Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 5:9

"And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations." — Ezekiel 5:9 (ASV)

That which I have not done, and to which I will not do any more the like. —Our Lord uses similar language (Matthew 24:21) in foretelling the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. But it is questioned whether Ezekiel here looks forward to that calamity, and any comparison between that and the destruction under Nebuchadnezzar is out of place. What the prophet here intends is not a comparison between different judgments upon the Jews, but between God’s treatment of them and of others. As they had received from His hand higher opportunities and privileges than He had previously given or would subsequently give to any other nation, so the punishment for their sin must be more severe and more conspicuous than He had inflicted or would inflict on any other.

All the Divine judgments upon them throughout all time may therefore be considered as here coming into view. The present captivity and the impending destruction of the temple were but single features of a long series of judgments, in the course of which the terrible particulars mentioned in Ezekiel 5:10 would take place, ending with what is the present condition of the people before our eyes, scattered “into all the winds.” Such evils had been foretold by their prophets throughout their history as the consequence of disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:53 —the sons eating their fathers is a fearful addition here; Jeremiah 19:9), and from time to time had in some degree occurred (2 Kings 6:28–29; Lamentations 2:20), although the culmination of the punishment, like the culmination of the sin, was still future.