Ezekiel 21:23

Ezekiel 21:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
• New International Version (NIV)It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The people of Jerusalem will think it is a false omen, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them.

Context of Ezekiel 21:23

21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. 22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken. 24"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. 25And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment,

Ezekiel 21:23 word by word

וְהָיָ֨ה לָהֶ֤ם כִּקְסָם שָׁוְא֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם שְׁבֻעֵ֥י שְׁבֻע֖וֹת לָהֶ֑ם וְהֽוּא־מַזְכִּ֥יר עָוֹ֖ן לְהִתָּפֵֽשׂ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be unto them as a falseשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: falseH7723
• divinationקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
• in their sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• to them that have swornשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
• oathsשְׁבוּעָהshebû‛âh · oathH7621
• but he will call to remembranceזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• the iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: guiltH5771
• that they may be takenתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610

Cross-references for Ezekiel 21:23

• Ezekiel 11:3who say, 'The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.'
• Ezekiel 12:22"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, 'The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing'?
• Isaiah 28:14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem!
• Ezekiel 17:13And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away),
• 2 Chronicles 36:13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel.
• 2 Kings 24:20For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• 2 Kings 25:1And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.
• Jeremiah 52:3For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 21:24"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.
• Ezekiel 29:16And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God."
• Numbers 5:15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
• 1 Kings 17:18And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!"
• Revelation 16:19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 21:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23To them that have sworn oaths - To Zedekiah and his ministers, who had bound themselves by the oath of the Lord to be faithful to the Chaldeans, and to pay them the promised tribute. The oaths may refer, farther, to the alliances formed with the Egyptians, Ammonites, and others. They will not believe that Nebuchadnezzar shall succeed against them, while they expect the powerful assistance of the Egyptians.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-32Verses 18-32 The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon‘s march upon Judaea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go forth not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites (compare Jeremiah 27:2-3). Ezekiel 21:19 Appoint thee - Set before thee. Choose thou 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-27Verses 18-27 By the Spirit of prophecy Ezekiel foresaw Nebuchadnezzar's march from Babylon, which he would determine by divination. The Lord would overturn the government of Judah, till the coming of Him whose right it is. This seems to foretell the overturnings of the Jewish nation to the present day, and the troubles of states and kingdoms, which shall make way for establishing the Messiah's kingdom throughout the earth. The Lord secretly leads all to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24A treaty with the Babylonians would not save the people of Jerusalem because they had broken its terms. The king of Babylon would remind them of their rebellion. He would show in public that rebelling against a covenant overlord (a powerful ruler who made a binding agreement) brings serious consequences. If rebellion against their Babylonian ruler brought punishment, how much more would rebellion against the Lord bring judgment?Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Unto the Jews, though credulous of divinations when in their favor, Nebuchadnezzar's divination "shall be (seen) as false." This gives the reason which makes the Jews fancy themselves safe from the Chaldeans, namely, that they "have sworn" to the latter "oaths" of allegiance, forgetting that they had violated them (Eze 17:13, 15, 16, 18). but he, &c.--Nebuchadnezzar will remember in consulting his idols that he swore to Zedekiah by them, but that…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Parting
• Privy
• Crime; Crimes
• Groan
• Zedekiah (2)

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