Ezekiel 21:11

The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished, to be placed in the hand of the slayer.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the prophet Ezekiel during a vision of Babylonian military preparation, positioned between a declaration of the sword’s lethal readiness and a command to mourn Israel’s impending defeat.

The words — לְ/מָרְטָה (le./ma.re.Tah) specifies the polishing of a blade, and חֶ֙רֶב֙ (che.rev) names the sword itself, while וַ/יִּתֵּ֥ן (va/i.yi.Ten) and אֹתָ֛/הּ ('o.Ta/h) state that the instrument is actively placed into a wielder’s grip.

The thread — This imagery of divinely appointed warfare recurs in Ezekiel 21:19, where the Babylonian king’s sword is directed along marked paths, and in Jeremiah 25:9, where Nebuchadnezzar is summoned as the Lord’s instrument, culminating in the widespread slaughter described in Jeremiah 25:33.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that national collapse is not accidental but executed by divine command, requiring a response of stark lament rather than theological consolation.

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.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּתֵּ֥ןva/i.yi.Tenand/ someone gave אֹתָ֛הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ it לְמָרְטָ֖הle./ma.re.Tahto/ polish [it]לִתְפֹּ֣שׂli/t.Posto/ grasp [it]בַּכָּ֑ףba./Kafin the/ palm הִֽיא־hi'-it הוּחַ֤דָּהhu.Cha.dahit has been sharpened חֶ֙רֶב֙che.reva sword וְהִ֣יאve./Hi'and/ it מֹרָ֔טָּהmo.Ra.tahit has been polished לָתֵ֥תla./Tetto/ put אוֹתָ֖הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ it בְּיַד־be./yad-in/ [the] hand of הוֹרֵֽג׃ho.Reg[one who] slays

King James Version

And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 21:19 “Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city.
Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
Jeremiah 25:33 Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.
Jeremiah 51:20 “You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.