Ezekiel 21:10
in Ezekiel 21it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.
KJV
It 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIt 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?
This site's exposition
Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 21:8-11
A poem of a sword follows, sharpened to make a sore slaughter and furbished that it may glitter, the weapon itself given voice. Keil reads it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree as the sword's contempt for every human defense, sceptre and timber both.
This site's exposition
the scepter of My son
The scepter is the royal rod of Judah, the ruler's staff Barnes traced to Genesis 49:10. Henry linked it to the strong branches fit for a ruler's scepter in 19:11, and Clarke read the son as Israel. The sword despises that scepter like any stick.
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 Awakening4 voices
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.
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.
); it is drawn to consume because of the glittering, because it is brandished and glitters, and is fit to be made use of. God's executions will answer his preparations.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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. 25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord G OD ;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v24-25
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And all flesh will know that I, Hashem, have drawn My sword from its sheath; it will not return again.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֨עַן | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| טְבֹ֤חַ | tevoach | to slaughter | H2873 → | |
| טֶ֙בַח֙ | tevach | a slaughter | H2874 → | 12 times |
| הוּחַ֔דָּה | huchadah | it has been sharpened | H2300 → | 6 times |
| לְמַעַן־ | lemaan- | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| הֱיֵה־ | heyeh- | be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָ֥הּ | lah | for it | ||
| בָּ֖רָק | barok | lightning | H1300 → | 21 times |
| מֹרָ֑טָּה | moratah | it has been polished | H4803 → | 14 times |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| נָשִׂ֔ישׂ | nasis | we will rejoice | H7797 → | |
| שֵׁ֥בֶט | shevet | [the] scepter of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| בְּנִ֖י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מֹאֶ֥סֶת | moeset | [is] rejecting | H3988 → | 76 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֵֽץ׃ | ʾetz | tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
לְמַ֨עַןso as
lemaanH4616 →272 times
טְבֹ֤חַto slaughter
tevoachH2873 →
טֶ֙בַח֙a slaughter
tevachH2874 →12 times
הוּחַ֔דָּהit has been sharpened
huchadahH2300 →6 times
לְמַעַן־so as
lemaan-H4616 →272 times
הֱיֵה־be
heyeh-H1961 →3559 times
לָ֥הּfor it
lah
בָּ֖רָקlightning
barokH1300 →21 times
מֹרָ֑טָּהit has been polished
moratahH4803 →14 times
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
נָשִׂ֔ישׂwe will rejoice
nasisH7797 →
שֵׁ֥בֶט[the] scepter of
shevetH7626 →190 times
בְּנִ֖יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
מֹאֶ֥סֶת[is] rejecting
moesetH3988 →76 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֵֽץ׃tree
ʾetzH6086 →328 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
2 Samuel 7:14I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
it leads to
- Hebrews 1:5
For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”?
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- 1 Chronicles 17:13
I will be his Father, and he will be My son. And I will never remove My loving devotion from him as I removed it from your predecessor.
- 1 Chronicles 28:6
And He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him as My son, and I will be his Father.
- Deuteronomy 8:5
So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
- Hebrews 1:5
Through
Ezekiel 20:47Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:14
I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”
- Isaiah 24:1–6
Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- Isaiah 9:18–19
For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows of smoke.
- Jeremiah 21:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.