John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 12:17-19

"Moreover the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with fearfulness; and say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, [and despoiled] of all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein." — Ezekiel 12:17-19 (ASV)

The Prophet is now ordered to represent the famine that awaited the Jews in both the siege and exile. But this prophecy ought to be especially referred to the time of the siege, because the Jews were in continual fear and thought that through their garrison they would be impregnable.

But as the Lord had often removed this trust from them, so He does now. Hence that miserable anxiety and fear, so that they never ate their bread except in fear, nor drank their water except in confusion. For a besieged city always fears for itself, and then the enemy so harasses them that fatigue eventually compels the besieged to surrender.

And it is probable, since the army of the Chaldeans could often attempt to take the city with ease and without any great loss, that the Jews would daily be subject to new terrors, so that they could neither eat bread nor drink water except in anxiety and confusion. But because simple and unadorned teaching would not have been effective among the ten tribes and the Jews, an outward symbol is therefore added.

The Prophet therefore is the image of the besieged people, and so he is ordered to eat his bread with trembling, that the spectacle might more deeply affect these slow and slothful men. Soon the application follows: You shall say to the people of the land.

I do not doubt that he here means the ten tribes; therefore, the land signifies Chaldea and those regions through which the exiles were dispersed.

As we have previously seen, it was advantageous for them to hear this, because they thought that the Jews remaining at home were treated well, while they themselves were treated miserably. Therefore, not only their complaint but even their outcry against God and His servants, especially Jeremiah, arose. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet is obliged to utter his discourse to the captives.

But afterward it follows, Thus says the Lord Jehovah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem concerning the land of Israel; that is, those remaining in the land of Israel. We here see that the land of Israel is distinguished from the other land, which was recently mentioned.

Those who lived at Jerusalem remained quiet in their own inheritance, and therefore their condition was esteemed better, because nothing is sadder than exile and captivity.

But God declares them more miserable than the captives, who had already been relieved from the main part of their miseries. They shall eat, He says, their bread in pain—or torture—and shall drink their water in desolation. He does not repeat the same words which He had previously used, but briefly shows that the Jews boasted in vain that they were still in safety, because very soon the enemy will press upon them, so that they would not be able to eat a mouthful of bread in peace.

That the land may be reduced, He says, from plenty to devastation. Some translate this as “after its plenty,” which is forced and far-fetched.

For the Prophet means that the land would be desert and empty through exhaustion, because plenty, as we well know, means an abundance of all things. Judea was then reduced from plenty to want when the enemies plundered whatever it contained, and so the region was despoiled of its wealth.

The reason follows: through the violence of those who dwell in it. Some erroneously explain this as referring to the Chaldeans, because the land was lost through their rapacity.

For the Prophet rather informs us that this vengeance of God was just, because in truth all the Jews were given up to violence, cruelty, and rapacity. The Hebrew word חמס, chemes, signifies every kind of injury, but usually means violence and plunder.

Therefore, we understand the Prophet’s intention: namely, that the Jews deservedly suffered this slaughter, because the just reward of their wickedness was measured out to them.

And so Ezekiel represses all complaints in which they indulged too freely, as if God were treating them too roughly and harshly. Therefore, he briefly teaches them that He would not spare them any longer.