Ezequiel 6

ARC · Chapter 6/48

1E veiu a mim a palavra do Senhor, dizendo:

2Filho do homem, dirige o teu rosto para os montes de Israel, e prophetiza contra elles.

3E dirás: Montes d'Israel, ouvi a palavra do Senhor Jehovah: Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah aos montes, aos outeiros, aos ribeiros e aos valles: Eis que eu, sim eu, trarei a espada sobre vós, e destruirei os vossos altos.

4E serão assolados os vossos altares, e quebradas as vossas imagens do sol, e derribarei os vossos traspassados, diante dos vossos idolos.

5E porei os cadaveres dos filhos de Israel diante dos seus idolos; e espalharei os vossos ossos em redor dos vossos altares.

6Em todas as vossas habitações as cidades serão destruidas, e os altos assolados; para que os vossos altares sejam destruidos e assolados, e os vossos idolos se quebrem e cessem, e as vossas imagens do sol sejam cortadas, e desfeitas as vossas obras.

7E os traspassados cairão no meio de vós; para que saibaes que eu sou o Senhor.

8Porém deixarei um resto, para que tenhaes alguns que escaparem da espada entre as nações, quando fordes espalhados pelas terras.

9Então se lembrarão de mim os que escaparem de vós entre as nações para onde foram levados em captiveiro; porquanto me quebrantei por causa do seu coração fornicario, que se desviou de mim, e por causa dos seus olhos, que andaram fornicando após os seus idolos; e terão nojo de si mesmos, por causa das maldades que fizeram em todas as suas abominações.

10E saberão que eu sou o Senhor, e que não disse debalde que lhes faria este mal.

11Assim diz o Senhor Jehovah: Bate com a mão, e pateia com o teu pé, e dize: Ah, por todas as abominações das maldades da casa d'Israel! porque cairão á espada, e de fome, e de peste

12O que estiver longe morrerá de peste, e o que está perto cairá á espada; e o que ficar de resto e cercado morrerá de fome: e cumprirei o meu furor contra elles.

13Então sabereis que eu sou o Senhor, quando estiverem os seus traspassados no meio dos seus idolos, em redor dos seus altares, em todo o outeiro alto, em todos os cumes dos montes, e debaixo de toda a arvore verde, e debaixo de todo o carvalho espesso, no logar onde offereciam perfume de cheiro suave a todos os seus idolos.

14E estenderei a minha mão sobre elles, e farei a terra assolada, e mais assolada do que o deserto da banda de Diblath, em todas as suas habitações: e saberão que eu sou o Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against the mountains of Israel, where the people practiced idolatry at 'high places' (pagan shrines), announcing destruction but promising to leave a remnant.

Explanation

The 'high places' were hilltop shrines, common in Canaanite religion, where idols and sun images were worshiped. Israel had adopted these practices despite the clear prohibition in the Law of Moses. By addressing the mountains themselves, God personifies the land as a witness to the broken covenant. Even amid the announcement of judgment, the promise of a remnant (v.8-10) shows that destruction is never God's final word. This teaches that genuine repentance can arise even from the worst circumstances.

Fun facts

  • Archaeologists have excavated several Canaanite 'high places' in Israel, complete with stone altars and standing stones, confirming the religious practice described in the text.
  • The repeated phrase 'you shall know that I am the Lord' appears more than sixty times in Ezekiel — it is the theological signature of the entire book.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 6:1A common opening formula in the book: it marks the start of a new oracle God gives Ezekiel to announce.
  2. Ezequiel 6:2This time the target is not only the city of Jerusalem but the mountains of Israel — the rural sites where the idolatrous altars the chapter is about to condemn stood.
  3. Ezequiel 6:3The “high places” were open-air hilltop shrines, common in Canaanite religion and also used by Israelites alongside worship of the LORD — that is why they become the target of judgment: mixing forms of worship is the central accusation against the people in these opening chapters.
  4. Ezequiel 6:4The judgment announced is very concrete: the idolatrous altars will be destroyed, and the people’s own corpses will fall right in front of the idols they worshiped.
  5. Ezequiel 6:5The shocking image of bones scattered around the altars shows that the very place used for false worship becomes the scene of destruction — there is no longer any way to hide the result of idolatry.
  6. Ezequiel 6:6The destruction is announced as total and sweeping — not just one temple or one city, but every dwelling, high place, and idol wherever the people have settled.
  7. Ezequiel 6:7“Ye shall know that I am the LORD” repeats dozens of times throughout the book like a refrain — it is Ezekiel’s way of saying that the ultimate goal of everything, both the punishment and the future restoration, is for the people to recognize who God is, not simply to suffer a penalty.
  8. Ezequiel 6:8In the midst of so much judgment, God guarantees that not everything will be destroyed: a group will escape and survive scattered among the nations — the seed of a future restoration.
  9. Ezequiel 6:9The survivors in exile will finally remember God and feel disgust with themselves over their own choices — repentance comes after the loss, not before it.
  10. Ezequiel 6:10The recognition that God is who He says He is comes precisely from confirming that His earlier warnings truly came to pass and were not empty threats.
  11. Ezequiel 6:11God tells Ezekiel to make a physical gesture of lament — clapping his hands and stamping his foot — to express with his body the gravity of what he is announcing.
  12. Ezequiel 6:12The text spells out that no one will escape by being far away or nearby: each distance has its own kind of disaster waiting — plague, sword, or famine.
  13. Ezequiel 6:13The final recognition of God comes precisely from the scene of destruction spread across every place idolatry was practiced — mountains, hills, leafy trees, every site of false worship becomes a scene of judgment.
  14. Ezequiel 6:14God closes the chapter promising to stretch out His hand over the land until it becomes more desolate than the emptiest places that existed in the region.

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