Ezekiel 21:4

4 Because I will cut [off] from you [both] righteous and wicked, therefore my sword will go out from its sheath to all creatures from south [to] north.

Ezekiel 21:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:4

Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the
wicked
Some by the sword, some by famine, some by pestilence, and others by captivity; and, upon the whole, none spared, but the land left desolate: therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh,
from the south to the north;
the Chaldean army shall go out of their own land against all the inhabitants of Judea, from Beersheba to Dan; this explains what is meant by all faces being burnt from the south to the north, ( Ezekiel 20:47 ) , namely, the general destruction of the Jews by the Chaldeans.

Ezekiel 21:4 In-Context

2 "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and preach to [the] sanctuaries, and prophesy to the land of Israel.

3 And you must say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against you, and I will draw out my sword from its sheath, and I will cut [off] from you [the] righteous and [the] wicked.

4 Because I will cut [off] from you [both] righteous and wicked, therefore my sword will go out from its sheath to all creatures from south [to] north.

5 And they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh, I will bring out my sword from its sheath; it will not return again!" '

6 And you, son of man, groan {with shaking hips}, and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes.

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew "Because that"
• [b] Or "against"
• [c] Hebrew "creature"