Ezekiel 23:24

They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Ezekiel speaks to the personified cities of Samaria and Jerusalem as God pronounces judgment. The declaration follows the detailed muster of Babylonian, Chaldean, and Assyrian forces preparing to invade.

The words — The Hebrew וּ/בָ֣אוּ (u./Va.'u) literally means "and they will come," while רֶ֤כֶב (Re.khev) denotes "chariots," both describing the approaching host.

The thread — The advancing military imagery parallels the galloping hooves and clattering wheels in Jeremiah 47:3, while the deployment of foreign armies to execute punishment aligns with the Chaldean pursuit in Jeremiah 39:5.

Why it lands — The passage records a historical warning that covenant breach triggers concrete geopolitical consequences, requiring readers to acknowledge that divine judgment operates through established human powers.

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

וּבָ֣אוּu./Va.'uand/ they will come עָלַ֡יִךְ'a.La.yi/khon/ you הֹ֠צֶןHo.tzenweapon[s]רֶ֤כֶבRe.khevchariot[s]וְגַלְגַּל֙ve./gal.Galand/ wheel[s]וּבִקְהַ֣לu./vi/k.Haland/ with/ a company of עַמִּ֔ים'a.Mimpeoples צִנָּ֤הtzi.Nahbody shield וּמָגֵן֙u./ma.Genand/ shield וְקוֹבַ֔עve./ko.Va'and/ helmet יָשִׂ֥ימוּya.Si.muthey will set up עָלַ֖יִךְ'a.La.yi/khon/ you סָבִ֑יבsa.Vivall around וְנָתַתִּ֤יve./na.ta.Tiand/ I will set לִפְנֵיהֶם֙li/f.nei./Hem<to>/ before/ them מִשְׁפָּ֔טmish.Patjudgment וּשְׁפָט֖וּךְu./she.fa.Tu/khand/ they will judge/ you בְּמִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶֽם׃be./mish.pe.tei./Hemby/ judgments/ their

King James Version

And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 24:14 David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
Jeremiah 39:5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
Jeremiah 47:3 at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.
Ezekiel 16:38 And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.
Ezekiel 23:45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
Ezekiel 26:10 His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.
Nahum 2:3 The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.
Ezekiel 21:23 It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.
Nahum 3:2 The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!