Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 21
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 21
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 21
"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop [thy word] toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;" — Ezekiel 21:1-2 (ASV)
The first word of judgment (Ezekiel 21:1–7). Ezekiel speaks first to the people of Israel, shows the universality of the coming destructions, and indicates by a sign (that of sighing) the sadness of the calamity.
The words and order of words are identical with Ezekiel 20:45-46, except that for “south,” the following are substituted:
- “Jerusalem”;
- “the holy place,” that is, the temple and its various parts;
- “the land of Israel.”
No subterfuge is left for the people to pretend misunderstanding.
"Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:" — Ezekiel 21:4 (ASV)
The righteous and the wicked – take the place of every green tree and every dry tree (Ezekiel 20:47); all faces takes the place of all flesh: to show the universality of the destructions. National judgment involves the innocent in the temporal ruin of the guilty. The equity of God is vindicated by the ruin being only temporal.
From the south to the north – From one end of the holy land to the other; the seer is in the north, and looks at once on the whole extent of the ruin.
"Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes." — Ezekiel 21:6 (ASV)
The prophet was directed to let the people see him sighing and prostrate, as a sign of the sorrow and weakness about to come upon the people.
The breaking of thy loins - The prostration of strength; the loins being the seat of strength.
"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished; 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. And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh. For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which entereth into their chambers. I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter. Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it." — Ezekiel 21:8-17 (ASV)
The second word of judgment: the glittering and destroying sword. The passage may be called the “Lay of the Sword”; it is written in the form of Hebrew poetry, with its characteristic parallelism.
It contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. The rod is the scepter of dominion, assigned to Judah (Genesis 49:10). The destroying sword of Babylon despises the scepter of Judah; it despises every tree.
Others render the verse: “Shall we make mirth?” (saying), “the rod of my son” (the rod which corrects my people) “contemneth” (treats with scorn, utterly confounds) “every tree” (every other nation). Or, the scepter of my people “contemneth” (proudly despises) every other nation. Proud as the people are, they shall be brought to sorrow (Ezekiel 21:10).
Terrors. Better as in the margin.
Smite upon your thigh. A token of mourning (compare the marginal reference note) (Ezekiel 21:12).
Alternatively: For it is put to the proof, and if it contemneth even the rod, What shall not be? says the Lord. That is, what horrors will not arise when the sword shall cut down without regard the ruling scepter of Judah! (Ezekiel 21:13).
Doubled the third time—that is, “thrice doubled” to express its violence and force.
The sword of the slain refers to the sword by which men are to be slain.
Of the great men... Or, The sword of the mighty slain, which presses hard upon them (Ezekiel 21:14).
The point of the sword signifies the threatening sword or terror, as in Genesis 3:24: “the flaming sword.”
And their ruins be multiplied means literally, “to the multiplication of stumblingblocks,” that is, so that the causes of their fall may be more numerous .
Made bright... Or:
Ah! It is prepared for a lightning-flash,
Drawn for slaughter (Ezekiel 21:15).
The prophet addresses the sword:
Gather yourself up, O sword, to the right or to the left.
Another rendering is: “Turn you backwards! Get you to the right! Set you forwards (?)! Get you to the left! O where is your face appointed?” (Ezekiel 21:16).
The Lord smites together His hands in anger (marginal reference), man in consternation (Ezekiel 21:17).
"The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city. Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination [for] Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this [shall be] no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [him]. 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; while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end. Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth, will I judge thee. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I, Jehovah, have spoken it." — Ezekiel 21:18-32 (ASV)
The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon’s march upon Judea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go out not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites .
Appoint you – Set before you.
Choose you a place, choose it – Rather, “mark a spot, mark it,” as upon a map, at the head of the two roads, one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Ammon. These were the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt.
The Chaldean king is depicted standing at the entrance of the holy land from the north, meditating his campaign, using rites of divination that really belonged to the Akkadians, a primitive race which originally occupied the plains of Mesopotamia.
The Akkadians and the Etruscans belong through the Finnish family to the Turanian stock. This passage therefore shows a characteristic mode of divination in use among two widely separated nations; and as the Romans acquired their divination from the conquered Etruscans, so the Chaldeans acquired the same art from the races whose soil they had occupied as conquerors.
He made his arrows bright – Rather, he shook his arrow, a mode of divination much in practice with the Arabians.
It was usual to place in some vessel three arrows, on one of which was written, “My God orders me;” on the other, “My God forbids me;” on the third was no inscription.
These three arrows were shaken together until one came out; if it was the first, the thing was to be done; if the second, it was to be avoided; if the third, the arrows were again shaken together until one of the arrows bearing a decided answer should come forth.
Images – Teraphim (Genesis 31:19 note).
He looked in the liver – It was the practice both of the Greeks and the Romans (derived from the Etruscans) to take omens from the inspection of the entrails (especially the liver) of animals offered in sacrifice.
The divination for Jerusalem – The lot fixing the campaign against Jerusalem.
It shall be to them – The Jews in their vain confidence shall look upon the hopes gathered from the divinations by the Babylonians as false and groundless.
To them that have sworn oaths – According to some, “oaths of oaths are theirs;” that is, they have the most solemn oaths sworn by God to His people; in these they trust, forgetful of the sin which broke the condition upon which these promises were given.
More probably the allusion is to the oaths which the Jews had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar as vassals (Ezekiel 17:18–19); therefore they trust he will not attack them, forgetting how imperfectly they had kept their oaths, and that Nebuchadnezzar knew this.
But he will call to remembrance the iniquity – The king of Babylon will, by punishment, remind them of their perjury (2 Kings 25:6–7; 2 Chronicles 36:17).
Profane – Rather, “wounded,” – not dead but – having a death-wound. The prophet, turning from the general crowd, addresses Zedekiah.
When iniquity shall have an end – that is, at the time when iniquity shall be closed with punishment. So in (Ezekiel 21:29).
The diadem (“the mitre,” the unique headdress of the high priest) shall be removed, and the crown taken off (this shall not be as it is), the low exalted, and the high abased. Glory shall be removed alike from priest and king; the present glory and power attached to the government of God’s people shall be completely removed.
It shall be no more – Or, “This also shall not be;” the present state of things shall not continue: all shall be confusion until He come to whom the dominion belongs of right.
Not Zedekiah but Jeconiah and his descendants were the rightful heirs of David’s throne. Through the restoration of the true line was there hope for Judah , the promised King in whom all power shall rest – the Son of David – Messiah the Prince.
Thus the prophecy of destruction ends for Judah in the promise of restoration (as in Ezekiel 20:40 and following).
The burden of the Song of the Sword, also in the form of poetry, is again taken up, directed now against the Ammonites, who, exulting in Judah’s destruction, foolishly believed that they themselves were to escape. For Judah there is yet hope; for Ammon, irremediable ruin.
Their reproach – The scorn with which they reproach Judah (marginal references).
The sword ... the glittering – Or, “the sword is drawn for the slaughter; it is furbished that it may devour, in order that it may glitter.” In the Septuagint (and Vulgate) the sword is addressed; for example, Septuagint, Arise that you may shine.
While ... to you – A parenthesis. The Ammonites had their false diviners who deluded with vain hopes.
To bring you upon the necks of them that are slain – To cast you (Ammon) upon the heap of slaughtered men.
Shall have an end – Shall have its final doom.
Shall I cause it to return ... – Or, Back to its sheath! The work of the sword is over.
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