18 "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.
18 You'll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols.
18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.
18 "When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 11:18
Commentary on Ezekiel 11:14-21
(Read Ezekiel 11:14-21)
The pious captives in Babylon were insulted by the Jews who continued in Jerusalem; but God made gracious promises to them. It is promised, that God will give them one heart; a heart firmly fixed for God, and not wavering. All who are made holy have a new spirit, a new temper and dispositions; they act from new principles, walk by new rules, and aim at new ends. A new name, or a new face, will not serve without a new spirit. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The carnal heart, like a stone, cannot be made to feel. Men live among the dead and dying, and are neither concerned nor humbled. He will make their hearts tender and fit to receive impressions: this is God's work, it is his gift by promise; and a wonderful and happy change is wrought by it, from death to life. Their practices shall be agreeable to those principles. These two must and will go together. When the sinner feels his need of these blessings, let him present the promises as prayers in the name of Christ, they will be performed.