Ezekiel 21:24-32

Context

21:24 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up¹ your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force.²

21:25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel,³

whose day has come, the time of final punishment,

21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Tear off the turban,⁴

take off the crown!

Things must change!⁵

Exalt the lowly,

bring down the proud!⁶

21:27 A total ruin I will make it!⁷

It will come to an end

when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’⁸

21:28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation;⁹ say:

“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,

polished to consume,¹⁰ to flash like lightning –

21:29 while seeing false visions for you

and reading lying omens for you¹¹ –

to place that sword¹² on the necks of the profane wicked,¹³

whose day has come,

the time of final punishment.

21:30 Return it to its sheath!¹⁴

In the place where you were created,¹⁵

in your native land, I will judge you.

21:31 I will pour out my anger on you;

the fire of my fury I will blow on you.

I will hand you over to brutal men,

who are skilled in destruction.

21:32 You will become fuel for the fire –

your blood will stain the middle of the land;¹⁶

you will no longer be remembered,

for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

[21:24] ¹tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”

[21:24] ²tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds – because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”

[21:25] ³tn This probably refers to King Zedekiah.

[21:26] ⁴tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.

[21:26] ⁵tn Heb “This not this.”

[21:26] ⁶tn Heb “the high one.”

[21:27] ⁷tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.

[21:27] ⁸tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”

[21:28] ⁹tn Heb “their reproach.”

[21:28] ¹⁰tn Heb “to contain, endure.” Since the Hebrew text as it stands makes little, if any, sense, most emend the text to read either “to consume” or “for destruction.” For discussion of options see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:693.

[21:29] ¹¹tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.

[21:29] ¹²tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:29] ¹³sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.

[21:30] ¹⁴sn Once the Babylonian king’s sword (vv. 19-20) has carried out its assigned task, the Lord commands it to halt and announces that Babylon itself will also experience his judgment. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:28.

[21:30] ¹⁵tn In the Hebrew text of vv. 30-32 the second person verbal and pronominal forms are feminine singular. This may indicate that the personified Babylonian sword is being addressed. The Hebrew word for “sword” (see v. 28) is feminine. However, it may refer to the Ammonites.

[21:32] ¹⁶tn Heb “your blood will be in the middle of the land.”