Ezekiel 21:12

12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to [the] sword with my people; therefore {strike your thigh}.

Ezekiel 21:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:12

Cry, howl, son of man
Not only sigh, but cry; and not cry only, but howl; signifying hereby that this would be the case of the Jews when these calamities should come upon them; and, in order to affect them with them before hand, the prophet is ordered to act such a part, as well as to express his sympathy with them: for it shall be upon my people;
that is, the sword, or the calamity signified by it; this should be not upon other nations, but upon the Lord's own people; such who professed themselves to be his people, and whom he had distinguished from all others; this is said, to affect the prophet the more, they being both the Lord's people, and his also: and it shall be upon all the princes of Israel;
who were slain in Riblah by the king of Babylon, ( Jeremiah 52:10 ) , the sword spared neither people nor princes. Terrors, by reason of the sword, shall be upon my people;
upon the rumour of the invasion, and when besieged in the city, and when attempting to make their escape by flight: or "my people are fallen by the sword" ^F21, as some: smite therefore upon thy thigh;
as one grieved in spirit, in great distress and anguish; see ( Jeremiah 31:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 So R. Sol Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 59. 1.

Ezekiel 21:12 In-Context

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.

12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to [the] sword with my people; therefore {strike your thigh}.

13 For {examine}! And what if also [the] rod will not be despising?' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

14 And you, son of man, prophesy {and clap your hands}. And the sword will {strike twice}; let it happen a third time. It [is] a sword of the dead, [the] sword of the great dead that [is] surrounding them,

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [b] Literally "strike on [the] thigh"