Ezekiel 21:9

9 "Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord,' say, 'A sword, a sword [is] sharpened and [is] also polished.

Ezekiel 21:9 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:9

Son of man, prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord
Deliver out the following prophecy in the name of the Lord: say, a sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished;
it is not only drawn out of its sheath, as before, but is made sharp and bright, and ready for use. It is repeated, either to show the certainty of it, or to express the terror and anguish of mind on account of it; persons in distress generally repeating that which is the occasion of it. The Targum interprets it of two swords, the sword of the Babylonians, and the sword of the Ammonites; first the one was to be used, and then the other: this latter, Jarchi and Kimchi observe, was fulfilled by Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slaying Gedaliah, sent for that purpose by Baalis king of the Ammonites, ( Jeremiah 40:14 ) ( Jeremiah 41:2 Jeremiah 41:10 ) , but if two distinct swords are meant, I should rather think the sword of the Chaldeans, and the sword of the Romans, are intended. Cocceius, before observed, interprets it only of the latter; but Abendana both of the sword of the king of Babylon, and of the sword of the Romans.

Ezekiel 21:9 In-Context

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},

9 "Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord,' say, 'A sword, a sword [is] sharpened and [is] also polished.

10 It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, {polished to flash like lightning}! Or will we rejoice? A rod, my son, [is] despising every tree.

11 And he gives it to be polished, {to be seized by the hand}. It is sharpened--a sword--and it [is] polished to give it into [the] hand of [the] killer.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"