Ezekiel 21 6

Ezekiel 21:6 kjv

Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

Ezekiel 21:6 nkjv

Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.

Ezekiel 21:6 niv

"Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.

Ezekiel 21:6 esv

"As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.

Ezekiel 21:6 nlt

"Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.

Ezekiel 21 verses

Ezekiel 21 6 Meaning

Ezekiel 21:6 commands the prophet Ezekiel to sigh deeply and publicly, not just with sorrow, but with profound internal agony—a "breaking of the loins," indicating complete collapse and anguish, coupled with intense, bitter grief. This prophetic action serves as a dramatic, visible representation of the crushing judgment and despair that is about to fall upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem, caused by God's impending wrath. Ezekiel's compelled lament mirrors God's own sorrow over His people's rebellion and functions as a stark warning to those who remained in denial about their fate.

Ezekiel 21 6 Context

Ezekiel 21:6 stands at a crucial juncture in a chapter intensely focused on divine judgment. Preceding this verse, God has declared His unwavering intention to unsheathe a "sharp sword" against Judah and Jerusalem, announcing its indiscriminate reach to both the righteous and the wicked (Eze 21:1-5). This command for Ezekiel to sigh with such profound distress immediately follows these declarations of an impending, devastating judgment. The broader historical context is during the Babylonian exile, where Ezekiel prophesies to a people who largely clung to false hopes of an imminent return to Jerusalem and peace, ignoring the persistent prophetic warnings of God's coming wrath for their idolatry and sin. This public, deeply emotional act of lament by Ezekiel serves as a vital prophetic sign, demonstrating to a complacent and unbelieving audience the severe, inescapable, and truly heartbreaking nature of the judgment God is about to bring upon His covenant people.

Ezekiel 21 6 Word analysis

• Sigh (אָנַח - ’anah): This Hebrew verb signifies more than a casual exhalation; it conveys a deep groan, a lament, or a cry of profound sorrow stemming from intense pain, affliction, or inner turmoil. It's often associated with the suffering of the oppressed or those under duress (e.g., Exo 2:23, Psa 12:5). Here, it's a forced, public act reflecting divine and human anguish.
• therefore: This conjunction links Ezekiel's commanded action directly to the preceding pronouncements of God's judgment and the drawing of His "sword." It indicates a direct cause-and-effect: because judgment is inevitable, this sorrowful act is necessary.
• son of man (בֶן־אָדָם - ben-’adam): This title, frequently used by God when addressing Ezekiel (over 90 times in the book), emphasizes his human frailties, mortality, and his dependence on God for the message he delivers. It contrasts his human nature with the divine source of his prophetic revelation, grounding the heavenly message in an earthly messenger. Later, this phrase also gains significant messianic implications in Daniel and the New Testament, highlighting both human nature and divine authority.
• with a breaking heart (בְּשִׁבְרוֹן מָתְנַיִם - bəšibrōn māṯnáyim): The literal Hebrew is "with the breaking of the loins/hips." In ancient Israelite thought, the loins represented the seat of physical strength, vitality, and even courage. Their "breaking" or trembling was an idiom for utter, debilitating collapse, profound distress, fear, or overwhelming pain—a more severe anguish than just emotional heartbreak, touching on physical debilitation from shock or terror (cf. Psa 69:23; Nah 2:10). The English "breaking heart" captures the profound emotional devastation implied, translating the idiom for contemporary understanding.
• and with bitter grief (וּבִמְרִירוּת - ūḇimərirûṯ): This word denotes intense bitterness, harshness, or acrid sorrow. Derived from marar (to be bitter), it suggests a sharp, stinging, and unpalatable anguish that affects one's entire being. It's not a light sadness but a deep, poignant, and soul-wrenching sorrow, reflecting the severe consequences of sin and divine judgment.
• before their eyes (לְעֵינֵיהֶם - lə‘êneyhem): This phrase is crucial for understanding the prophetic nature of Ezekiel's act. It emphasizes that his lament is not a private display of personal sorrow but a public, demonstrative performance intended to be witnessed by the exiled community. It forces them to confront the reality of the impending doom and to recognize the gravity of God's word through their prophet's embodied suffering.

Words-group analysis

• Sigh therefore...with a breaking heart and with bitter grief: This entire command outlines a deep, involuntary, and public lament that transcends mere sadness. It describes a physically and emotionally overwhelming grief, mirroring God's profound pain over His people's rebellion and the severe judgment He must execute. It signifies that the prophet himself must embody the intensity of the coming devastation.
• Sigh therefore...before their eyes: This pairing highlights the purpose of Ezekiel's grief. The "therefore" links it directly to God's decree of judgment, establishing it as an appropriate, even necessary, response. "Before their eyes" underscores the public, symbolic, and communicative aspect of this act. It is designed not for the prophet's personal catharsis, but as a visual prophecy intended to penetrate the complacency of his audience and stir them to serious reflection.

Ezekiel 21 6 Bonus section

The command in Ezekiel 21:6 initiates a series of embodied prophetic actions in the surrounding verses, where Ezekiel's personal responses (like sighing and trembling in Eze 21:7) are deliberately chosen by God to intensify the message. This highlights a recurring theme in Ezekiel: the prophet himself often serves as the message through symbolic actions (like lying on his side, shaving his head, or eating rationed food). His body becomes a canvas for divine communication. This verse particularly demonstrates God's profound, yet often overlooked, grief over the necessity of executing judgment, inviting His prophet and His people into the depth of that divine pain. It counters the popular image of a solely vengeful God by revealing His tender, heartbroken nature even in acts of severe discipline.

Ezekiel 21 6 Commentary

Ezekiel 21:6 reveals the profoundly emotional core of divine judgment. God commands Ezekiel to become a living parable of impending doom, exhibiting extreme, gut-wrenching grief. This intense, public lament serves a dual purpose: it portrays the very real sorrow of God over the necessity of punishing His people, and it acts as a final, desperate warning to a stubborn and unrepentant Israel. Ezekiel's visibly broken spirit and bitter lamentation were intended to shock the complacent exiles into recognizing the magnitude and the imminent reality of the devastation heading towards Jerusalem. His grief embodies the tragedy of a chosen people losing their blessings due to unfaithfulness, demonstrating that divine justice is executed not without sorrow, but with profound, heartfelt anguish from God Himself. It’s a call to empathize with the depth of God’s own pain over sin.