Ezekiel 21:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

Will draw

The righteous

General references

Luke 23:31

Bible References

Will draw

"Son of man, prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord says: "'A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.

"Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, 'Let a sword pass through the land,' and I were to kill both people and animals.

The enemy said, 'I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.'

I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. Although you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands.

I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me!

Rise up, Lord! Confront him! Knock him down! Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man!

Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, a cudgel with which I angrily punish.

He says, "Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. Look, it now descends on Edom, on the people I will annihilate in judgment."

How long will you cry out, 'Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!'

"Babylon, you are my war club, my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms.

"You Ethiopians will also die by my sword!"

"Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate," says the Lord who rules over all. Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.

The righteous

While I listened, he said to the others, "Go through the city after him and strike people down; do no let your eye pity nor spare anyone!

"It is all one! That is why I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'

Everyone shares the same fate -- the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

If they ask you, 'Where should we go?' tell them the Lord says this: "Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile."

General references

For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"