And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lies 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 brazen altar.
And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lies 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 brazen altar.
And 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.
And 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.
And 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.
Behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lies 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. They went in, and stood beside the bronze altar.
And 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 brasen altar.
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.
Six men - angels of wrath - figurative of destruction. They come from the north, the quarter from which invading armies entered the holy land. These "six" angels, with the "one among them," a superior over the six, make up the number "seven," a number symbolic of God's covenant with His people.
The higher gate - The north gate of the court of the priests. The temple rose by platforms; as there was a north gate to the outer and also to the inner court, the latter was probably distinguished as the "higher gate." It was built by Jotham 2 Kings 15:35.
Clothed with linen - The priestly garment Exodus 28:6, Exodus 28:8; Leviticus 16:4. This "One Man" (Compare Daniel 10:5; Revelation 1:13) was the "angel of the covenant," the great high priest, superior to those by whom He was surrounded, receiving direct communication from the Lord, taking the coals of vengeance from between the cherubim Ezekiel 10:2, but coming with mercy to the contrite as well as with vengeance to the impenitent; these are attributes of Jesus Christ John 5:30; Luke 2:34; Matthew 9:13; John 6:39.
A writer's inkhorn - Usually a flat case about nine inches long, by an inch and a quarter broad, and half an inch thick, the hollow of which serves to contain the reed pens and penknife. At one end is the ink-vessel which is twice as heavy as the shaft. The latter is passed through the girdle and prevented from slipping through by the projecting ink-vessel. The whole is usually of polished metal, brass, copper or silver. The man with the inkhorn has to write in the Book of Life the names of those who shall be marked. The metaphor is from the custom of registering the names of the Israelites in public rolls. Compare Exodus 32:33; Psalm 69:28; Isaiah 4:3; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5.
9:2 And - As soon as the command was given, the ministers of God's displeasure appear. Men - In appearance and vision they were men, and the prophet calls them as he saw them. The north - Insinuating whence their destruction should come. One man - Not a companion, but as one of authority over them. With linen - A garment proper to the priesthood.They - All the seven.