Ezekiel 21:6

6 And you, son of man, groan {with shaking hips}, and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes.

Ezekiel 21:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:6

Sigh, therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy
loins
As if thy loins were broke, and go as if they were, and sigh as thou goest; or as a woman in travail, having her hands upon her loins as ready to break, and in the utmost distress; or heave, and groan, and sigh, till the girdle of the loins is broke, and by these motions and gesture show the miserable state of this people, and how much thou art affected with it: and with bitterness sigh before their eyes;
in the sight and hearing of the captives at Babylon; who would take care, by some means or other, to inform their brethren at Jerusalem of it, how the prophet sighed and groaned, under an apprehension and assurance of a dreadful calamity coming upon them; using along with his sobs and sighs, and brinish tears, doleful words and bitter lamentations.

Ezekiel 21:6 In-Context

4 Because I will cut [off] from you [both] righteous and wicked, therefore my sword will go out from its sheath to all creatures from south [to] north.

5 And they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh, I will bring out my sword from its sheath; it will not return again!" '

6 And you, son of man, groan {with shaking hips}, and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes.

7 {And then} when they say to you, 'On account of what [are] you groaning?' then you must say, 'On account of [the] report, for it [is] coming, and every heart will be weak and all hands will hang limp and every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will go [like] water.' Look! It [is] coming, and it will happen!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

8 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [b]. Literally "with destruction of loins"