English Standard Version
Ezekiel 21:16
16Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Swords at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left— Wherever your edge is ordered!
- New Living Translation (NLT)O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want.
Context of Ezekiel 21:16
14"As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter. Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the Lord have spoken." 18The word of the Lord came to me again:
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 righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.
- Ezekiel 14:17"Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast,
- Ezekiel 16:46And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.
- Genesis 13:9Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries