Ezekiel Chapter 21
1 The LORD's word came to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, set your face towards Jerusalem, and preach towards the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel.
3 Tell the land of Israel, 'The LORD says: "Behold, I am against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.
5 All flesh will know that I, the LORD, have drawn my sword out of its sheath. It will not return any more." '
6 "Therefore sigh, you son of man. You shall sigh before their eyes with a broken heart and with bitterness.
7 It shall be, when they ask you, 'Why do you sigh?' that you shall say, 'Because of the news, for it comes! Every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord GOD.' "
8 The LORD's word came to me, saying,
9 "Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'The LORD says: "A sword! A sword! It is sharpened, and also polished.
10 It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Should we then make mirth? The rod of my son condemns every tree.
11 It is given to be polished, that it may be handled. The sword is sharpened. Yes, it is polished to give it into the hand of the killer." '
12 Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people. It is on all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Therefore beat your thigh.
13 "For there is a trial. What if even the rod that condemns will be no more?" says the Lord GOD.
14 "You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together. Let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the fatally wounded. It is the sword of the great one who is fatally wounded, which enters into their rooms.
15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made as lightning. It is pointed for slaughter.
16 Gather yourselves together. Go to the right. Set yourselves in array. Go to the left, wherever your face is set.
17 I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, the LORD, have spoken it."
18 The LORD's word came to me again, saying,
19 "Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. They both will come out of one land, and mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
20 You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows back and forth. He consulted the teraphim. He looked in the liver.
22 In his right hand was the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, and to build forts.
23 It will be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.
24 "Therefore the Lord GOD says: 'Because you have caused your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you will be taken with the hand.
25 " 'You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,
26 the Lord GOD says: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown. This will not be as it was. Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also will be no more, until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it." '
28 "You, son of man, prophesy, and say, 'The Lord GOD says this concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach: "A sword! A sword is drawn! It is polished for the slaughter, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;
29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my indignation on you. I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath. I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.
32 You will be for fuel to the fire. Your blood will be in the middle of the land. You will be remembered no more; for I, the LORD, have spoken it." ' "
Footnotes
- Verse 6 (broken heart)
- literally, the breaking of your thighs
- Verse 21 (Teraphim)
- teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the household property.
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Ezekiel Chapter 21 Guide
The commission was then repeated in terms of explanation. Ezekiel was to set his face against Jerusalem, and prophesy against the land of Israel, declaring that Jehovah would draw His sword out of its sheath in order to proceed in ultimate judgment against the sinning people.
Moreover, Ezekiel was charged that his message was to be delivered with all the tokens of overwhelming anguish, which tokens should in themselves constitute a sign which he was to interpret to the people as the anguish which must inevitably overtake them in the day of calamity.
All this had prepared the way for the song of the sword. First, in graphic language the prophet described the sword itself, sharpened and furbished, and ready to the hand of the slayer. This song was immediately followed by an interpretation. The king of Babylon was seen approaching. He came to a place where the ways parted, one leading to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, the other to Jerusalem. There he used divination with arrows, and consulted the teraphim. The lot fell on ,Jerusalem, and toward that he proceeded with all the instruments of siege.
Then the prince of Israel was addressed. Charged with sin, his judgment was announced, and the fact that Jehovah would continue to overturn until the coming of the rightful King. When at the parting of the ways the king of Babylon turned toward Jerusalem it would seem as though Ammon had drawn a sword, in all likelihood with the intention of taking part in the vengeance about to fall on Jerusalem. The prophet uttered the word which commanded Ammon to sheathe that sword, and declared that the judgment of Jehovah was against it.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Ezekiel Chapter 21 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The ruin of Judah under the emblem of a sharp sword. -- (1-17)
- The approach of the king of Babylon described. -- (18-27)
- The destruction of the Ammonites. -- (28-32)
Verses 1-17
Here is an explanation of the parable in the last chapter. It is declared that the Lord was about to cut off Jerusalem and the whole land, that all might know it was his decree against a wicked and rebellious people. It behoves those who denounce the awful wrath of God against sinners, to show that they do not desire the woful day. The example of Christ teaches us to lament over those whose ruin we declare. Whatever instruments God uses in executing his judgments, he will strengthen them according to the service they are employed in. The sword glitters to the terror of those against whom it is drawn. It is a sword to others, a rod to the people of the Lord. God is in earnest in pronouncing this sentence, and the prophet must show himself in earnest in publishing it.
Verses 18-27
By the Spirit of prophecy Ezekiel foresaw Nebuchadnezzar's march from Babylon, which he would determine by divination. The Lord would overturn the government of Judah, till the coming of Him whose right it is. This seems to foretell the overturnings of the Jewish nation to the present day, and the troubles of states and kingdoms, which shall make way for establishing the Messiah's kingdom throughout the earth. The Lord secretly leads all to adopt his wise designs. And in the midst of the most tremendous warnings of wrath, we still hear of mercy, and some mention of Him through whom mercy is shown to sinful men.
Verses 28-32
The diviners of the Ammonites made false prophecies of victory. They would never recover their power, but in time would be wholly forgotten. Let us be thankful to be employed as instruments of mercy; let us use our understandings in doing good; and let us stand aloof from men who are only skilful to destroy.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.