Ezekiel 21

Ezekiel · Chapter 21

Ezekiel 21:20

1And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,3And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.4Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:5That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.6Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.8Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:10It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.11And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.12Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.13Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.14Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.15I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.16Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.17I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.18The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,19Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.22At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.24Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,26Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.28And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:29Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.30Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.31And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.32Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
a roadדֶּ֣רֶךְDE-rekhH1870K
way: conduct

דֶּ֫רֶךְ (de.rekh) : conduct/lifestyle 1) way, road, distance, journey, manner 1a) road, way, path 1b) journey 1c) direction 1d) manner, habit, way 1e) of course of life (fig.) 1f) of moral character (fig.)

you will makeתָּשִׂ֔יםta-SIMH7760A
to set: make

שׂוּם (sum) : make/establish 1) to put, place, set, appoint, make 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to put, set, lay, put or lay upon, lay (violent) hands on 1a2) to set, direct, direct toward 1a2a) to extend (compassion) (fig) 1a3) to set, ordain, establish, found, appoint, constitute, make, determine, fix 1a4) to set, station, put, set in place, plant, fix 1a5) to make, make for, transform into, constitute, fashion, work, bring to pass, appoint, give 1b) (Hiphil) to set or make for a sign 1c) (Hophal) to be set

to comeלָב֣וֹאla-VO'H0935G
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

a swordחֶ֔רֶבCHE-revH2719
sword

חֶ֫רֶב (che.rev) 1) sword, knife 1a) sword 1b) knife 1c) tools for cutting stone

Rabbah ofרַבַּ֣תra-BATH7237
Rabbah

רַבָּה (rab.bah) Rabbath = "great" the capital city of the Ammonites located east of the Jordan Another name of am.mon (עַמּוֹן "Ammon" H5983)

[the] people ofבְּנֵֽי־be-nei-H1121GNo entry
Ammonעַמּ֑וֹןa-MONH5983
Ham

הָ֑ם (ham) Ham = "hot" or "sunburnt" the place where Chedorlaomer and his allies smote the Zuzim, probably in the territory of the Ammonites, east of the Jordan; site uncertain Another name of am.mon (עַמּוֹן "Ammon" H5983)

Judahיְהוּדָ֥הye-hu-DAHH3063G
Judah

יְהוּד (ye.hud) A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.29.35; son of: Israel (H3478) and Leah (H3812); brother of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074) and Dinah (H1783); half-brother of: Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Joseph (H3130) and Benjamin (H1144); married to Bath-shua (H1323I) and Tamar (H8559); father of: Er (H6147), Onan (H0209), Shelah (H7956), Perez (H6557) and Zerah (H2226I) Aramaic of ye.hu.dah (יְהוּדָה "Judah" H3063) Judah-the territory of the tribe of Judah

in Jerusalemבִירוּשָׁלִַ֖םvi-ru-sha-LIMH3389
Ariel

אֲרִיאֵל (a.ri.el) Ariel = "lion of God" or "lioness of God" Another name of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)

fortifiedבְּצוּרָֽה׃be-tzu-RAHH1219
to gather/restrain/fortify

בָּצַר (ba.tsar) 1) to gather, restrain, fence, fortify, make inaccessible, enclose 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to cut off 1a2) fortified, cut off, made inaccessible (pass participle) 1a3) secrets, mysteries, inaccessible things (subst) 1b) (Niphal) to be withheld 1c) (Piel) to fortify

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.