Bible Strands
Ezekiel 21:3
and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezekiel delivers a divine oracle to the land of Israel while commanded to set his face against Jerusalem and prophesy against its sanctuaries (Ezekiel 21:2). The declaration marks the moment God initiates direct military and judicial opposition against the nation.
The words — The Hebrew phrase הִנְ/נִ֣י אֵלַ֔יִ/ךְ (hi./Ni 'e.La.yi/kh) literally renders "here I [am] against you," establishing immediate divine opposition. It is coupled with וְ/אָמַרְתָּ֞ (ve./'a.mar.Ta), meaning "and you will say," which functions as the prophetic command to transmit the oracle.
The thread — The motif of undifferentiated judgment appears in Job 9:22, where destruction falls on both the blameless and the wicked, and Jeremiah 21:13, which declares God's stance against those dwelling on the plateau. Ezekiel 5:8 parallels this by recording the Lord declaring Himself against Jerusalem to execute judgments.
Why it lands — The text states that God's sword will cut off both the righteous and the wicked without distinction, removing any assumption of moral immunity. It requires the reader to recognize that divine opposition operates independently of human merit before any further theological conclusions are drawn.
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
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Job 9:22 It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
- Jeremiah 21:13 Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
- Ezekiel 5:8 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
- Ezekiel 5:12 A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
- Ezekiel 14:17 Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Ezekiel 14:21 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?
- Ezekiel 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
- 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.
- Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”
- Nahum 3:5 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.