Ezekiel 37:21

21 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the sons of Israel from the midst of nations, to which they went forth (Lo! I shall take the Israelites from the midst of the nations, to which they went forth); and I shall gather them together on each side. And I shall bring them (back) to their (own) land,

Ezekiel 37:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 37:21

And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God
Or, as the Targum,

``thou shalt prophesy to them;''

for what follows is a prophecy of what shall be in the latter day: behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the Heathen,
whither they be gone,
or, "from among the Gentiles" ^F2; not only the Chaldeans, where they were carried captives; but from among the nations where they are now dispersed, and among whom they go freely of their own accord from place to place, for the sake of traffic: and this phrase, "whither they be gone", or "are going" ^F3, travelling about from one country to another, better describes the present Jews, and their state, than those in the Babylonian captivity: and will gather them on every side,
or, "round about" ^F4; from the several parts of the world where they are: and bring them into their own land;
the land of Canaan, given by the Lord to their fathers, and to them their posterity, for an inheritance; though now in the possession of others, who, it seems, are not the right owners.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Myywgh Nybm) "e medio ipsarum gentium", Junius & Tremellius; "ex gentibus", Starckius; "e [vel] medio gentium", Piscator, Cocceius.
F3 (wklh) "ambulant, vel ambulantes sunt".
F4 (bybom) "circumquaque", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Starckius.

Ezekiel 37:21 In-Context

19 thou shalt speak to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the lineages of Israel, that be joined to him, and I shall give them together with the stick of Judah; and I shall make them into one stick, and they shall be one in the hand of him. (thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, that be joined to him, and I shall put it together with the stick of Judah; and I shall make them into one stick, and they shall become one stick in my hand.)

20 Soothly the sticks on which thou hast written, shall be in thine hand before the eyes of them. (And the sticks on which thou hast written, shall be in thy hand before their eyes.)

21 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall take the sons of Israel from the midst of nations, to which they went forth (Lo! I shall take the Israelites from the midst of the nations, to which they went forth); and I shall gather them together on each side. And I shall bring them (back) to their (own) land,

22 and I shall make them one folk in the land, in the hills of Israel, and one king shall be commanding to all; and they shall no more be two folks, and they shall no more be parted into two realms. (and I shall make them one nation in the land, on the hills of Israel, and one king shall be commanding to all; and they shall no more be two nations, and they shall no more be divided into two kingdoms.)

23 And they shall no more be defouled in their idols, and their abominations, and in all their wickednesses. And I shall make them safe from all their seats, in which they sinned, and I shall cleanse them; and they shall be a people to me, and I shall be God to them. (And they shall no more be defiled with their idols, and their abominations, and with all their wickednesses. And I shall save them from all their ways, in which they sinned, and I shall cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I shall be their God.)