Ezekiel 21:28
in Ezekiel 21Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;
KJV
And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
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This verse in Ezekiel 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseConcerning 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.
This site's exposition
The sword, the sword is drawn
on Ezekiel 21:28-29
The two ways from verses eighteen through twenty have their second half addressed directly, prophesy concerning the Ammonites, whose day of judgment lags behind Jerusalem's. Gill reads the reprieve as only postponement, the chapter having already promised that Ammon's own reckoning still waits at its own appointed time.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 28 and following) And you, son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon and to their disgrace. And you shall say: Sword, sword, draw yourself out for slaughter: hone yourself to kill and to shine. Although they seem vain to you and their divinations are lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wicked wounded, whose appointed day has come in the time of iniquity. Return to your sheath, in the place where you were created: in the land of your birth I will judge you.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הִנָּבֵ֤א | hinave' | prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
| וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהֹוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | concerning | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֖וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and concerning | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֶרְפָּתָ֑ם | cherpatam | reproach their | H2781 → | 73 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חֶ֣רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| חֶ֤רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| פְּתוּחָה֙ | petuchah | [is] drawn | H6605 → | 144 times |
| לְטֶ֣בַח | letevach | for slaughter | H2874 → | 12 times |
| מְרוּטָ֔ה | merutah | [is] polished | H4803 → | 14 times |
| לְהָכִ֖יל | lehakhil | to contain | H3557 → | |
| לְמַ֥עַן | lemaan | on account of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| בָּרָֽק׃ | barak | lightning | H1300 → | 21 times |
וְאַתָּ֣הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
בֶן־O son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הִנָּבֵ֤אprophesy
hinave'H5012 →115 times
וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהֹוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
אֶל־concerning
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֖וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
וְאֶל־and concerning
veel-H413 →5510 times
חֶרְפָּתָ֑םreproach their
cherpatamH2781 →73 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֗and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
חֶ֣רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
חֶ֤רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
פְּתוּחָה֙[is] drawn
petuchahH6605 →144 times
לְטֶ֣בַחfor slaughter
letevachH2874 →12 times
מְרוּטָ֔ה[is] polished
merutahH4803 →14 times
לְהָכִ֖ילto contain
lehakhilH3557 →
לְמַ֥עַןon account of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
בָּרָֽק׃lightning
barakH1300 →21 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 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
- 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
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.…
- Ezekiel 25:5
I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
- Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- Psalms 125:1–2
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- Amos 1:14
Through
Jeremiah 12:12Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the earth to the other. No flesh has peace.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 47:6
‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’
- Amos 9:4
Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
- Isaiah 34:6
The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in…
- Jeremiah 47:6
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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.