Ezekiel 21:17 kjv
I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
Ezekiel 21:17 nkjv
"I also will beat My fists together, And I will cause My fury to rest; I, the LORD, have spoken."
Ezekiel 21:17 niv
I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the LORD have spoken."
Ezekiel 21:17 esv
I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken."
Ezekiel 21:17 nlt
I, too, will clap my hands,
and I will satisfy my fury.
I, the LORD, have spoken!"
Ezekiel 21 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eze 22:13 | "Behold, therefore, I strike My hand... against your dishonest gain..." | God's clap of judgment against sin. |
| Nah 3:19 | "...All who hear the report about you clap their hands over you..." | People's applause for enemy's downfall. |
| Lam 2:15 | "All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake..." | People's disdain at Jerusalem's ruin. |
| Job 27:23 | "They will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him from his place." | People's judgment against the wicked. |
| Eze 21:14 | "You, therefore, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands..." | Ezekiel told to perform similar prophetic act. |
| Exo 32:10 | "Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them..." | God's intense anger at Israel's idolatry. |
| Psa 78:49 | "He hurled upon them His burning anger, fury, and indignation..." | Descriptions of God's unleashed wrath. |
| Rom 1:18 | "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness..." | God's righteous anger against sin. |
| Eph 5:6 | "...because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." | God's wrath as consequence of disobedience. |
| Col 3:6 | "For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come." | New Testament reiteration of divine wrath. |
| Rev 14:10 | "...he will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God..." | Future eschatological outpouring of wrath. |
| Isa 5:25 | "Therefore the anger of the LORD has burned against His people..." | God's burning anger against His people. |
| Psa 33:11 | "The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart..." | Certainty and immutability of God's plans. |
| Isa 46:10 | "Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times..." | God declares future events and fulfills them. |
| Amos 3:7 | "For the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel..." | God reveals His plans before acting. |
| Num 23:19 | "God is not a man, that He should lie... Has He said, and will He not do?" | God's faithfulness to His spoken word. |
| Deut 28:15 | "But it will come about, if you do not listen to the voice of the LORD..." | The conditional curses for disobedience. |
| Jer 19:8 | "I will also make this city a desolation and an object of horror..." | Prophetic word about Jerusalem's destruction. |
| Jer 25:9-11 | "...I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants..." | God using Babylon as instrument of judgment. |
| Eze 24:14 | "I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will do it." | Similar divine affirmation in Ezekiel. |
| Isa 14:24 | "The LORD of armies has sworn, saying, 'Indeed, just as I have intended...'" | God's determined intent will be carried out. |
| Heb 12:29 | "for our God is a consuming fire." | The nature of God's holy, judging character. |
| Mal 3:6 | "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, have not been consumed." | God's unchanging nature ensures both judgment and covenant. |
| Matt 23:38 | "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!" | Jesus' lament and prophecy of Jerusalem's doom. |
| Zech 1:6 | "Just as the LORD of armies intended to do to us in accordance with..." | God's words are executed according to His will. |
Ezekiel 21 verses
Ezekiel 21 17 Meaning
God, with an emphatic and final declaration, states His resolute intent to fully and completely execute His fierce anger against the people of Jerusalem. The "clapping of hands" signifies His public and irreversible determination to bring forth the prophesied judgment, which will then "rest" or fully expend itself upon its targets, thus achieving its complete and devastating purpose. It marks the divine resolve behind the inevitable destruction.
Ezekiel 21 17 Context
Ezekiel 21 is a "prophecy of the sword," specifically against Jerusalem and the land of Judah, announced to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. The chapter immediately preceding verse 17 is filled with vivid imagery of God sharpening and unleashing a sword of judgment. God instructs Ezekiel to cry out and wail because the sword is prepared for "slaughter," handed to "the destroyer." This section of Ezekiel serves to remove any lingering false hope among the exiles or those in Judah that Jerusalem would somehow be spared by God. The "sword" represents the Babylonian army, whom God is actively employing as an instrument of His wrath due to the people's deep-seated idolatry and moral corruption. Verse 17 directly follows a description of this destructive sword and functions as God's decisive, emphatic seal on the certainty and finality of this impending devastation, signifying that He Himself will oversee its complete execution.
Ezekiel 21 17 Word analysis
- I (אֲנִי - ani): Emphatically God Himself speaking. It highlights His personal, sovereign agency behind the impending judgment, leaving no doubt that this is His doing and not merely a historical accident.
- will also clap my hands together (וְהִכֵּיתִי כַף אֶל־כַּף - v'hikkeiti kaph el-kaph): This is a powerful Hebrew idiom with a dual connotation in scripture, though primarily in this context signifies:
- Divine Resolve/Finality: A public, forceful declaration of unalterable decision, often preceding the execution of judgment. It's an emphatic gesture, like a "done deal," or God pounding His fist on the table. It underscores His unwavering determination.
- Anger/Contempt/Grief: While sometimes expressing grief, in conjunction with "wrath" in a judgment oracle, it's more about God expressing His holy indignation, even disgust, and His resolute commitment to bringing forth the punishment. It acts as a dramatic signal to both the prophet and the audience.
- and I will cause My wrath to rest (וַהֲנִיחֹתִי חֲמָתִי - vahanikhoti chamati):
- will cause...to rest (וַהֲנִיחֹתִי - vahanikhoti, from נוּחַ nuach): This verb, in its causative (Hiphil) stem, means to "cause to settle" or "to lay upon." In this context, it signifies that God will fully discharge or unleash His wrath, bringing it to a state of completion upon its intended target. The wrath "rests" only when its full, devastating purpose has been accomplished, not that God's anger itself will subside without action. It signifies the complete execution and the resultant ceasing of the act of judgment.
- My wrath (חֲמָתִי - chamati): Denotes a fierce, burning, passionate anger or indignation, particularly God's holy fury against sin and rebellion. It emphasizes the intense emotional and moral dimension of God's displeasure, not an uncontrolled outburst but a just response to pervasive wickedness.
- I the Lord have spoken (אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי - ani Yahweh dibarti): This is a recurring divine oracle formula throughout Ezekiel, serving as an absolute assurance of the certainty, authority, and irrevocability of the prophecy.
- I the Lord (ani Yahweh): Connects the pronouncement directly to God's covenant name, underscoring His sovereignty, omnipotence, and His personal stake in upholding His righteous decrees, whether in judgment or blessing.
- have spoken (dibarti): Highlights the verbal nature and binding authority of God's pronouncements. What He says, He performs. This formula seals the divine decree as utterly dependable and sure to come to pass.
Ezekiel 21 17 Bonus section
The imagery employed in this verse, particularly God "clapping His hands," humanizes divine emotion in a way that is profoundly impactful for the original audience. It's a striking anthropomorphism conveying God's emotional involvement—whether it be sorrow for what His people have forced Him to do or decisive, indignant anger. Scholars often highlight Ezekiel's frequent use of such vivid, dramatic language to capture the attention and convey the weight of his prophetic messages to an exiled people struggling to understand their plight. The act simultaneously shows both divine regret and firm, unchangeable resolve, underscoring that the impending destruction is both just and terrible. This passage not only announces judgment but demonstrates that God himself will see it through, lending an unmatched weight to its severity.
Ezekiel 21 17 Commentary
Ezekiel 21:17 serves as God's powerful, dramatic crescendo to the preceding sword oracle, encapsulating His holy resolve and unyielding commitment to judgment. The act of "clapping hands" is not arbitrary; it's a symbolic, divine gesture of decisive action, proclaiming the finality of the sentence. It assures the audience that this is not an idle threat, but a decreed event, with God Himself, the covenant Lord, driving its execution. His wrath will "rest" only after its full, terrifying force has been exerted upon Jerusalem, bringing the deserved consequences of sin to a complete and devastating fulfillment. It is a sobering testament to God's justice and the terrifying certainty of His word.