Ezekiel 21:12
in Ezekiel 21Cry out and wail, O son of man, for the sword is wielded against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel! They are tossed to the sword with My people; therefore strike your thigh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.
KJV
Cry 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSmite - 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.
This site's exposition
Cry and howl, son of man
on Ezekiel 21:12-13
The prophet is told to cry and howl and smite upon thy thigh, the gesture of grief, because the sword is coming upon my people. Fairbairn reads it is a trial as marking the invasion as a proving, testing whether the rod, the royal house itself, would stand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 8 et seq.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God, speak: A sword, a sharp sword, has been sharpened and polished, to slaughter victims; it has been sharpened, and polished, to shine: you who move the scepter of my son, you have cut down every tree. And I have given him to be polished, to be held in hand: this sword has been sharpened, and this sword has been polished, to be in the hand of the one who kills.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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,
Cry, howl, son of man,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
terrors by reason of the sword, &c.--rather, "they (the princes of Israel) are delivered up to the sword together with My people" [GLASSIUS]. smite . . . upon . . . thigh--a mark of grief (Jer 31:19).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זְעַ֤ק | zeak | cry out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| וְהֵילֵל֙ | veheilel | and wail | H3213 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִיא֙ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָיתָ֣ה | haitah | it has come | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְעַמִּ֔י | veami | on people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | [is] on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נְשִׂיאֵ֣י | nesiei | [the] princes of | H5387 → | 134 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מְגוּרֵ֤י | megurei | thrown | H4048 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֶ֙רֶב֙ | cherev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| הָי֣וּ | hayu | they have been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| עַמִּ֔י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לָכֵ֖ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| סְפֹ֥ק | sefok | slap | H5606 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יָרֵֽךְ׃ | yarekh | a thigh | H3409 → |
זְעַ֤קcry out
zeakH2199 →73 times
וְהֵילֵל֙and wail
veheilelH3213 →
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֔םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִיא֙it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
הָיתָ֣הit has come
haitahH1961 →3559 times
בְעַמִּ֔יon people my
veamiH5971 →1873 times
הִ֖יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
בְּכָל־[is] on all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
נְשִׂיאֵ֣י[the] princes of
nesieiH5387 →134 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מְגוּרֵ֤יthrown
megureiH4048 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חֶ֙רֶב֙[the] sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
הָי֣וּthey have been
hayuH1961 →3559 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
עַמִּ֔יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
לָכֵ֖ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
סְפֹ֥קslap
sefokH5606 →
אֶל־<to>
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יָרֵֽךְ׃a thigh
yarekhH3409 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joel 1:13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:8
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
- Joel 1:8–9
Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth.
- 1 Kings 21:27
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Joel 2:17
Let the priests who minister before the LORD weep between the portico and the altar, saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, an object of scorn among…
- Ezekiel 7:18
They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
- Jeremiah 4:8
Through
Ezekiel 21:14‘So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike two times, even three. It is a sword that slays, a sword of great slaughter closing in on every…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 6:11
This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 6:11
Through
Ezekiel 9:8While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 11:13
Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete…
- Ezekiel 11:13
Through
Jeremiah 25:34Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:26
O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Jeremiah 6:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.
