Amplified Bible
Ezekiel 21:16
16Turn O sword and cut right or cut left, whichever way your thirst for blood and your edge direct you.
Ezekiel 21:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
- New International Version (NIV)Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Swords at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left— Wherever your edge is ordered!
Context of Ezekiel 21:16
14“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time [in intensity], the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter which surrounds them [so that no one can escape, even by hiding in their inner rooms], 15so that hearts may melt, and many will fall at their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made [to flash] like lightning; it is pointed and sharpened for slaughter. Turn O sword and cut right or cut left, whichever way your thirst for blood and your edge direct you. 17I will also strike My hands together, and I will cause My wrath to rest. I the Lord have spoken.” 18The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Read all of Ezekiel 21Ezekiel 21:16 word by word
הִתְאַחֲדִ֥י הֵימִ֖נִי הָשִׂ֣ימִי הַשְׂמִ֑ילִי אָ֖נָה פָּנַ֥יִךְ מֻעָדֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 21:16
- Ezekiel 21:4Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go from its sheath against all flesh from south to north,
- Ezekiel 14:17Or if I were to bring a sword on that land and say, ‘Let a sword go through the land and cut off man and animal from it,’
- Ezekiel 16:46Now your older sister is Samaria, she with her daughters (outlying cities) who live north of you; and your younger sister is Sodom, she with her daughters who live south of you.
- Genesis 13:9Is not the entire land before you? Please separate [yourself] from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 21:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Go thee one way or other - Thou shalt prosper, O sword, whithersoever thou turnest; against Ammon, or Judea, or Egypt.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-17Verses 8-17 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. Ezekiel 21:10 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-17As the Lord's representative, Ezekiel was to clap his hands in a threatening way and wave the sword three times. This action symbolized the complete massacre to come. There would be no place to escape. No one could hide from the sword of judgment. When the Lord was ready to act, he would destroy his people. In this way, he would satisfy his fury (his burning anger). They would be filled with terror. Their courage would disappear.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. Apostrophe to the sword. Go ... one way--or, "Concentrate thyself"; "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. The main "concentration" of forces was to be…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 21:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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