God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 21:16
16Sword, cut to the right. Cut to the left or wherever your blade is turned.
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
14So prophesy, son of man. Clap your hands! Let the sword strike again and again. It’s the sword for killing. It’s the sword for killing many people. It’s the sword that surrounds them. 15I have appointed my sword to slaughter people at all their gates so that their hearts will sink and many will die. Yes! It’s ready to flash like lightning. It’s polished to kill. Sword, cut to the right. Cut to the left or wherever your blade is turned. 17I will also clap my hands and rest from my fury. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ” 18The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
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 21:4I’m going to kill the righteous people and the wicked people among you. That is why my sword will come out of its scabbard to be used against everyone from the south to the north.
- Ezekiel 14:17“Suppose I bring a war against that country by saying, ‘I will let a war go throughout this country.’ Suppose I destroy the people and the animals in it.
- Ezekiel 16:46“ ‘Your older sister was Samaria. She and her daughters lived north of you. Your younger sister is Sodom. She lives south of you with her daughters.
- Genesis 13:9Isn’t all this land yours also? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right, and if you go to the right, I’ll 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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