Yehezkiel 20:45--21:7

Prophecy Against the South

20:45 (21:1) ¹  The word of the Lord came to me: 20:46 “Son of man, turn toward ²  the south, ³  and speak out against the south. ⁴  Prophesy against the open scrub ⁵  land of the Negev, 20:47 and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, ⁶  I am about to start a fire in you, ⁷  and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it. 20:48 And everyone ⁸  will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’”

20:49 Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”

The Sword of Judgment

21:1 (21:6) ⁹  The word of the Lord came to me: 21:2 “Son of man, turn toward ¹⁰  Jerusalem ¹¹  and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 21:3 and say to them, ¹²  ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, ¹³  I am against you. ¹⁴  I will draw my sword ¹⁵  from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶  21:4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone ¹⁷  from the south ¹⁸  to the north. 21:5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath – it will not be sheathed again!’

21:6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart ¹⁹  and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone ²⁰  will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ ²¹  Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”

[20:45]  ¹ sn Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:45 ET = 21:1 HT, 20:46 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:6 HT etc., through 21:32 ET = 21:37 HT. Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[20:46]  ² tn Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.

[20:46]  ³ tn Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.

[20:46]  ⁴ tn Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:417-18.

[20:46]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:418.

[20:47]  ⁶ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[20:47]  ⁷ tn Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4-7; 19:12, 14.

[20:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[21:1]  ⁹ sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.

[21:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “set your face toward.”

[21:2]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the land of Israel.”

[21:3]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.

[21:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.

[21:3]  ¹⁵ sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.

[21:3]  ¹⁶ sn Ezekiel elsewhere pictures the Lord’s judgment as discriminating between the righteous and the wicked (9:4-6; 18:1-20; see as well Pss 1 and 11) and speaks of the preservation of a remnant (3:21; 6:8; 12:16). Perhaps here he exaggerates for rhetorical effect in an effort to subdue any false optimism. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:25-26; D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:669-70; and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:424-25.

[21:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).

[21:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.

[21:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “breaking loins.”

[21:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”

[21:7]  ²¹ sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.