Ezekiel 5:1

5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. ¹  Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. ²  Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off.

Ezekiel 6:3

6:3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ³  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ⁴  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ⁵  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁶ 

Ezekiel 14:21

14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem ⁷  to kill both people and animals!

Ezekiel 21:12

21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,

for it is wielded against my people;

against all the princes of Israel.

They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.

Therefore, strike your thigh. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 21:19

21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city.

Ezekiel 31:18

31:18 Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel 32:25

32:25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. ⁹  All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.

Ezekiel 32:30

32:30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

Ezekiel 32:32

32:32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel 33:2

33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, ¹⁰  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

Ezekiel 33:6

33:6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, ¹¹  but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ ¹² 

¹ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

² tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”

³ tn The phrase “mountains of Israel” occurs only in the book of Ezekiel (6:2, 3; 19:9; 33:28; 34:13, 14; 35:12; 36:1, 4, 8; 37:22; 38:8; 39:2, 4, 17). The expression refers to the whole land of Israel.

⁴ tn The introductory formula “Hear the word of the sovereign Lord” parallels a pronouncement delivered by the herald of a king (2 Kgs 18:28).

⁵ tn Heb “Look I, I am bringing.” The repetition of the pronoun draws attention to the speaker. The construction also indicates that the action is soon to come; the Lord is “about to bring a sword against” them.

⁶ tn The Hebrew term refers to elevated platforms where pagan sacrifices were performed.

⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.

⁹ tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).

¹¹ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

¹³ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 8 and 9; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”