Ezekiel 21 3

Ezekiel 21:3 kjv

And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

Ezekiel 21:3 nkjv

and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you.

Ezekiel 21:3 niv

and say to her: 'This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.

Ezekiel 21:3 esv

and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.

Ezekiel 21:3 nlt

Tell her, 'This is what the LORD says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people ? the righteous and the wicked alike.

Ezekiel 21 verses

Ezekiel 21 3 Meaning

Ezekiel 21:3 declares God's imminent and severe judgment upon the land of Israel. It portrays the Lord as actively against His people, metaphorically drawing His sword from its sheath, signifying a definitive and unleashed war of divine retribution. Crucially, this judgment is pronounced to "cut off" indiscriminately "both righteous and wicked" within the land, highlighting the catastrophic and sweeping nature of the impending national punishment, where all inhabitants suffer the temporal consequences of a corporately unrepentant society.

Ezekiel 21 3 Context

Ezekiel 21:3 is part of a prophetic oracle delivered to Ezekiel, who was among the exiles in Babylon. This particular chapter is a direct message concerning God's impending judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem through the imagery of a terrifying "sword of the Lord." The initial verses set the stage for this divine weapon being unsheathed and poised to strike "against the land of Israel." Historically, Judah was in a state of political instability, divided loyalties between Egypt and Babylon, and deeply entrenched idolatry and social injustice, despite continued prophetic warnings. Many in Jerusalem clung to a false sense of security, believing that God would never allow His temple city to fall, especially while "righteous" people resided there. Ezekiel's prophecy directly confronts this hubris, emphasizing God's determined purpose to bring about the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the land as punishment for persistent national sin, making it clear that no one, irrespective of perceived individual piety, would be spared the temporal wrath. It functions as a polemic against the complacency of both the Jerusalemites and the exiles, affirming that judgment for their covenant breach was inescapable.

Ezekiel 21 3 Word analysis

• and say (וֶאֱמֹר – ve’ĕmor): This is a direct command from God to Ezekiel, emphasizing the prophetic responsibility to verbally convey the divine message. It underscores the urgency and clarity of the impending announcement.
• to the land of Israel (אֶל־אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל – el-eretz Yisrael): Specifies the target. Not just individuals or the capital city, but the entire national entity, geographical and socio-political. Eretz encompasses territory, people, and their collective identity.
• Thus says the Lord (כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי – koh amar Adonai): The standard prophetic formula, asserting the divine origin and authoritative nature of the message. It highlights that the words are God's own, not Ezekiel's opinion.
• Behold (הִנֵּה – hinneh): An emphatic particle used to grab attention and introduce something sudden, important, or imminent. It signifies the certainty and immediacy of what is to follow.
• I am against you (אֲנִי אֵלֶיךָ – ani eilekha): A stark and confrontational declaration. God Himself takes a hostile stance against His people due to their profound covenant breaking, shattering any illusion of neutrality or guaranteed divine favor.
• and will draw (וְהוֹצֵאתִי – vehotzēti): Signifies an active, intentional, and resolute action. It’s not just a threat but an imminent, divinely orchestrated unleashing.
• my sword (חַרְבִּי – ḥarbi): A potent metaphor for God's instrument of judgment and wrath. It's His sword, wielded by Him (though often through human agents like Babylon), indicating ultimate divine control over the ensuing destruction.
• from its sheath (מִתַּעְרָהּ – mitta‘rāh): Symbolizes the end of restraint and the commencement of active, full-scale judgment. An unsheathed sword is ready for battle, signalling that the time for peace and clemency is over.
• and will cut off (וְהִכְרַתִּי – vehikhratti): From the Hebrew root karath (כרת), meaning to sever, destroy, exterminate, or remove. It conveys utter removal and desolation, a forceful ending to existence within the land.
• from you (מִמֵּךְ – mimmekh): Emphasizes removal from the collective "you," the land and its people, underscoring the severity of the expulsion.
• both righteous and wicked (צַדִּיק וְרָשָׁע – tzaddiq v'rasha‘): This phrase is profoundly impactful. It indicates that in this specific, temporal, and national catastrophe, the destructive consequences will fall upon all inhabitants of the land. This is not a judgment on individual eternal destiny but a corporate, temporal judgment where external behavior (being "righteous" in some ways) does not exempt one from the widespread physical devastation affecting the entire nation.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you": This grouping forms a chilling statement of direct divine opposition. It highlights God's sovereignty over the fate of nations, even His own chosen people, when their sin reaches a critical mass, making Him their adversary. The authority and the direness of the message are unequivocally established.
• "and will draw my sword from its sheath": This phrase encapsulates the irrevocable nature of God's decision. The act of drawing the sword symbolizes that a point of no return has been reached; the instrument of destruction is no longer sheathed in restraint but is prepared for immediate and decisive action. It is a powerful image of war, judgment, and the unleashing of divine wrath.
• "and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked": This segment is perhaps the most shocking and profound. It challenges conventional understanding of God's immediate discrimination in judgment. It means that the pervasive nature of national sin, idolatry, and rebellion has so corrupted the corporate body of Israel that the temporal consequences of the divine sword will indiscriminately sweep away everyone present in the land. This doesn't negate God's justice or ability to distinguish in an eternal sense, but it highlights the sheer devastation and collective suffering wrought by a catastrophic national judgment, where no one in the land is spared the immediate, physical calamity.

Ezekiel 21 3 Bonus section

• Figurative Language: The "sword" is a key piece of figurative language in Ezekiel, representing the swift, sharp, and decisive instrument of divine justice, often associated with military conquest and death. It personifies destruction in a visceral way, emphasizing God's role as the divine warrior.
• Challenging Theodicy: This verse presents a theodical challenge – why would the "righteous" suffer alongside the "wicked"? The answer lies in the specific context of corporate, covenantal judgment. While God is always just, there are moments of national reckoning where physical safety is universally withdrawn from a condemned people group within their land, regardless of varying individual piety.
• Prophetic Foreboding: The declaration in Ez 21:3 initiates a longer sequence of judgment prophecies concerning Jerusalem, Ammon, and then a general promise of a ruler (Messiah), effectively preparing the audience for a period of extreme turmoil and suffering before any hope of restoration.
• Symbolic of Covenant Breach: The unsheathing of God's sword is a powerful symbol of the covenant relationship having been irreparably broken from Israel's side, necessitating the severe punitive measures stipulated in the covenant itself (e.g., Deut 28). God's commitment to justice for His holiness overrides His commitment to protecting an unfaithful nation in that specific context.

Ezekiel 21 3 Commentary

Ezekiel 21:3 delivers an oracle of uncompromising divine judgment against Israel, conveyed through the powerful imagery of God "drawing His sword from its sheath." This signifies the unleashing of God's wrath, a shift from patient forbearance to active, unmitigated destruction, likely carried out by the Babylonians acting as God's instrument. The pronouncement "I am against you" shatters any illusion of God's unconditional favor or neutrality toward His sinning people.

The most challenging and crucial aspect of this verse is the declaration that the sword will "cut off... both righteous and wicked." This does not imply an absence of moral distinction on God's part concerning individual eternal destinies, nor that true, repentant righteousness holds no value. Instead, it underscores the corporate and pervasive nature of Israel's national apostasy. The nation as a whole had reached such a depth of rebellion and covenant infidelity that the impending judgment, a national catastrophe of exile and desolation, would indiscriminately sweep away all inhabitants of the land. In this temporal and physical judgment, perceived righteousness (relative to others or mere adherence to ritual without heart transformation) could not shield individuals from the immediate, devastating consequences facing the entire society. It reveals that presence within a nation steeped in systemic sin means sharing in its physical and political downfall, regardless of individual moral standing during the crisis itself. This prophecy functions as a stark warning against false security, demanding a profound recognition of God's sovereign justice and the severe ramifications of national disobedience.