Ezekiel 21:14

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,

Ezekiel 21:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:14

Thou, therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands
together
As being in the greatest agony for what is coming upon thy people: or "strike hand to hand" ^F25; clap them together, as encouraging the enemy with his drawn, sharp, and glittering sword, to make use of it, and do execution with it: and let the sword be doubled the third time;
some think this has reference to the three captivities of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah: others to the threefold calamity in Zedekiah's time; the first, the taking of him; the second, the taking of the city; the third, the carrying captive the residue along with Gedaliah: or to the three times the Chaldeans came against Jerusalem, after this prophecy; first with Nebuchadnezzar, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, and took him and the city; then with Nebuzaradan, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, and burnt the city and temple; and again in the twenty third of Nebuchadnezzar, and carried away the remnant of the people, ( Jeremiah 52:5 Jeremiah 52:6 Jeremiah 52:12 Jeremiah 52:30 ) : the sword of the slain:
by which many should be slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain:
of the sons of the kings, and of the princes and nobles of the land: which entereth into their privy chambers;
where they should endeavour to hide themselves from it, but in vain, none should escape; their privy chambers could not secrete nor secure them: or "which remains with them"; as that which is laid up, and reserved in a privy chamber, as De Dieu, from the use of the word in the Ethiopic language, renders it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (Pk la Pk Khw) "percute manum ad manum", Pagninus, Polanus; "volum ad volam"; Montanus; "feri manum ad manum", Starckius.

Ezekiel 21:14 In-Context

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,

15 so that a heart melts, and the fallen {multiply} at all of their gates. I gave a sword for slaughter, [and] alas! It is made for flashing, it is grasped for slaughtering.

16 Gather together, strike to the right; cause [to] go to the left, where your {edge} [is] directed.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [b] Literally "strike hand to hand"
• [c] Literally "be doubled"