Yehezkiel 21:1--22:31
Konteks21:1 (21:6) 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:2 “Son of man, turn toward 2 Jerusalem 3 and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 21:3 and say to them, 4 ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, 5 I am against you. 6 I will draw my sword 7 from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 8 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 9 from the south 10 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 11 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 12 will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ 13 Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”
21:8 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! 14
21:11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand –
the sword is sharpened, it is polished –
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,
for it is wielded against my people;
against all the princes of Israel.
They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh. 15
21:13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? 16 declares the sovereign Lord.’
21:14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
21:15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
21:16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to 17 the left,
wherever your edge 18 is appointed to strike.
21:17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
21:18 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” 19 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork 20 in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: 21 He shakes arrows, he consults idols, 22 he examines 23 animal livers. 24 21:22 Into his right hand 25 comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal 26 for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, 27 to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem 28 will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, 29 but the king of Babylon 30 will accuse them of violations 31 in order to seize them. 32
21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up 33 your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. 34
21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, 35
whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Tear off the turban, 36
take off the crown!
Things must change! 37
Exalt the lowly,
bring down the proud! 38
21:27 A total ruin I will make it! 39
It will come to an end
when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 40
21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; 41 say:
“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume, 42 to flash like lightning –
21:29 while seeing false visions for you
and reading lying omens for you 43 –
to place that sword 44 on the necks of the profane wicked, 45
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
21:30 Return it to its sheath! 46
In the place where you were created, 47
in your native land, I will judge you.
21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;
the fire of my fury I will blow on you.
I will hand you over to brutal men,
who are skilled in destruction.
21:32 You will become fuel for the fire –
your blood will stain the middle of the land; 48
you will no longer be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
22:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 49 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 50 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 51 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 52 the end of your years has come. 53 Therefore I will make 54 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 55 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 56 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 57 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 58 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 59 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 60 they commit obscene acts among you. 61 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 62 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 63 22:11 One 64 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 65 his sister – his father’s daughter 66 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 67 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 68 declares the sovereign Lord. 69
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 70 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 71 they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, 72 or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? 73 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. 74 22:16 You will be profaned within yourself 75 in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; 76 they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you 77 have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 78 22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there 79 and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain 80 or showers in the day of my anger.’ 81 22:25 Her princes 82 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 83 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 84 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 85 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 86 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 87
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 88 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 89 declares the sovereign Lord.”
[21:1] 1 sn Ezek 21:1 in the English Bible is 21:6 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See the note at 20:45.
[21:2] 2 tn Heb “set your face toward.”
[21:2] 3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:3] 4 tn Heb “the land of Israel.”
[21:3] 5 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
[21:3] 6 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] 7 sn This is the sword of judgment, see Isa 31:8; 34:6; 66:16.
[21:3] 8 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] 9 tn Heb “all flesh” (also in the following verse).
[21:4] 10 tn Heb “Negev.” The Negev is the south country.
[21:6] 11 tn Heb “breaking loins.”
[21:7] 12 tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”
[21:7] 13 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.
[21:10] 14 tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.
[21:10] sn The people of Judah should not place false hope in their king, symbolized by his royal scepter, for God’s judgment (symbolized by fire and then a sword) would destroy every tree (see 20:47), symbolizing the righteous and wicked (see 21:3-4).
[21:12] 15 sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.
[21:13] 16 tn Heb “For testing (will come) and what if also a scepter, it despises, will not be?” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned in the previous verses. The text is very difficult and any rendering is uncertain.
[21:20] 19 tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).
[21:20] sn As the Babylonians approached from the north, one road would branch off to the left and lead down the east side of the Jordan River to Ammon. The other road would veer to the right and lead down west of the Jordan to Jerusalem.
[21:21] 21 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
[21:21] 22 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
[21:21] 24 tn Heb “the liver.”
[21:22] 25 tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.
[21:22] 26 tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.
[21:22] 27 tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”
[21:23] 28 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 29 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
[21:23] 30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:23] 32 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).
[21:24] 33 tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”
[21:24] 34 tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”
[21:25] 35 tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.
[21:26] 36 tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.
[21:26] 37 tn Heb “This not this.”
[21:26] 38 tn Heb “the high one.”
[21:27] 39 tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.
[21:27] 40 tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”
[21:28] 41 tn Heb “their reproach.”
[21:28] 42 tn Heb “to contain, endure.” Since the Hebrew text as it stands makes little, if any, sense, most emend the text to read either “to consume” or “for destruction.” For discussion of options see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:693.
[21:29] 43 tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.
[21:29] 44 tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:29] 45 sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.
[21:30] 46 sn Once the Babylonian king’s sword (vv. 19-20) has carried out its assigned task, the Lord commands it to halt and announces that Babylon itself will also experience his judgment. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:28.
[21:30] 47 tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are feminine singular. This may indicate that the personified Babylonian sword is being addressed. The Hebrew word for “sword” (see v. 28) is feminine. However, it may refer to the Ammonites.
[21:32] 48 tn Heb “your blood will be in the middle of the land.”
[22:2] 49 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.
[22:2] 50 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
[22:3] 51 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
[22:4] 52 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refers to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
[22:4] 53 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29) some prefer to emend the text and read “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
[22:4] 54 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
[22:5] 55 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
[22:6] 56 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:7] 57 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
[22:7] 58 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
[22:9] 59 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
[22:9] 60 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
[22:9] 61 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
[22:10] 62 tn Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
[22:10] 63 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
[22:11] 65 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
[22:11] 66 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
[22:12] 67 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
[22:12] 68 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
[22:12] 69 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
[22:13] 70 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
[22:13] 71 tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”
[22:14] 72 tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.
[22:14] 73 tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”
[22:15] 74 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
[22:16] 75 tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.
[22:16] tn The phrase “within yourself” is the same as the several previous occurrences of “within you” but adjusted to fit this clause which is the culmination of the series of indictments.
[22:18] 76 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26; Jer 6:27-30.
[22:19] 77 tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.
[22:19] 78 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:20] 79 tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.
[22:24] 80 tc The MT reads “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context, and a poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).
[22:24] 81 tn Heb “in a day of anger.”
[22:25] 82 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 83 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 84 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 85 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 86 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[22:29] 87 tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
