Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 6:9

"And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with they eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations." — Ezekiel 6:9 (ASV)

Because I am broken. —The verb in the Hebrew is passive in form, but it is better to take it, with most modern commentators, as a middle, in a transitive sense: Because I have broken their whorish heart ... and their eyes. The eyes are mentioned as the means by which their hearts had been enticed to evil.

Here, as constantly in all parts of Scripture, apostasy from God is described under the figure of unfaithfulness in the marriage relation. They shall loathe themselves indicates a true repentance; they shall loathe the sin and themselves for having committed it.

Thus, their sin has drawn down punishment. Punishment has destroyed many but brought a “remnant” to repentance. Repentance, in turn, leads to a true knowledge of God and communion with Him. The Divine word and act has not been “in vain.”