Tree of Life Version
Ezekiel 21:20
20So that their hearts will melt and many will stumble and fall, I have set the point of the sword against all their gates. Alas! It is made for lightning, it is polished for slaughter.
Ezekiel 21:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
- New International Version (NIV)Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.
Context of Ezekiel 21:20
18For it is a testing. What if they scorn even the rod? It must not be!” It is a declaration of Adonai. 19You, son of man, prophesy. Strike your hands together. The sword will strike twice, even three times, a sword for the slain, a sword for a great slaughter—it surrounds them! So that their hearts will melt and many will stumble and fall, I have set the point of the sword against all their gates. Alas! It is made for lightning, it is polished for slaughter. 21Slash to the right, turn to the left—wherever your blade is meeting! 22I also will clap My hands together. So I will satisfy My wrath. I, Adonai, have spoken.’”
Read all of Ezekiel 21Ezekiel 21:20 word by word
דֶּ֣רֶךְ תָּשִׂ֔ים לָב֣וֹא חֶ֔רֶב אֵ֖ת רַבַּ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־עַמּ֑וֹן וְאֶת־יְהוּדָ֥ה בִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בְּצוּרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Appointשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- a wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- that the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- may comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to Rabbathרַבָּהrabbâh · RabbahH7237
- of the Ammonitesעַמּוֹן‛ammôn · AmmonH5983
- of the Ammonitesבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- and to Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- in Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- the defencedבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
Cross-references for Ezekiel 21:20
- Ezekiel 25:5I will make Rabbah a grazing place for camels and the children of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am Adonai.’”
- Deuteronomy 3:11(For only King Og of the Bashan survived from the remnant of the Rephaim. In fact, his bed was made of iron—is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its width, according to the cubit of a man.)
- 2 Samuel 12:26Now Joab attacked Rabbah of the children of Ammon and captured the royal city.
- Jeremiah 49:2Therefore behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will sound an alarm of war heard against Rabbah of Ammon! It will become a mound of ruins. Her villages will be burned with fire. Then Israel will dispossess those who dispossessed him.” it is a declaration of Adonai.
- Amos 1:14I will kindle fire on Rabbah’s wall and it will devour its citadels, amid shouting on a day of battle, with storm on a day of whirlwind.
- 2 Samuel 5:9So David occupied the stronghold and renamed it the City of David. Then David fortified it all round from the Millo inward.
- 2 Chronicles 26:9Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate and at the Angle, and fortified them.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5Then he took courage and rebuilt the entire wall that had been broken down, raised up the towers, added another outer wall, fortified the Millo in the city of David, and made plenty of weapons and shields.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14Afterward he built an outer wall to the city of David west of Gihon in the valley, as far as the entrance to the Fish Gate, and encircling the Ophel; he also raised it up much higher. He stationed military officers in all the fortified cities of Judah.
- Psalms 48:12Mount Zion is glad, the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of Your judgments.
- Psalms 125:1A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in Adonai are like Mount Zion— it cannot be moved, but endures forever.
- Isaiah 22:10Though you counted the houses of Jerusalem, you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
- Lamentations 4:12The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did the inhabitations of the world, that enemy and foe would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 21:20
- 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. 18-20The sword of the Lord was not just a symbol. It would become the sword of the king of Babylon. That king was Nebuchadnezzar. His army would carry out God’s judgment. Ezekiel showed this in a visual way. He drew a map to show the king’s two possible targets. One was Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. The other was Jerusalem, the capital of Judah.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Rabbath of the Ammonites--distinct from Rabbah in Judah (2Sa 12:26). Rabbath is put first, as it was from her that Jerusalem, that doomed city, had borrowed many of her idols. to Judah in Jerusalem--instead of simply putting "Jerusalem," to imply the sword was to come not merely to Judah, but to its people within Jerusalem, defended though it was; its defenses on which the Jews relied so much would not keep the foe out.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 21:20
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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