Ezekiel 21:1

Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the prophet Ezekiel at the opening of a new oracle. The moment functions as a formal bridge from narrative description to a direct divine commission against Jerusalem and the land of Israel.

The words — דְבַר־יְהוָה (de.var-Yahweh) translates literally as "word of Yahweh," anchoring the message to its source. לֵ/אמֹר (le./Mor) means "to saying," operating as a technical literary marker that introduces the following spoken oracle.

The thread — This verse belongs to the prophetic introduction pattern that structures Ezekiel’s book. The formula recurs throughout the text (e.g., Ezekiel 3:22; 8:1; 33:22) to transition from historical context into specific judgment oracles.

Why it lands — It demands that the reader acknowledge the divine origin of the message before processing its content. It prepares the audience to receive a formal declaration of judgment rather than a human opinion.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.