Ezek 11:13

“And it came to pass when I prophesied,.... Or, "as I prophesied" (i); that is, while he was prophesying, or declaring the above things from the mouth of the Lord, concerning the slaughter of the Jews by the sword, and the captivity of the rest: that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died; one of the princes of the people, and was among the five and twenty men the prophet saw at the door of the east gate of the temple, Eze 11:1; this man dropped down dead on a sudden, just as Ananias and Sapphira at the feet of Peter, Act 5:5. It was in a vision Ezekiel saw this, and in the temple; but no doubt at the same time this prince died at his own house, whose death was notified to the prophet in this way; then fell I down upon my face; as greatly surprised at the event, and filled with concern at what would be the issue of this providence; looking upon it as a pledge and earnest, a token and forerunner, of the utter destruction of the people: and cried with a loud voice; expressing the vehemency of his affection, and the earnestness of his supplication: and said, ah, Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? or, "art thou making?" (k) the ten tribes had been carried captive many years ago, and a large number of the other two tribes in Jeconiah's captivity, so that there were but a remnant left in the land; and, upon the sudden and awful death of this prince, the prophet feared the Lord was going to make an utter end of them at once; which he deprecates. (i) "me prophetante", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus. (k) "tu faciem", Montanus, Starckius.”

“Pheltias, the prince, (ver. 1.; Haydock) or false prophet, whose death Ezechiel does not bewail, but fears the great destruction of the people; (Worthington; Menochius) though, if Pheltias died impenitent, his death might justly call for tears. (Haydock) — This happened in a vision. Yet (Calmet) he probably died suddenly about his time. (Lyranus)”

“Pelaliah--probably the ringleader of the scorners (Eze 11:1) was an earnest of the destruction of the rest of the twenty-five, as Ezekiel had foretold, as also of the general ruin. fell . . . upon . . . face--(See on Eze 9:8). wilt thou make a full end of the remnant--Is Pelatiah's destruction to be the token of the destruction of all, even of the remnant? The people regarded Pelatiah as a mainstay of the city. His name (derived from a Hebrew root, "a remnant," or else "God delivers") suggested hope. Is that hope, asks Ezekiel, to be disappointed?”

“And it came to pass, as I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died: then I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said: Alas! Lord Jehovah, dost Thou make an end of the remnant of Israel? - The sudden death of one of the princes of the nation, while Ezekiel was prophesying, was intended to assure the house of Israel of the certain fulfilment of this word of God. So far, however, as the fact itself is concerned, we must bear in mind, that as it was only in spirit that Ezekiel was at Jerusalem, and prophesied to the men whom he saw in spirit there, so the death of Pelatiah was simply a part of the vision, and in all probability was actually realized by the sudden death of this prince during or immediately after the publication of the vision. But the occurrence, even when the prophet saw it in spirit, made such an impression upon his mind, that with trembling and despair he once more made an importunate appeal to God, as in Eze 9:8, and inquired whether He meant to destroy the whole of the remnant of Israel. עשׂה כלה, to put an end to a thing, with את before the object, as in Zep 1:18 (see the comm. on Nah 1:8). The Lord then gives him the comforting assurance in Eze 11:14-21, that He will preserve a remnant among the exiles, and make them His people once more.”