Ézéchiel 9:4

Darby's French Translation

et l'Éternel lui dit: Passe au milieu de la ville, au milieu de Jérusalem, et fais une marque sur les fronts des hommes qui soupirent et gémissent à cause de toutes les abominations qui se commettent au dedans d'elle.

Parallel Translations

La Bible David Martin (1744)
Et l'Eternel lui dit : passe par le milieu de la ville, par le milieu de J�rusalem, et marque [la lettre] Thau sur les fronts des hommes qui g�missent et qui soupirent � cause de toutes les abominations qui se commettent au dedans d'elle.

La Bible Ostervald (1996)
Et l'�ternel lui dit: Traverse la ville, J�rusalem, et fais une marque sur le front des hommes qui g�missent et qui soupirent � cause de toutes les abominations qui se commettent dans son sein.

Louis Segond (1910)
L'Eternel lui dit: Passe au milieu de la ville, au milieu de J�rusalem, et fais une marque sur le front des hommes qui soupirent et qui g�missent � cause de toutes les abominations qui s'y commettent.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

set a mark: Heb. mark a mark, Exodus 12:7, Exodus 12:13, Malachi 3:16, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 4:30, 2 Timothy 2:19, Revelation 7:2, Revelation 7:3, Revelation 9:4, Revelation 13:6, Revelation 13:7, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 20:4

that sigh: Ezekiel 6:11, 2 Kings 22:13, 2 Kings 22:19, 2 Kings 22:20, Psalms 119:53, Psalms 119:136, Isaiah 57:15, Jeremiah 13:17, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 2 Peter 2:8, 2 Peter 2:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:15 - set a mark Genesis 7:1 - Come Exodus 12:23 - and will not Numbers 25:6 - weeping Deuteronomy 4:4 - General Joshua 2:12 - give me 2 Chronicles 34:27 - thine heart Ezra 9:4 - trembled Ezra 10:3 - of those that Psalms 51:17 - a broken spirit Psalms 55:10 - mischief Psalms 87:6 - when Psalms 119:158 - General Isaiah 3:10 - Say ye Isaiah 24:13 - there Isaiah 66:2 - to this Isaiah 66:10 - that mourn Jeremiah 23:9 - heart Jeremiah 44:10 - humbled Ezekiel 13:22 - with lies Ezekiel 21:6 - Sigh Joel 2:13 - rend Habakkuk 3:16 - that I Matthew 5:4 - General Luke 4:18 - to heal Luke 6:21 - ye that weep Luke 17:34 - two Luke 24:17 - and are John 11:38 - groaning Romans 7:24 - wretched Romans 9:2 - General 1 Corinthians 5:2 - mourned Revelation 13:16 - or

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said unto him,.... This shows that a divine Person is meant by the glory of the God of Israel:

go through the midst of the city; that is, as it is next explained,

through the midst of Jerusalem; the city the six men had the charge over or against, Ezekiel 9:1;

and set a mark upon the foreheads; not the Hebrew letter ת, as some say, because in the form of a cross, and so signifying salvation by the cross of Christ; for this letter has no such form, neither in the characters used by the Jews, nor by the Samaritans, at least in the present character; though Origen and Jerom on the place say that the letter "tau" had the form of a cross in the letters the Samaritans used in their time; and this is defended by Walton t, who observes, that Azariah in his Hebrew alphabet gives a double figure, one like that which is in present use, and another in the form of a cross, called St. Andrew's cross, and as it appears in some shekels; and in the Vatican alphabet, which Angelus E Roccha published, the last letter has the form of a cross; as have the Ethiopic and Coptic alphabets, which, it is certain, sprung from the ancient Hebrew; and so Montfaucon says u, in some Samaritan coins, the letter "thau" has the form of a cross; which, if Scaliger had met with, he says he would never have opposed the testimonies of Origen and Jerom; though, after all, it seems to be no other than the form of the Greek "x"; and so the Talmudists say w the high priest, was anointed on his forehead in the same form: some think this letter was the mark, because it is the first letter of the word תורה, "the law"; as if it pointed out such who were obedient to it; or of the word תחיה "thou shall live". It is a Rabbinical fancy, mentioned by Kimchi x, that Gabriel had orders to write the letter ת in ink upon the foreheads of the righteous, and in blood upon the foreheads of the wicked; in the one it signified תחיה, "thou shall live", and in the other תמות, "thou shall die"; but, as Calvin observes, rather, if this letter could be thought to be meant, the reason of it was, because it is the last letter of the alphabet; and so may signify, that the Lord's people marked with it are the last among men, or the faith of the world; or that such who persevere to the end shall be saved: but the word signifies, not a letter, but a mark or sign; and so it is interpreted in the Septuagint version, and by the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and others; and denotes the distinction the Lord had made by his grace between them and others; and now by his power and providence in the protection of them; for the, Lord knows them that are his, and will preserve them. The allusion is either to the marking of servants in their foreheads, by which they were known who they belonged to, Revelation 7:3; or to the sprinkling of the posts of the Israelites' houses with blood, when the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, Exodus 12:22;

of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof; the abominations were those abominable idolatries mentioned in the preceding chapter, and those dreadful immoralities hinted at in Ezekiel 9:9; all which were grieving and distressing to godly minds, because they were contrary to the nature and will of God; transgressions, of his righteous law; and on account of which his name was dishonoured, and his ways blasphemed and evil spoken of; for these they sighed and groaned in private, and mourned and lamented in public; bearing their testimony against them with bitter expressions of grief and sorrow, by groans, words, and tears; and such as these are taken notice of by the Lord; he comforts those that mourn in Zion, and preserves them.

t Supplementum de Sicl. Formis, p. 37. 3. Prolegom. 3. de lingua Hebr. sect. 36. u Palaeograph. Graec. l. 2. c. 3. w T. Bab. Ceritot, c. 1. fol. 5. 2. x Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

mercy precedes judgment. So in the case of Sodom Genesis 19:0, and in the last day Luke 21:18, Luke 21:28; Revelation 7:1. This accords with the eschatological character of the predictions in this chapter (see the introduction of Ezekiel).

A mark - literally, “Tau,” the name of the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The old form of the letter was that of a cross. The Jews have interpreted this sign variously, some considering that “Tau,” being the last of the Hebrew letters, and so closing the alphabet, denoted completeness, and thus the mark indicated the completeness of the sorrow for sin in those upon whom it was placed. Others again observed that “Tau” was the first letter of Torah (“the Law”) and that the foreheads were marked as of men obedient to the Law. Christians, noting the resemblance of this letter in its most ancient form to a cross, have seen herein a reference to the cross with which Christians were signed. The custom for pagan gods and their votaries to bear certain marks furnishes instances, in which God was pleased to employ symbolism, generally in use, to express higher and more divine truth. The sign of the cross in baptism is an outward sign of the designation of God’s elect, who at the last day shall be exempted from the destruction of the ungodly Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:31.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 9:4. Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh — This is in allusion to the ancient every-where-used custom of setting marks on servants and slaves, to distinguish them from others. It was also common for the worshippers of particular idols to have their idol's mark upon their foreheads, arms, c. These are called sectarian marks to the present day among the Hindoos and others in India. Hence by this mark we can easily know who is a follower of Vishnoo, who of Siva, who of Bramah, &c. The original words, והתוית תו vehithvitha tau, have been translated by the Vulgate, et signa thau, "and mark thou tau on the foreheads," &c. St. Jerome and many others have thought that the letter tau was that which was ordered to be placed on the foreheads of those mourners and Jerome says, that this Hebrew letter ת tau was formerly written like a cross. So then the people were to be signed with the sign of the cross! It is certain that on the ancient Samaritan coins, which are yet extant, the letter tau is in the form +, which is what we term St. Andrew's cross. The sense derived from this by many commentators is, that God, having ordered those penitents to be marked with this figure, which is the sign of the cross, intimated that there is no redemption nor saving of life but by the cross of Christ, and that this will avail none but the real penitent. All this is true in itself, but it is not true in respect to this place. The Hebrew words signify literally, thou shalt make a mark, or sign a sign, but give no intimation what that mark or sign was. It was intended here to be what the sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb on the lintels and door-posts of the Israelites was, namely, a notice to the destroying angel what house he should spare. As the whole of this matter only passed in vision we are bound to neither letter, nor any other kind of figure. The symbolical action teaches us that God, in general judgments, will make a distinction between the innocent and the guilty, between the penitent and the hardened sinner.