The morning - Rather, "The conclusion:" a whole series (literally circle) of events is being brought to a close. Others render it: Fate.

The day of trouble ... - Or, The day is near; a tumult Zechariah 14:13, and not the echo of (or, shouting on) the mountains. The contrast is between the wild tumult of war and the joyous shouts of such as keep holiday.

The morning is come unto thee - Every note of time is used in order to show the certainty of the thing. The morning that the executioner has watched for is come; the time of that morning, in which it should take place, and the day to which that time, precise hour of that morning, belongs in which judgment shall be executed. All, all is come.

And not the sounding again of the mountains - The hostile troops are advancing! Ye hear a sound, a tumultuous noise; do not suppose that this proceeds from festivals upon the mountains; from the joy of harvestmen, or the treaders of the wine-press. It is the noise of those by whom ye and your country are to fall. ולא הד הרים veto hed harim, and not the reverberation of sound, or reflected sound, or reechoing from the mountains. "Now will I shortly pour out," Ezekiel 7:8. Here they come!

The morning is come upon thee, O thou that dwellest in the land,.... That is, early ruin was come, or was coming, upon the inhabitants of Judea, which before is said to be awake, and to watch for them; and now the day being broke, the morning come, it hastened to them. Some, because this word (g) is used in Isaiah 18:5; for a crown or diadem, think a crowned head, a king, is here meant; particularly Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the instrument of the destruction of Jerusalem. So the Targum,

"the kingdom is revealed upon or against thee, O inhabitant of the land.''

Jarchi interprets it of the morning setting as the sun does, its light and glory disappearing; and so denotes a dark and gloomy day;

the time is come; the appointed time of Jerusalem's ruin, the time of her visitation;

the day of trouble, or "noise" (h),

is near; either of the Chaldean army, its chariots and horses, and of their armour; or of the howling and lamentation of the Jews:

and not the sounding again of the mountains; not like the echo of a man's voice between the mountains, which is only imaginary, but this is real; so Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: or this was not like the shoutings of the vintage, which were joyful ones, Isaiah 16:9; but this the voice of lamentation and sorrow, doleful sounds. Jarchi says the word signifies the cry of the voice, proclaiming or calling on persons to fly to the tops of the mountains, which now should not be; and so the Targum,

"and there is no fleeing or escaping to the tops of the mountains.''

(g) "corona", Tigurine version, so some is Vatablus; "cidaris matutina", Montanus. (h) "tumultus", Montanus, Piscator, Starckius; "strepitus", Calvin; "clamoris", Vatablus.

The {c} morning is come upon thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the joyful {d} shouting upon the mountains.

(c) The beginning of his punishments is already come.

(d) Which was a voice of joy and mirth.

7:7 The morning - The fatal morning, the day of destruction. Sounding - Not a mere echo, not a fancy, but a real thing.

sounding...: or, echo

7. The morning-so Chaldean and Syriac versions (compare Joe 2:2). Ezekiel wishes to awaken them from their lethargy, whereby they were promising to themselves an uninterrupted night (1Th 5:5-7), as if they were never to be called to account [Calvin]. The expression, "morning," refers to the fact that this was the usual time for magistrates giving sentence against offenders (compare Eze 7:10, below; Ps 101:8; Jer 21:12). Gesenius, less probably, translates, "the order of fate"; thy turn to be punished.

not the sounding again-not an empty echo, such as is produced by the reverberation of sounds in "the mountains," but a real cry of tumult is coming [Calvin]. Perhaps it alludes to the joyous cries of the grape-gatherers at vintage on the hills [Grotius], or of the idolaters in their dances on their festivals in honor of their false gods [Tirinus]. Havernick translates, "no brightness."

7:1-15 The abruptness of this prophecy, and the many repetitions, show that the prophet was deeply affected by the prospect of these calamities. Such will the destruction of sinners be; for none can avoid it. Oh that the wickedness of the wicked might end before it bring them to an end! Trouble is to the impenitent only an evil, it hardens their hearts, and stirs up their corruptions; but there are those to whom it is sanctified by the grace of God, and made a means of much good. The day of real trouble is near, not a mere echo or rumour of troubles. Whatever are the fruits of God's judgments, our sin is the root of them. These judgments shall be universal. And God will be glorified in all. Now is the day of the Lord's patience and mercy, but the time of the sinner's trouble is at hand.