Ezekiel 9 · Verse 2

Ezekiel 9:2

And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
Ezekiel 9:2, King James Version

Ezekiel 9:2 in other translations

BSBAnd I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
WEBBehold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lies toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand. One man in the middle of them was clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. They went in, and stood beside the bronze altar.
ASVAnd behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
YLTAnd lo, six men are coming from the way of the upper gate, that is facing the north, and each his slaughter-weapon in his hand, and one man in their midst is clothed with linen, and a scribe's inkhorn at his loins, and they come in, and stand near the brazen altar.
DARBYAnd behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which is turned toward the north, and every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and in the midst of them, one man clothed with linen, with a writer's ink-horn by his side; and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
BBEAnd six men came from the way of the higher doorway looking to the north, every man with his axe in his hand: and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer's inkpot at his side. And they went in and took their places by the brass altar.
WebsterAnd behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth towards the north, and every man a slaughter-weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in and stood beside the brazen altar.

What does Ezekiel 9:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. clothed with linen--(Da 10:5; 12:6, 7). His clothing marked his office as distinct from that of the six officers of vengeance; "linen" characterized the high priest (Le 16:4); emblematic of purity. The same garment is assigned to the angel of the Lord (for whom Michael is but another name) by the contemporary prophet Daniel (Da 10:5; 12:6, 7). Therefore the intercessory High Priest in heaven must be meant (Zec 1:12). The six with Him are His subordinates; therefore He is said to be "among them," literally, "in the midst of them," as their recognized Lord (He 1:6). He appears as a "man," implying His incarnation; as "one" (compare 1Ti 2:5). Salvation is peculiarly assigned to Him, and so He bears the "inkhorn" in order to "mark" His elect (Eze 9:4; compare Ex 12:7; Re 7:3; 9:4; 13:16, 17; 20:4), and to write their names in His book of life (Re 13:8). As Oriental scribes suspend their inkhorn at their side in the present day, and as a "scribe of the host is found in Assyrian inscriptions accompanying the host" to number the heads of the slain, so He stands ready for the work before Him. "The higher gate" was probably where now the gate of Damascus is. The six with Him make up the sacred and perfect number, seven (Zec 3:9; Re 5:6). The executors of judgment on the wicked, in Scripture teaching, are good, not bad, angels; the bad have permitted to them the trial of the pious (Job 1:12; 2Co 12:7). The judgment is executed by Him (Eze 10:2, 7; Joh 5:22, 27) through the six (Mt 13:41; 25:31); so beautifully does the Old Testament harmonize with the New Testament. The seven come "from the way of the north"; for it was there the idolatries were seen, and from the same quarter must proceed the judgment (Babylon lying northeast of Judea). So Mt 24:28. stood--the attitude of waiting reverently for Jehovah's commands. brazen altar--the altar of burnt offerings, not the altar of incense, which was of gold. They "stood" there to imply reverent obedience; for there God gave His answers to prayer [Calvin]; also as being about to slay victims to God's justice, they stand where sacrifices are usually slain [Grotius], (Eze 39:17; Is 34:6; Jr 12:3; 46:10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Stood beside the brazen altar - To signify that the people against whom they had their commission were, for their crimes, to be sacrificed to the demands of Divine justice.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 9:1-4

A vision denoting the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the departure of the symbol of the Divine presence. Verses 1-4 It is a great comfort to believers, that in the midst of destroyers and destructions, there is a Mediator, a great High Priest, who has an interest in heaven, and in whom saints on earth have an interest. The representation of the Divine glory from above the ark, removed to the…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 9:1-4 →

Ezekiel 9:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהִנֵּ֣הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
שִׁשָּׁ֣הshi.ShahsixH8337
אֲנָשִׁ֡ים'a.na.ShimmenH582
בָּאִ֣ים\׀ba.'Im[were] comingH935
מִדֶּרֶךְ\־mi.de.rekh-from [the] direction ofH1870
שַׁ֨עַרSha.'ar[the] gateH8179
הָעֶלְי֜וֹןha.'el.Yon<the> upperH5945
אֲשֶׁ֣ר\׀'a.SherwhichH834
מָפְנֶ֣הma.fe.Neh[is] facedH6437
צָפ֗וֹנָהtza.Fo.nahnorth -wardH6828
וְאִ֨ישׁve.'Ishand everyoneH376
כְּלִ֤יke.Li[the] weapon ofH3627
מַפָּצוֹ֙ma.pa.Tzoshattering hisH4660
בְּיָד֔וֹbe.ya.Do[was] in hand hisH3027
וְאִישׁ\־ve.'ish-and a manH376
אֶחָ֤ד'e.ChadoneH259
בְּתוֹכָם֙be.to.Kham[was] in midst of themH8432
לָבֻ֣שׁla.VushclothedH3847
בַּדִּ֔יםba.Dimlinen<s>H906
וְקֶ֥סֶתve.Ke.setand [the] writing-case ofH7083
הַסֹּפֵ֖רha.so.Fer<the> scribeH5608
בְּמָתְנָ֑יוbe.ma.te.Nav[was] at hips hisH4975
וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙vai.ya.Vo.'uand they cameH935
וַיַּ֣עַמְד֔וּvai.Ya.'am.Duand they stoodH5975
אֵ֖צֶל'E.tzelbesideH681
מִזְבַּ֥חmiz.Bach[the] altar ofH4196
הַנְּחֹֽשֶׁת\׃ha.ne.Cho.shet<the> bronzeH5178

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 9:2

  • Leviticus 16:4

    He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

  • Ezekiel 10:2

    And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.

  • Ezekiel 10:6-7

    And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.

  • 2 Kings 15:35

    Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the Lord.

  • Revelation 15:6

    And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

  • Jeremiah 5:15-17

    Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

  • Jeremiah 25:9

    Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

  • Exodus 27:1-7

    And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. …

  • 2 Chronicles 27:3

    He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

  • 2 Chronicles 4:1

    Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

  • Exodus 40:29

    And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord commanded Moses.

  • Jeremiah 8:16-17

    The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
six.
Jer 1:15; 5:15-17; 8:16,17; 25:9
the higher.
2Ki 15:35; 2Ch 27:3; Jer 26:10
lieth. Heb. is turned. slaughter weapon. Heb. weapon ofhis breaking in pieces. and one.
10:2,6,7; Le 16:4; Re 15:6
ink-horn.{Keseth,} (in Chaldee, {kista,} Syriac, {kesto,} Ethiopic, {kasut,}) denotes a bottle, or vessel to hold any fluid; and being here united to {sophair,} a writer, is not improperly rendered as an ink-horn: so one of the editions of Aquila, [melandocheion,] and Vulgate, {atramentarium.} Dr. Shaw informs us, that among the Moors, "the {Hojas,} i.e., writers or secretaries, suspend their ink-horns in their girdles."
by his side. Heb. upon his loins. beside.
Ex 27:1-7; 40:29; 2Ch 4:1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 9:1

    He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

  • Ezekiel 9:2

    And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

  • Ezekiel 9:3

    And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;

Read all of Ezekiel 9

Ezekiel 9:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y he aquí que seis varones venían del camino de la puerta de arriba que está vuelta al aquilón, y cada uno traía en su mano su instrumento para destruir. Y entre ellos había un varón vestido de lienzos, el cual traía á su cintura una escribanía de escribano; y entrados, paráronse junto al altar de bronce.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et voici six hommes qui venaient du chemin de la porte supérieure qui est tournée vers le nord, et chacun avec son instrument de mort dans sa main; et il y avait au milieu d’eux un homme vêtu de lin, avec un encrier d’écrivain à ses reins; et ils entrèrent, et se tinrent à côté de l’autel d’airain.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und siehe, sechs Männer kamen des Weges vom oberen Tore, welches gegen Norden sieht, ein jeder mit seinem Werkzeug zum Zerschlagen in seiner Hand; und ein Mann war in ihrer Mitte, in Linnen gekleidet, mit einem Schreibzeug an seiner Hüfte; und sie kamen und stellten sich neben den ehernen Altar. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et ecce sex viri veniebant de via portæ superioris, quæ respicit ad aquilonem, et uniuscujusque vas interitus in manu ejus: vir quoque unus in medio eorum vestitus erat lineis, et atramentarium scriptoris ad renes ejus: et ingressi sunt, et steterunt juxta altare æreum.