Ezekiel 21:1

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

Ezekiel 21:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying.
] Upon theEzekiel 21:2

Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem
Which shows that this city was meant by "the south", ( Ezekiel 20:46 ) : and drop thy word toward the holy places;
which also are meant by the south in the passage referred to, even the holy land, holy city, and holy temple; or the temple itself is only meant, with the courts adjoining to it; or as consisting of three parts, as Kimchi, the porch, the temple, and the oracle; or the outward court, the holy place, and the holy of holies; and it may respect all other places for sacred worship, as their synagogues, both in city and country; which were not to be spared any more than the temple, nor were they, ( Psalms 74:7 Psalms 74:8 ) . Jarchi thinks that the destruction both of the first and second temple is here intended; and which sense Kimchi also mentions. And prophesy against the land of Israel:
by which it appears that this is intended by the "forest of the south field": even the numerous inhabitants of it in general, as well as the city of Jerusalem, ( Ezekiel 20:46 ) .

Ezekiel 21:1 In-Context

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

2 “Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries.

3 Tell her, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people—the righteous and the wicked alike.

4 Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north.

5 Everyone in the world will know that I am the LORD . My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’

Footnotes

• [a] Verses 21:1-32 are numbered 21:6-37 in Hebrew text.