Ezekiel 21:16
in Ezekiel 21Slash to the right; set your blade to the left—wherever your blade is directed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
KJV
Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
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This verse in Ezekiel 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"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.
This site's exposition
Go thee one way or other
on Ezekiel 21:16-17
On the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set is addressed to the sword itself, given free range. The Lord then claims the action as his own, I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest.
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
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,
Go thee one way or another,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Go thee one way or other - Thou shalt prosper, O sword, whithersoever thou turnest; against Ammon, or Judea, or Egypt.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִתְאַחֲדִ֥י | hitachadi | be sharp | H258 → | |
| הֵימִ֖נִי | heimini | go to [the] right | H3231 → | |
| הָשִׂ֣ימִי | hasimi | cause to set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| הַשְׂמִ֑ילִי | hasmili | go to [the] left | H8041 → | |
| אָ֖נָה | ʾanah | where? | H575 → | |
| פָּנַ֥יִךְ | panayikh | [is] face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֻעָדֽוֹת׃ | muadot | set | H3259 → |
הִתְאַחֲדִ֥יbe sharp
hitachadiH258 →
הֵימִ֖נִיgo to [the] right
heiminiH3231 →
הָשִׂ֣ימִיcause to set
hasimiH7760 →584 times
הַשְׂמִ֑ילִיgo to [the] left
hasmiliH8041 →
אָ֖נָהwhere?
ʾanahH575 →
פָּנַ֥יִךְ[is] face your
panayikhH6440 →2123 times
מֻעָדֽוֹת׃set
muadotH3259 →
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 14:17Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 21:3–4
and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
- Leviticus 26:25
And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into…
- Zephaniah 1:3
“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind…
- Ezekiel 5:12
A 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…
- Ezekiel 21:3–4
Through
Ezekiel 16:46Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:4
The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 23:4
Through
Ezekiel 21:20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:2
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned.…
- Amos 1:14
So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest.
- Jeremiah 49:2
Through
Ezekiel 21:4Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:47
Say 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…
- Ezekiel 20:47
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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.