John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 5:10

"Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds." — Ezekiel 5:10 (ASV)

Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in your midst ,
&c.] Which was long ago threatened by the Lord, and prophesied by Moses, (Leviticus 26:27) (Deuteronomy 28:53Deuteronomy 28:55Deuteronomy 28:57) ; and was fulfilled at several times in the people of Israel, as at the siege of Samaria, (2 Kings 6:28 2 Kings 6:29) ; at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, (Lamentations 4:10) ; and at the siege of the same city by Titus Vespasian, as Josephus ^F23 relates; for though these instances only show that mothers ate their children, yet no doubt the fathers took part with them; and if mothers, who are naturally more tender, could do this, it is much more reasonable to suppose that fathers did the same:

and the sons shall eat their fathers ;
this, though nowhere recorded, yet doubtless was done; it being as reasonable to think that a son might eat his father as a father his son, though both monstrously shocking:

and I will execute judgments in you ;
punishments, such as pestilence, famine, and sword, after mentioned:

and the whole remnant of you will I scatter into all the winds ;
that is, those that remain, and are not cut off, by the above judgments, shall be carried captive into Babylon, or be dispersed into Egypt, Ammon, Moab, and other places: this had a full accomplishment in the dispersion of the Jews into the several parts of the world, when they were destroyed by the Romans.

---

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 3. sect. 4. Ed. Hudson.