Ezekiel21chapter 21

Ezekiel 21:8

“Again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Either this is a new prophecy of another sword, distinct and different from that of the Chaldeans, even of the sword of the Romans, as Cocceius thinks or it is a further explanation of the former, and an enlargement upon it.”

Ezekiel 21:8

“The second word of judgment: the glittering and destroying sword. The passage may be called the “Lay of the Sword;” it is written in the form of Hebrew poetry, with its characteristic parallelism. Eze 21:10 It contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree - The rod is the scepter of dominion, assigned to Judah Gen 49:10. The destroying sword of Babylon despises the scepter of Judah; it despises every tree.”

Ezekiel 21:9

“Son of man, prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord,.... Deliver out the following prophecy in the name of the Lord: say, a sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished; it is not only drawn out of its sheath, as before, but is made sharp and bright, and ready for use. It is repeated, either to show the certainty of it, or to express the terror and anguish of mind on account of it; persons in distress generally repeating that which is the occasion of it.”

Ezekiel 21:9

“Let him not study for fine words, and a variety of quaint expressions; when the town is on fire people do not so give notice of it, but cry, with a frightful doleful voice, Fire! fire!”

Ezekiel 21:10

“It contemneth the rod of my son - “It,” the sword of Nebuchadnezzar, “contemneth the rod,” despises the power and influence of my son - Israel, the Jewish people: “Out of Egypt have I called My Son.” As every tree - As all the stocks, kindreds, and nations, over which I have already given him commission. Can the rod of Israel be spared, when the trees of Assyria, Egypt, etc., have been cut down?”

Ezekiel 21:10

“Of my son - To whom God saith, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Psalm ii, 9. This sword is that rod of iron, which despiseth every tree, and will bear it down.”

Ezekiel 21:10

“The government of that people was called a rod, a strong rod; we read ( ch. xix. 11 ) of the strong rods they had for sceptres. But when the sword of God's justice is drawn it contemns this rod, makes nothing of it; though it be a strong rod, and the rod of his son, it is no more than any other tree.”

Ezekiel 21:11

“And he hath given it to be furbished, that it might be handled,.... Either Nebuchadnezzar, or rather God, or the Son of God, prepared and brightened the sword, that it might be handled and made use of, either by the Chaldeans or Romans, to the destruction of the Jews. The Targum is, "he gave their vengeance to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.'' The sword is sharpened and furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer; either the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar; or the Roman emperor, Titus Vespasian.”

Ezekiel 21:11

“This sword is sharpened - It is prepared for the slaughter, it is furbished; from the French, foubir, to polish, brighten. He shall have splendid victories every where. Some complain of corruption in the original in this place; but I think without sufficient reason.”

Ezekiel 21:12

“Smite - upon thy thigh - See on Jer 31:19 (note). So Homer, Il. 15 ver. 113: - Ὡς εφατ’· αυταρ Αρης θαλερω πεπληγετο μηρω Χερσι καταπρηνεσσ ολοφυρομενος δε προσηυδα. “She spake; and, with expanded arms his thighs Smiting, thus sorrowful the god exclaimed.” Cowper.”

Ezekiel 21:12

“This sword is directed particularly against the great men, for they had been the greatest sinners among them; they had altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds ( Jer. v. 5 ), and therefore with them in a special manner God's controversy is, who had been the ringleaders in sin. The sword of the slain is the sword of the great men that are slain,”

Ezekiel 21:13

“Because it is a trial - This will be a trial of strength and skill between the Chaldeans and the Jews; and a trial of faith and patience to the righteous. And what if the sword, (Nebuchadnezzar), contemn even the rod? - Overthrow Zedekiah? It will do so; for the regal government of Judea shall be no more. Or, it is tried; that it the sword. Nebuchadnezzar has already shown himself strong and skillful.”

Ezekiel 21:13

“Here shall its proud waves be stayed. Note, It is matter of comfort to the people of God, when his judgments are abroad, and they are ready to tremble for fear of them, that, whatever they are to others, to them they are but trials; and, when they are tried, they shall come forth as gold, and the proving of their faith shall be the improving of it.”

Ezekiel 21:14

“Let the sword be doubled the third time - The sword has been doubled, and it shall come the third time. Nebuchadnezzar came against Judea Thrice. 1. Against Jehoiakim. 2. Against Jeconiah. 3. Against Zedekiah. The sword had already been doubled; it is to come now the third time, i.e., against Zedekiah. The sword of the slain - חרב חללים chereb chalalim, “the sword of the soldiers,” of the Chaldeans. So in the next clause, היא חרב חלל הגדול hi chereb chalal haggadol, “it is the sword of that great soldier,” that eminent king and conqueror.”

Ezekiel 21:15

"The naked (bared) sword" [HENDERSON]. ruins--literally, "stumbling-blocks." Their own houses and walls shall be stumbling-blocks in their way, whether they wish to fight or flee. made bright--made to glitter. wrapped, &c.--namely, in the hand of him who holds the hilt, or in its scabbard, that the edge may not be blunt when it is presently drawn forth to strike.

Ezekiel 21:15

“Note, The strongest gates, though they be gates of brass, ever so well barred, ever so well guarded, are no fence against the point of the sword of God's judgments. But when that is pointed against sinners, 1. They are ready to fear the worst; their hearts faint, so that they are not able to make any resistance.”

Ezekiel 21:16

"Unite thy forces on the right hand" [GROTIUS]. The sword is commanded to take the nearest route for Jerusalem, "whither their face was set," whether south or north ("right hand or left"), according to where the several parts of the Chaldean host may be. or other, . . . on the left--rather "set thyself on the left." The verbs are well-chosen.

Ezekiel 21:16

“That fire will never go out on this earth for want of fuel. And such various methods God has of meeting with sinners that the sword of his justice is still as it was at first when it flamed in the hand of the cherubim: it turns every way, Gen. iii. What is the nature of this sword, and what are the intentions and limitations of it as to the people of God,”

Ezekiel 21:17

“I will also smite my hands together,.... As well as the prophet was bid to do, Eze 21:14, either expressing a concern for the calamity of the people, or indignation at their sins: or rather as encouraging their enemies to make use of the sword pointed at them, and, as it were, rejoicing at their destruction for the honour of his justice.”

Ezekiel 21:17

“God is in earnest in pronouncing this sentence upon them, and therefore the prophet must show himself in earnest in publishing it. God's smiting his hands together, as well as the prophet's smiting, is in token of a holy indignation at their wickedness, which was really very astonishing.”

Ezekiel 21:18

“The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon’s march upon Judaea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go forth not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites (compare Jer 27:2-3). Eze 21:19 Appoint thee - Set before thee. Choose thou a place, choose it - Rather, “mark a spot, mark it,” as upon a map, at the head of the two roads, one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Ammon. These were the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt.”

Ezekiel 21:19

“Appoint thee two ways - Set off from Babylon, and lay down two ways, either of which thou mayest take; that to the right, which leads to Jerusalem; or that to the left which leads to Rabbath of the Ammonites, Eze 21:20. But why against the Ammonites? Because both they and the Moabites were united with Zedekiah against the Chaldeans, (see Jer 27:3), though they afterwards fought against Judea, Eze 12:6.”

Ezekiel 21:19

“Appoint - Paint, or describe them on a tile. One land - That is, Babylon. Chuse - Pitch on some convenient place, where thou mayest place Nebuchadnezzar's army, consulting where this one way divides into two, which was on the edge of the desert of Arabia.”

Ezekiel 21:19

“The sword must go either to Rabbath or to Judah in Jerusalem. Many of the inhabitants of Judah had now taken shelter in Jerusalem, and all the interests of the country were bound up in the safety of the city, and therefore it is called Judah in Jerusalem the defenced; so strongly fortified was it, both by nature and art, that it was thought impregnable, Lam. iv.”

Ezekiel 21:20

“Rabbath is put first, as it was from her that Jerusalem, that doomed city, had borrowed many of her idols. to Judah in Jerusalem--instead of simply putting "Jerusalem," to imply the sword was to come not merely to Judah, but to its people within Jerusalem, defended though it was; its defenses on which the Jews relied so much would not keep the foe out.”

Ezekiel 21:21

“For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way - He was in doubt which way he should first take; whether to humble the Ammonites by taking their metropolis, Riblath, or go at once against Jerusalem. In this case of uncertainty, he made use of divination. And this was of three kinds: 1. By arrows. 2. By images or talismans. 3. By inspecting the entrails of a sacrifice offered on the occasion. 1. He made bright his arrows. This might be after the manner in which the divination is still practiced among the Arabs.”

Ezekiel 21:21

“In the Nineveh sculptures the king is represented with a cup in his right hand, his left resting on a bow; also with two arrows in the right, and the bow in the left, probably practising divination. images--Hebrew, "teraphim"; household gods, worshipped as family talismans, to obtain direction as to the future and other blessings.”

Ezekiel 21:21

“Though he was a prince of great foresight and great resolution, yet, it seems, he knew neither his own interest nor his own mind. Let not the wise man then glory in his wisdom nor the mighty man in his arbitrary power, for even those that may do what they will seldom know what to do for the best.”

Ezekiel 21:22

“At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem - He had probably written on two arrows; one, Jerusalem; the other, Riblath; the third, left blank. He drew, and that on which Jerusalem was written came to his hand; in consequence of which he marched immediately against that city. It was ripe for destruction; and had he marched before or after, it would have fallen; but he never considered himself as sure of the conquest till now.”

Ezekiel 21:22

“Orders are given to provide every thing necessary for carrying on the siege with vigour; battering rams must be prepared and forts built. O what pains, what cost, are men at to destroy one another! He must show both the people and the prince that they bring this destruction upon themselves by their own sin.”

Ezekiel 21:23

“To them that have sworn oaths - To Zedekiah and his ministers, who had bound themselves by the oath of the Lord to be faithful to the Chaldeans, and to pay them the promised tribute. The oaths may refer, farther, to the alliances formed with the Egyptians, Ammonites, and others. They will not believe that Nebuchadnezzar shall succeed against them, while they expect the powerful assistance of the Egyptians.”

Ezekiel 21:24

“Their unfaithfulness to Nebuchadnezzar was a type of their general unfaithfulness to their covenant God. with the hand--namely, of the king of Babylon.”

Ezekiel 21:24

“Your transgressions - Against God, and against the king of Babylon. Discovered - To all in court, city, and country. With the hand - As birds, or beasts in the net, are taken with the hands, so shall you, and be carried into Babylon.”

Ezekiel 21:25

“And thou profane wicked prince of Israel - Zedekiah, called here profane, because he had broken his oath; and wicked, because of his opposition to God and his prophet. Whose day is come - Who in a short time shalt be delivered into the hands of thy enemies.”

Ezekiel 21:25

“HAVERNICK translates, as in Eze 21:14, "slain," that is, not literally, but virtually; to Ezekiel's idealizing view Zedekiah was the grand victim "pierced through" by God's sword of judgment, as his sons were slain before his eyes, which were then put out, and he was led a captive in chains to Babylon.”

Ezekiel 21:25

“He was not so bad as some of his predecessors, and yet bad enough to merit his character. He was himself profane, lost to every thing that is virtuous and sacred. And he was wicked, as he promoted sin among his people; he sinned, and made Israel to sin.”

Ezekiel 21:26

“Exalt him that is low - Give Gedaliah the government of Judea. Abase him that is high - Depose Zedekiah - remove his diadem, and take off his crown.”

Ezekiel 21:26

“The diadem - The royal attire of the head, which the king daily wore. Shall not be the same - The kingdom shall never be what it hath been. Him that is low - Jeconiah.”

Ezekiel 21:26

“This is mentioned here for the comfort of those who feared that the promise made in David would fail for evermore. "No," says God, "that promise is sure, for the Messiah's kingdom shall last for ever." The Destruction of the Ammonites.”

Ezekiel 21:27

“I will overturn - I will utterly destroy the Jewish government. Perverted will I make it. Heb. perverted, perverted, perverted I will make it. Until he come whose - is - משפט mishpat, the judgment; i.e., till the coming of the son of David, the Lord Jesus; who, in a mystic and spiritual sense, shall have the throne of Israel, and whose right it is. See the famous prophecy, Gen 49:10, and Luk 1:”

Ezekiel 21:27

“Shall be no more - Never recover its former glory, 'till the scepter be quite taken away from Judah, and way be made for the Messiah. He hath an incontestable right to the dominion both in the church and in the world.”

Ezekiel 21:28

“Concerning the Ammonites - They had reproached and insulted Judea in its low estate, see Ezekiel 25. This prophecy against them was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem. See Joseph. Ant. lib. 10 c. 11; and Jeremiah 27, 48, 49; Ezekiel 25.”

Ezekiel 21:28

“Lest Ammon should think to escape because Nebuchadnezzar had taken the route to Jerusalem, Ezekiel denounces judgment against Ammon, without the prospect of a restoration such as awaited Israel.”

Ezekiel 21:28

“When we speak to people about their souls we should study plainness, and express ourselves as we may be the best understood. Christ expounded his parables to his disciples, Mark iv. The prophet is here more plainly directed against whom to level the arrow of this prophecy.”

Ezekiel 21:29

“We shall meet with this again, ch. xxv. Note, Those are ripening apace for misery who trample upon the people of God in their distress, whereas they ought to tremble when judgment begins at the house of God. The utter destruction of the Ammonites is threatened.”

Ezekiel 21:30

“I will judge thee - This seems to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, who, after his return from Jerusalem, became insane, and lived like a beast for seven years; but was afterwards restored, and acknowledged the Lord.”

Ezekiel 21:30

“Shall I cause it to return into his sheath--namely, without first destroying Ammon. Certainly not (Jer 47:6, 7). Others, as the Margin, less suitably read it imperatively, "Cause it to return," that is, after it has done the work appointed to it. in the land of thy nativity--Ammon was not to be carried away captive as Judah, but to perish in his own land.”

Ezekiel 21:30

“Thy blood shall be shed not only in thy borders, but in the midst of thy land. Lastly, I shall be an irreparable ruin: "Though thou mayest think to recover thyself, it is in vain to think of it; thou shalt be no more remembered with any respect," Ps. ix. Justly is their name blotted out who would have Israel's name for ever lost.”

Ezekiel 21:31

“The least drop of divine indignation and wrath will create tribulation and anguish enough to the soul of man that does evil; what then would a full stream of that indignation and wrath do? " I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath; that is, I will blow up the fire of my wrath against thee; it shall burn with the utmost vehemence." Thou shalt be for fuel to this fire,”