Ezekiel 37:21

21 Then tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and 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 tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take the stick representing Israel and put it with the one that represents Judah. Out of the two I will make one stick and hold it in my hand.

20 "Hold in your hand the two sticks and let the people see them.

21 Then tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together, and bring them back to their own land.

22 I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms.

23 They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols any more or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God.