Ezekiel 21

Ezekiel 21 belongs to the section of the Book of Ezekiel containing prophecies of judgment proclaimed before the fall of Jerusalem (chapters 1–24). At the end of Ezekiel 20, the people heard the prophecy of fire kindled against the "forest of the south field" and said of the prophet, "Doth he not speak parables?" This chapter turns that fire into the sword of the LORD and names Jerusalem directly.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Ezekiel prophesies against Jerusalem and the sanctuary. The LORD draws His sword out of its sheath to cut off the righteous and the wicked and to strike all flesh from the south to the north, and the sword will not return to its sheath.
• Verses 6–7 The prophet is commanded to sigh as with the breaking of his loins. To those who ask why, he is to answer that it is because of the tidings of the coming disaster.
• Verses 8–17 A song of the sword, sharpened and furbished (ground and polished). Because the sword comes upon the people and the princes (leaders), the prophet smites upon his thigh and claps his hands, and the sword glitters at every gate.
• Verses 18–23 The king of Babylon practices divination at the fork where the road divides toward Rabbah of the Ammonites and toward Jerusalem. He shakes arrows, consults idols, and inspects the liver of a sacrifice, obtaining an omen that points to Jerusalem, and he sets up battering rams, siege mounds, and scaling ladders (ladders for climbing city walls).
• Verses 24–27 The crown and diadem are removed from the profane, wicked king of Israel. After the threefold repetition "I will overturn," the LORD declares, "until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him."
• Verses 28–32 The sword is drawn against Ammon as well. Ammon, which relied on false divination, will be judged in its own land, will become fuel for the fire, and will be remembered no more.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 21:27 "Until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him": This verse speaks of one who will come after the kingship has fallen and is frequently discussed in messianic interpretation.
• Ezekiel 21:21 "He made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver": The verse describes ancient Near Eastern divination while presenting its outcome as subject to the will of the LORD.
• Ezekiel 21:26 "Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high": The verse expresses the theme of God reversing the positions of the high and the low.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: Addressed by God as "son of man," he conveys judgment through sighing and symbolic gestures.
• The king of Babylon: Not named in the text, but generally identified as Nebuchadnezzar.
• The king of Israel: Not named in the text, but commonly identified as Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.
• Jerusalem: The capital of Judah and the first target of the sword.
• The Ammonites and Rabbah: A people east of the Jordan River and their capital, another possible target of the king of Babylon's attack.
• Babylon: The empire used as the instrument of judgment.

Points for Reflection

• The chapter and verse divisions differ from those of the Hebrew Bible. Ezekiel 20:45–49 in the Korean Revised Version and in English Bibles corresponds to 21:1–5 in the Hebrew text, so chapter 21 in the Hebrew text has 37 verses.
• Interpretations of "he whose right it is" in verse 27 differ. Many Christian interpreters connect it with "Shiloh" in Genesis 49:10 and read it as a messianic prophecy. Others take it to refer to the one granted authority to execute judgment, namely the king of Babylon.
• Some have noted that verses 3–4, which speak of cutting off both the righteous and the wicked, stand in tension with Ezekiel 18, which emphasizes individual responsibility. One explanation is that the passage describes a disaster striking the whole nation, which affects everyone.
• The foretold fall of Jerusalem is recorded in 2 Kings 25, and the prophecy of judgment against Ammon resumes in Ezekiel 25.
• The theme of reversal in verse 26 is often compared with Mary's song in Luke 1 (Luke 1:52).