Ezekiel 21:1-17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Prophecy of Yahweh’s Sword
21 [a]And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, (A)set your face toward Jerusalem and (B)speak, dripping out words against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, (C)I am against you; and I will bring out My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the (D)righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against (E)all flesh from south to north. 5 Thus all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have brought out My sword from its sheath. It will (F)not return to its sheath again.”’ 6 Now as for you, son of man, groan with breaking [b]heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 7 And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the (G)report that is coming; and (H)every heart will melt, all hands will fall limp, every spirit will [c]faint, and all knees will [d]be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will happen,’ declares Lord Yahweh.”
8 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says [e]the Lord.’ Say,
‘(I)A sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a (J)slaughter,
Polished [f]to flash like lightning!’
Or shall we [g]rejoice in the [h]scepter of My son? The sword (K)despises every tree. 11 It is given to be polished, that it may be seized by the [i]hand; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the one who kills. 12 (L)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people; it is against all the (M)princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people; therefore slap your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the [j]scepter [k]which the sword despises will be no more?” declares Lord Yahweh.
14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together; and let the sword be (N)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 that their (O)hearts may melt, and many will be (P)stumbling blocks at all their (Q)gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter. 16 [l]Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your [m]edge is appointed. 17 And I will also strike My hands together, and I will [n](R)cause My wrath to be at rest; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 Ch 21:6 in Heb
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit loins
- Ezekiel 21:7 Lit be dim
- Ezekiel 21:7 Lit flow
- Ezekiel 21:9 Some mss and versions Yahweh
- Ezekiel 21:10 Lit lightning to be to her
- Ezekiel 21:10 Or rejoice, the scepter of My son despising every tree?
- Ezekiel 21:10 Or rod
- Ezekiel 21:11 Lit palm
- Ezekiel 21:13 Or rod
- Ezekiel 21:13 Or which despises
- Ezekiel 21:16 Or Unite yourself
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit face
- Ezekiel 21:17 Or appease
Ezekiel 21:1-17
New English Translation
The Sword of Judgment
21 (21:6)[a] The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[b] Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to them,[c] ‘This is what the Lord says: Look,[d] I am against you.[e] I will draw my sword[f] from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.[g] 4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone[h] from the south[i] to the north. 5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again!’
6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart[j] and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone[k] will faint, and every knee will be wet with urine.’[l] Pay attention—it is coming and it will happen, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
8 The Lord’s message came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree![m]
11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand—
the sword is sharpened, it is polished—
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
12 Cry out and moan, son of man,
for it is wielded against my people;
against all the princes of Israel.
They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh.[n]
13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more?[o] declares the Sovereign Lord.’
14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to[p] the left,
wherever your edge[q] is appointed to strike.
17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.
- Ezekiel 21:2 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
- Ezekiel 21:3 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 21:3 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 21:3 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
- Ezekiel 21:3 sn This is the sword of judgment; see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
- Ezekiel 21:3 sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25. The words do not require all the people in each category to be cut off.
- Ezekiel 21:4 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
- Ezekiel 21:4 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
- Ezekiel 21:6 tn Heb “breaking loins.”
- Ezekiel 21:7 tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”
- Ezekiel 21:7 sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.
- Ezekiel 21:10 tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son? It despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “Let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.sn The people of Judah should not place false hope in their king, symbolized by his royal scepter, for God’s judgment (symbolized by fire and then a sword) would destroy every tree (see 20:47), symbolizing the righteous and wicked (see 21:3-4).
- Ezekiel 21:12 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cf. Jer 31:19.
- Ezekiel 21:13 tn Heb “For testing (will come), and what if also a scepter it despises will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult, and any rendering is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 21:16 tn Heb “Put to.”
- Ezekiel 21:16 tn Heb “face.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.