Bible Strands
Ezekiel 21:5
Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Ezekiel to announce an irreversible military judgment. The declaration occurs immediately after Yahweh declares His sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
The words — The phrase כָּל־בָּשָׂר (kol-basar, "all flesh") emphasizes universal scope, while הוֹצֵאתִי חַרְבִּי (hoTzeTi charbi, "I have brought out My sword") marks the irreversible execution of judgment.
The thread — The motif of an unsheathed sword appears in Ezekiel 21:30, where Yahweh commands it to be returned to its sheath after judgment, and parallels the certainty of 1 Samuel 3:12 regarding fulfilled divine speech.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Yahweh’s judgment is final and universally applicable. It requires the reader to acknowledge human limitation before sovereign execution.
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
That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 21:30 Return the sword to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
- Nahum 1:9 Whatever you plot against the LORD, He will bring to an end. Affliction will not rise up a second time.
- 1 Samuel 3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.
- Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- Ezekiel 20:48 Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”
- Numbers 14:21 “Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,
- Deuteronomy 29:24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- 1 Kings 9:7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
- Isaiah 45:23 By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
- Isaiah 55:11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.