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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Ezekiel 21:23

21The king of Babylon will stop where the roads branch off, where there is a fork in the road. Then he will look for omens. He will shake some arrows, ask his household gods for help, and examine animal livers. 22The omens will indicate that he should go to the right, to Jerusalem. So he will set up his battering rams there, give the order to kill, raise a battle cry, aim the battering rams against the city gates, put up ramps, and set up blockades. The people won’t believe this because they have made treaties with other nations. But the king of Babylon will remind them of their sins, and they will be captured. 24“This is what the Almighty Lord says: You make people remember how sinful you are because you openly do wrong. You show your sins in everything you do. So you will be taken captive. 25“You dishonest and wicked prince of Israel, the time for your final punishment has come.

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 11:3They say, ‘It’s almost time to rebuild homes. This city is a cooking pot, and we’re the meat.’
• Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in Israel: ‘Days go by, and every vision comes to nothing’?
• Isaiah 28:14So hear the Lord’s word, you foolish talkers who rule the people in Jerusalem.
• Ezekiel 17:13Then he took someone from the royal family, made a treaty with him, and made him promise to be loyal. He took away the leading citizens from Judah
• 2 Chronicles 36:13Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel.
• 2 Kings 24:20The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of his sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• 2 Kings 25:1On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. They set up camp and built dirt ramps around the city walls.
• Jeremiah 52:3The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of his sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 21:24“This is what the Almighty Lord says: You make people remember how sinful you are because you openly do wrong. You show your sins in everything you do. So you will be taken captive.
• Ezekiel 29:16The nation of Israel will never trust Egypt again. The people of Israel will remember how wrong they were whenever they turned to Egypt ⌞for help⌟. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.’ ”
• Numbers 5:15He must then take his wife to the priest along with eight cups of barley flour as an offering for her. He must not pour olive oil on the flour or put frankincense on it, since it is a grain offering brought because of the husband’s jealousy, an offering used for a confession—to remind someone of a sin that was committed.
• 1 Kings 17:18The woman asked Elijah, “What do you and I have in common, man of God? Did you come here to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
• Revelation 16:19The important city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered to give Babylon the Great the cup of wine from his fierce anger.

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