Ezekiel 17:21
in Ezekiel 17All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
KJV
And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
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This verse in Ezekiel 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe promises hereafter to raise the royal family of Judah again, the house of David, in the Messiah and his kingdom,
This site's exposition
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised
on Ezekiel 17:19-21
The Lord claims the broken covenant as his matter to recompense, mine oath, my covenant, language that reframes Zedekiah's treaty violation as sin against God. The net and snare picture the siege and capture. The recognition formula closes the section, ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.
This site's exposition
All his choice troops
Second Kings 25:5 records that Zedekiah's army scattered from him when the Chaldeans overtook him. The survivors went out to every wind, the scattering already foretold at 5:10 and 12:14. Henry reads the section as turning next to the promise of verse 22.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 19 seq.) Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely I will bring upon his head the oath he has despised and the covenant he has broken. I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and there I will execute judgment on him for the unfaithfulness with which he has despised me. And all his fugitives, with all his troops, will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Do the sure mercies of David prove thus unsure?" To this it is sufficient for the silencing of the objectors to answer that the promise was conditional. If they will keep my covenant, then they shall continue, Ps. cxxxii. But David's posterity broke the condition, and so forfeited the promise.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
All his fugitives - All who attempted to escape with him, and all that ran to Egypt, etc., shall fall by the sword.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֨ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִבְרָחָ֤יו | mivrachov | fugitives his | H4015 → | |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲגַפָּיו֙ | ʾagapav | troops his | H102 → | 7 times |
| בַּחֶ֣רֶב | bacherev | by the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| יִפֹּ֔לוּ | yipolu | they will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖ים | vehanisharim | and the [ones who] survive | H7604 → | 133 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ר֣וּחַ | ruach | wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יִפָּרֵ֑שׂוּ | yiparesu | they will be scattered | H6566 → | 67 times |
| וִידַעְתֶּ֕ם | vida'tem | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דִּבַּֽרְתִּי׃ ס | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וְאֵ֨תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מִבְרָחָ֤יוfugitives his
mivrachovH4015 →
בְּכָל־among all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲגַפָּיו֙troops his
ʾagapavH102 →7 times
בַּחֶ֣רֶבby the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
יִפֹּ֔לוּthey will fall
yipoluH5307 →435 times
וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִ֖יםand the [ones who] survive
vehanisharimH7604 →133 times
לְכָל־to every
lekholH3605 →5413 times
ר֣וּחַwind
ruachH7307 →378 times
יִפָּרֵ֑שׂוּthey will be scattered
yiparesuH6566 →67 times
וִידַעְתֶּ֕םand you will know
vida'temH3045 →945 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
דִּבַּֽרְתִּי׃ סI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
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
Ezekiel 5:12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:2
When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 15:2
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
- Jeremiah 43:10–11
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 5:2
Through
Ezekiel 5:10As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:14
And I will scatter to every wind all the attendants around him and all his troops, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 2:6
“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.
- Leviticus 26:29
You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
- Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
- Ezekiel 12:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.