Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

say unto them that daub it with untempered mortar , that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

Say to them that daub without tempering, that it shall fall: for there shall be an overflowing shower, and I will cause great hailstones to fall violently from above, and a stormy wind to throw it down.

say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing rain, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall burst forth.

Say to those daubing with chalk, It falleth, There hath been an overflowing shower, And ye, O hailstones, do fall, And a tempestuous wind doth rend,

Say to those who put whitewash on it, There will be an overflowing shower; and you, O ice-drops, will come raining down; and it will be broken in two by the storm-wind.

say unto them that daub it with whited plaster, that it shall fall; there shall be an overflowing shower, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall break forth,

tell those who plaster it with whitewash, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and you, great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind break out.

Say to those who spread mortar without mixing, that it will fall apart. For there will be an inundating rain, and I will cause full-grown hailstones to rush down from above, and a windstorm to dissipate it.

Dic ad linentes insipido, cadet: [13] erit pluvia vel imber inundans: et dabo lapides grandinis, [14] et spiritus turbinum vel tempestatum scindet vel disrumpet

There shall be an overflowing shower - That shall wash off this bad mortar; sweep away the ground on which the wall stands, and level it with the earth. In the eastern countries, where the walls are built with unbaked bricks, desolations of this kind are often occasioned by tempestuous rains. Of this sort of materials were the walls of ancient cities made, and hence the reason why no vestige of them remains. Witness Babylon, which was thus built. See the note on Ezekiel 4:1.

Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar,.... The false prophets, that flattered the people with peace, prosperity, and safety:
that it shall fall; the wall they have built and daubed over; the city of Jerusalem shall be taken and destroyed; the predictions of the prophets shall prove lies; and the vain hopes and expectations of the people fail:
there shall be an overflowing shower; that shall wash away the wall with its untempered mortar; meaning the Chaldean army, compared to an overflowing shower of rain, for the multitude of men it, and the force, power, and noise, with which it should come, bearing down all before it; see Isaiah 8:7;
and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; upon the wall, and break it down: or, "ye, O great hailstones, shall cause it to fall" (h); or, "I will give great hailstones, and it shall fall" (i). The word "elgabish", which in some copies is one word, and in others two, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, is either the same with "gabish", which signifies a precious stone, and is rendered pearl in Job 28:18; or it may be, as it seems to be, an Arabic word; and Hottinger (k) takes it to be "gypsus", or lime, or the "lapis laminosus", or slate; so the Lord threatens to rain down lime or slate upon them from heaven, which should destroy the wall built with untempered mortar:
and a stormy wind shall rend it; this seems to signify the same as the overflowing shower, the Chaldean army, compared to a strong tempestuous wind; see Jeremiah 4:11; as the hailstones, may signify the king of Babylon, with his princes, nobles, and generals.
(h) "et vos, O lapides grandinis, ruere facietis aedificium", Munster. (i) "Et dabo lapides grandinis, qui corruere facient parietem", Pagninus. (k) Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 7. p. 119.

overflowing--inundating; such as will at once wash away the mere clay mortar. The three most destructive agents shall co-operate against the wall--wind, rain, and hailstones. These last in the East are more out of the regular course of nature and are therefore often particularly specified as the instruments of God's displeasure against His foes (Exodus 9:18; Joshua 10:11; Job 38:22; Psalm 18:12-13; Isaiah 28:2; Isaiah 30:30; Revelation 16:21). The Hebrew here is, literally, "stones of ice." They fall in Palestine at times an inch thick with a destructive velocity. The personification heightens the vivid effect, "O ye hail stones." The Chaldeans will be the violent agency whereby God will unmask and refute them, overthrowing their edifice of lies.