Ezekiel 21:1-17
Christian Standard Bible
God’s Sword of Judgment
21 The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 “Son of man, face(A) Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you.(B) I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Since I will cut off[a] both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will therefore come out of its sheath against all humanity from the south to the north.(C) 5 So all humanity will know that I, the Lord, have taken my sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again.’(D)
6 “But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart[b] right before their eyes. 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say, ‘Because of the news that is coming.(E) Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and all knees will run with urine.[c](F) Yes, it is coming and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
8 The word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says!’ You are to proclaim,
‘A sword!(G) A sword is sharpened
and also polished.(H)
10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
polished to flash like lightning!
Should we rejoice?
The scepter of my son,
the sword despises every tree.[d]
11 The sword is given to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand.
It is sharpened, and it is polished,
to be put in the hand of the slayer.’(I)
12 “Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel! They are given over to the sword with my people. Therefore strike your thigh in grief.(J) 13 Surely it will be a trial! And what if the sword despises even the scepter? The scepter will not continue.”[e] This is the declaration of the Lord God.
14 “So you, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together:(K)
Let the sword strike two times, even three.
It is a sword for massacre,
a sword for great massacre—
it surrounds[f] them!
15 I have appointed a sword(L) for slaughter[g]
at all their gates,
so that their hearts may melt
and many may stumble.
Yes! It is ready to flash like lightning;(M)
it is drawn[h] for slaughter.
16 Slash to the right;
turn to the left—
wherever your blade is directed.
17 I also will clap my hands together, and I will satisfy my wrath.(N) I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Read full chapter
Ezekiel 21:1-17
International Standard Version
A Prophecy against Jerusalem
21 [a]This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, look toward Jerusalem, preach[b] against its sanctuaries, and prophesy against Israel’s land. 3 Declare to Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Watch out! I’m against you! I’m going to unsheathe my sword to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you. 4 Since I’m going to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you, I’ll be unsheathing my sword against everyone from south to north. 5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who unsheathed my sword, and who won’t have to unsheathe it again.”’
6 “And now, Son of Man, you are to start groaning until you’re sick to your stomach.[c] You are to groan bitterly right in front of them.[d] 7 When they’ll ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that just arrived. Every heart will melt with fear, every hand will grow limp, every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will glisten with sweat.’ Look! It has come and it will be fulfilled,” declares the Lord God.
God’s Sword and Scepter
8 This message came to me from the Lord: 9 “Son of Man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
‘A sword!
A sword is being sharpened.
It’s also being polished.
10 It’s being sharpened for slaughter,
and being polished to gleam like lightning.’
“We shouldn’t be rejoicing, should we,
while my Son’s scepter, the sword,
is despising[e] every tree?[f]
11 It’s intended to be polished
so it can be grasped in the hand.
The sword is sharpened.
It’s polished for placement
into the hand of the executioner.”
12 ‘Cry and wail, you Son of Man!
It’s headed against my people.
It’s also against all the princes of Israel,
who have been tossed to the sword,
along with my people.
So it’s time to grieve like you mean it,[g]
13 because testing is sure to come.
‘In putting the sword to the test along with the scepter, it won’t keep on rejecting, will it?’ declares the Lord God.”
A Double and Triple Judgment
14 “Now, Son of Man, prophesy
as you strike your hands together.
Let the sword that fatally wounds be doubled and tripled.
That great, slaughtering sword closes in on them.
I’ve set in place a slaughtering sword
at the entrance to all their gates,
15 so that their hearts melt
and the number of those who stumble increase.
I’ve set in place a slaughtering sword
at the entrance to all their gates.
Oh, no! It’s made like lightning.
It’s drawn to slaughter.
16 Be sharp!
Attack on the right,
or parry to your left,
wherever you point your sword.[h]
17 I will also clap my hands;
then my anger will subside.[i]
I, the Lord have spoken it.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 This v. is 21:6 in MT
- Ezekiel 21:2 Lit. Drop a word
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit. until your loins break
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit. bitterly before their eyes
- Ezekiel 21:10 The verb despising requires the Heb. antecedent the sword, which The Heb. lacks
- Ezekiel 21:10 I.e. every living human being in Israel
- Ezekiel 21:12 Lit. So strike your thigh
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. face
- Ezekiel 21:17 Lit. rest
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
