Ezekiel 9 · Verse 6

Ezekiel 9:6

Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Ezekiel 9:6, King James Version

Ezekiel 9:6 in other translations

BSBSlaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
WEBKill utterly the old man, the young man, the virgin, little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” Then they began at the old men who were before the house.
ASVslay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house.
YLTaged, young man, and virgin, and infant, and women, ye do slay--to destruction; and against any man on whom is the mark ye do not go nigh, and from My sanctuary ye begin.'
DARBYSlay utterly the old man, the young man, and the maiden, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the elders who were before the house.
BBEGive up to destruction old men and young men and virgins, little children and women: but do not come near any man who has the mark on him: and make a start at my holy place. So they made a start with the old men who were before the house.
WebsterSlay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the elderly men who were before the house.

What does Ezekiel 9:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. come not near any ... upon whom ... mark--(Re 9:4). It may be objected that Daniel, Jeremiah, and others were carried away, whereas many of the vilest were left in the land. But God does not promise believers exemption from all suffering, but only from what will prove really and lastingly hurtful to them. His sparing the ungodly turns to their destruction and leaves them without excuse [Calvin]. However, the prophecy waits a fuller and final fulfilment, for Re 7:3-8, in ages long after Babylon, foretells, as still future, the same sealing of a remnant (one hundred forty-four thousand) of Israel previous to the final outpouring of wrath on the rest of the nation; the correspondence is exact; the same pouring of fire from the altar follows the marking of the remnant in both (compare Re 8:5, with Eze 10:2). So Zec 13:9; 14:2, distinguish the remnant from the rest of Israel. begin at ... sanctuary--For in it the greatest abominations had been committed; it had lost the reality of consecration by the blood of victims sacrificed to idols; it must, therefore, lose its semblance by the dead bodies of the slain idolaters (Eze 9:7). God's heaviest wrath falls on those who have sinned against the highest privileges; these are made to feel it first (1Pe 4:17, 18). He hates sin most in those nearest to Him; for example, the priests, &c. ancient men--the seventy elders.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Begin at my sanctuary - Let those who have sinned against most mercy, and most privileges, be the first victims of justice. Those who know their Lord's will, and do it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. The unfaithful members of Christ's church will be first visited and most punished. But let not those who belong to the synagogue of Satan exult in this, for if judgment begin at the house of God what will the end be of them who obey not the Gospel! However, the truly penitent of all descriptions in such cases shall be safe. The command of God is, "Set a mark on all them that sigh and cry;" and his command to the destroyers is, "Come not near any man on whom is the mark."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 9:5-11

The slaughter must begin at the sanctuary, that all may see and know that the Lord hates sin most in those nearest to him. He who was appointed to protect, reported the matter. Christ is faithful to the trust reposed in him. Is he commanded by his Father to secure eternal life to the chosen remnant? He says, Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. If others perish, and we are saved, we must ascribe the…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 9:5-11 →

Ezekiel 9:6 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.

זָקֵ֡ןza.Kenold [man]H2205
בָּח֣וּרba.Churyoung manH970
וּבְתוּלָה֩u.ve.tu.Lahand virginH1330
וְטַ֨ףve.Tafand little one[s]H2945
וְנָשִׁ֜יםve.na.Shimand womenH802
תַּהַרְג֣וּta.har.Guyou will killH2026
לְמַשְׁחִ֗יתle.mash.Chitto destructionH4889
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and toH5921
כָּל\־kol-anyH3605
אִ֨ישׁ'ishpersonH376
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whomH834
עָלָ֤יו'a.Lav[is] on himH5921
הַתָּו֙ha.Tavthe markH8420
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תִּגַּ֔שׁוּti.Ga.shuyou draw nearH5066
וּמִמִּקְדָּשִׁ֖יu.mi.mik.da.Shiand from sanctuary myH4720
תָּחֵ֑לּוּta.Che.luyou will beginH2490
וַיָּחֵ֙לּוּ֙vai.ya.Che.luand they beganH2490
בָּאֲנָשִׁ֣יםba.'a.na.Shimwith the menH582
הַזְּקֵנִ֔יםha.ze.ke.Nim<the> oldH2205
אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.SherwhoH834
לִפְנֵ֥יlif.Nei[were] <to> beforeH6440
הַבָּֽיִת\׃ha.Ba.yitthe houseH1004

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

Cross references for Ezekiel 9:6

  • Revelation 9:4

    And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

  • Exodus 12:23

    For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

  • Jeremiah 25:29

    For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • 2 Timothy 2:19

    Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

  • Revelation 7:3

    Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

  • 1 Peter 4:17-18

    For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

  • Luke 12:47

    And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

  • 2 Chronicles 36:17

    Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

  • Joshua 2:18-19

    Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

  • Joshua 6:17-25

    And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. …

  • 1 Samuel 15:3

    Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

  • Deuteronomy 2:34

    And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
utterly. Heb. to destruction. old.
Nu 31:15-17; De 2:34; 3:6; Jos 6:17-21; 1Sa 15:3; 2Ch 36:17
but.
Ex 12:23; Jos 2:18,19; 6:22-25; 2Ti 2:19; Re 7:3; 9:4; 14:4
and begin.
8:5-16; Jer 25:29; Am 3:2; Lu 12:47; 1Pe 4:17,18
at the.
8:11,16; 11:1

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

Context

  • Ezekiel 9:5

    And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

  • Ezekiel 9:6

    Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

  • Ezekiel 9:7

    And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

Read all of Ezekiel 9

Ezekiel 9:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Matad viejos, mozos y vírgenes, niños y mujeres, hasta que no quede ninguno: mas á todo aquel sobre el cual hubiere señal, no llegaréis; y habéis de comenzar desde mi santuario. Comenzaron pues desde los varones ancianos que estaban delante del templo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Tuez, détruisez vieillards, jeunes hommes, et vierges, et petits enfants, et femmes; mais n’approchez d’aucun de ceux qui ont sur eux la marque, et commencez par mon sanctuaire. Et ils commencèrent par les anciens qui étaient devant la maison.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Mordet bis zur Vertilgung Greise, Jünglinge und Jungfrauen und Kinder und Weiber! aber nahet euch niemandem, an welchem das Zeichen ist; und bei meinem Heiligtum sollt ihr anfangen. Und sie fingen an bei den alten Männern, welche vor dem Hause waren. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
senem, adolescentulum et virginem, parvulum et mulieres interficite usque ad internecionem: omnem autem super quem videritis thau, ne occidatis: et a sanctuario meo incipite. Cœperunt ergo a viris senioribus, qui erant ante faciem domus.