Ezekiel 21:4

"Tell the land of Israel, ‘The LORD says: “Behold, I am against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked."

Key Reflection

Ezekiel 21:4 is a powerful declaration of divine judgment upon the land of Israel. The imagery of drawing the sword out of its sheath signifies God's determination to act decisively against the people, affecting both the righteous and the wicked without exception. This vivid image conveys that God's justice will be executed with finality, leaving no one untouched by His judgment.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

The righteous and the wicked -take the place of “every green tree and every dry tree”Ezekiel 20:47; “all faces” that of “all flesh:” to show the universality of the destructions. National judgment involves the innocent in the temporal ruin of the guilty. The equity of God is vindicated by the ruin being only temporal. From the south to the north -From one end of the holy land to the other; the seer is in the north, and looks at once on the whole extent of the ruin.

More from Ezekiel 21

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