be broken into small fragments, and the ruin shall be complete - as when a wall tumbles down and is completely broken up. The sense is, that the republic of Israel would be completely ruined, so that there should not be found a man of any description who could aid them. The prophet does not specify when this would be. It is not necessary to suppose that it would occur on the invasion of Sennacherib, or that it would be the immediate consequence of seeking the aid of Egypt, but that it would be a consequence, though a remote one. Perhaps the figure used would lead us to look to some remote period. A high wall will begin to give way many years before its fall. The swell will be gradual, and perhaps almost imperceptible. For some time it may appear to be stationary; then perhaps some new cause will produce an increase of the projecting part, until it can no longer sustain itself, and then the ruin will be sudden and tremendous. So it would be with the Jews. The seeking of the alliance with Egypt was "one" cause - though a remote one - of their final ruin. Their forsaking God and seeking human aid, was gradually but certainly "undermining" the foundations of the state - as a wall may be gradually undermined. Frequent repetitions of that would more and more impair the real strength of the republic, until, for their accumulated acts of want of confidence, the patience of God would be exhausted, and the state would fall like a mighty, bursting wall. The prophecy was fulfilled in the invasion of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; it had a more signal and awful fulfillment in its destruction by the Romans.

He shall not spare "And spareth it not" - Five MSS. add the conjunction ו vau to the negative; ולא velo.

And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it (m) a piece to take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit.
(m) Signifying that the destruction of the wicked will be without recovery.

And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel,.... That is, their confidence in an arm of flesh, and they that place it there; and this either God shall do, or the enemy, and God by him; or rather it may he rendered impersonally, "it shall be broken"; and may refer to the wall to which the ruin of this people is compared, that that when it falls shall be broke to pieces, as a potter's vessel is when it falls upon a pavement, or is dashed against anything, or, struck with a rod of iron:
that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare; or that is broken in pieces without mercy, as the Targum; no pity shall be shown by the enemy, nor mercy from the Lord:
so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit; as poor people are wont to do, to take fire from the hearth, and water out of a well, in a piece of a broken pitcher (n); but this vessel should be broke into so many shivers, that there should not be such a piece left of it as could be made use of for such purposes. This denotes the utter and irreparable ruin and destruction of these people, which, though it was not at this time, yet afterwards by the Babylonians, and especially by the Romans.
(n) Vid. Misn. Sabbat, c. 8. sect. 7.

he--the enemy; or rather, God (Psalm 2:9; Jeremiah 19:11).
It--the Jewish state.
potter's vessel--earthen and fragile.
sherd--a fragment of the vessel large enough to take up a live coal, &c.
pit--cistern or pool. The swell of the wall is at first imperceptible and gradual, but at last it comes to the crisis; so the decay of the Jewish state.

He - God.