It shall be, when they ask you, ‘Why do you sigh?’ that you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it comes! Every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
Parallel Translations
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It shall be, when they ask you, ‘Why do you sigh?’ that you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it comes! Every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
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And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
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(21-12) And it shall be, when they say unto thee: Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say: Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be slack, and every spirit shall be faint, and all knees shall drip with water; behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.'
Cross-references (28)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 21:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 7:17 All hands will be feeble, and all knees will be weak as water.
- Isaiah 13:7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and everyone’s heart will melt.
- Jeremiah 50:43 The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands become feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, pains as of a woman in labor.
- Ezekiel 7:26 Mischief will come on mischief, and rumor will be on rumor. They will seek a vision of the prophet; but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
- Nahum 2:10 She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.
- Hebrews 12:12 Therefore lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees,
- Exodus 15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. Trembling takes hold of the mighty men of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
- Deuteronomy 20:8 The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.”
- Joshua 2:9-11 She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
- Joshua 5:1 When all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 17:10 Even he who is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men.
- 2 Kings 21:12 therefore Yahweh the God of Israel says, ‘Behold, I bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.
- Job 4:3-4 Behold, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have supported him who was falling, You have made firm the feeble knees.
- Isaiah 7:2 David’s house was told, “Syria is allied with Ephraim.” His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.
- Isaiah 28:19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message.”
- Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make the feeble knees firm.
- Jeremiah 6:22-24 Yahweh says, “Behold, a people comes from the north country. A great nation will be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They take hold of bow and spear. They are cruel, and have no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Zion.” We have heard its report. Our hands become feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, and pains as of a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 8:18 Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
- Jeremiah 49:23 Of Damascus: “Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news. They have melted away. There is sorrow on the sea. It can’t be quiet.
- Lamentations 5:17 For this our heart is faint. For these things our eyes are dim.
- Ezekiel 7:2-12 “You, son of man, the Lord Yahweh says to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land. Now is the end on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations. My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.’ “The Lord Yahweh says: ‘An evil! A unique evil! Behold, it comes. An end has come. The end has come! It awakes against you. Behold, it comes. Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land! The time has come! The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains. Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, strike. “ ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has gone out. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded. Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness. None of them will remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth. There will be nothing of value among them. The time has come! The day draws near. Don’t let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all its multitude.
- Ezekiel 12:9-11 “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ “Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.” ’ “Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into exile, into captivity.
- Ezekiel 12:22-28 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails?’ Tell them therefore, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “I will make this proverb to cease, and they will no more use it as a proverb in Israel;” ’ but tell them, ‘ “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. For there will be no more any false vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am Yahweh. I will speak, and the word that I speak will be performed. It will be no more deferred; for in your days, rebellious house, I will speak the word, and will perform it,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ” Again Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.’ “Therefore tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “None of my words will be deferred any more, but the word which I speak will be performed,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
- Ezekiel 20:49 Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! They say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’ ”
- Ezekiel 24:19 The people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?”
- Luke 21:26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Leviticus 26:36 “ ‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.
- 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Because of the great noise of the army of…
Because of the great noise of the army of the Chaldeans.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 21:7 And it shall be, when they say…
Eze 21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak [as] water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
Ver. 7. For the tidings.] Of the Chaldeans’ coming. This was to the wicked as those knuckles of a man’s hand were afterwards to Belshazzar, to write them their destiny; or as Daniel was to him, to read it unto them. Whenas the righteous man is no whit "afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord." {Psa 112:7}
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And every heart shall melt, &c.] As wax before the fire, which, before the danger, seemed to be made all of steel or adamant. The wicked, when in adversity, are woefully despondent and crest fallen, as was the king of Sodom; {Gen 14:9-11} Manasseh among the bushes; {2Ch 33:12} and others not a few, who in their prosperity seem to face the heavens and to draw the devil himself to a duel.
And all hands shall be feeble.] The spirits and blood being run to the heart, in that fright to relieve it.
And all knees shall be weak as water.] Heb., Shall go into water - that is, they shall bepiss themselves for fear, saith Jerome; they shall be all on a cold sweat, say others; or their knees shall shake, instar aquae tremulae, like trembling water, and knock together, as Belshazzar’s did. {Dan 5:6}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This directs the prophet what account to give them,…
This directs the prophet what account to give them, when they shall, as they certainly will, inquire what he meaneth by such unusual sorrows. Is it any private misery that makes thee sigh thus, or does it bode evil to others, or to us?
For the tidings; the news that is told me from Heaven, for the certain rumour of Nebuchadnezzar’s preparations, and march against you. The saddest news you ever heard is coming, it will most assuredly come. The courage of the stoutest heart shall fail. which shall appear in the feebleness of their hands, dejectedness of their spirit, and their knees not able to support the body; such terrors shall seize them as shall make them unable to shift from, or to make head against, the evils that come against them.
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It cometh; none can prevent it.
Shall be brought to pass; it shall have its full effect, nothing shall be wanting to your complete undoing, and then, as I do for a sign to you, so you and yours shall do under the sorrows signified, sigh, and weep, to the breaking your very heart.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Again, the word of the Lord came unto me,…
Again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Either this is a new prophecy of another sword, distinct and different from that of the Chaldeans, even of the sword of the Romans, as Cocceius thinks or it is a further explanation of the former, and an enlargement upon it.
Again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Either this is a new prophecy of another sword, distinct and different from that of the Chaldeans, even of the sword of the Romans, as Cocceius thinks or it is a further explanation of the former, and an enlargement upon it.
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Ezekiel 21:9
eze 21:9
eze 21:9
eze 21:9Son of man, prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord,.... Deliver out the following prophecy in the name of the Lord:
say, a sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished; it is not only drawn out of its sheath, as before, but is made sharp and bright, and ready for use. It is repeated, either to show the certainty of it, or to express the terror and anguish of mind on account of it; persons in distress generally repeating that which is the occasion of it. The Targum interprets it of two swords, the sword of the Babylonians, and the sword of the Ammonites; first the one was to be used, and then the other: this latter, Jarchi and Kimchi observe, was fulfilled by Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slaying Gedaliah, sent for that purpose by Baalis king of the Ammonites, Jer 40:14, but if two distinct swords are meant, I should rather think the sword of the Chaldeans, and the sword of the Romans, are intended. Cocceius, before observed, interprets it only of the latter; but Abendana both of the sword of the king of Babylon, and of the sword of the Romans.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Because - The saddest news you ever heard is…
Because - The saddest news you ever heard is coming.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Wherefore sighest thou?] The prophet was a…
Verse 7. Wherefore sighest thou?] The prophet was a sign unto them. His sighing and mourning showed them how they should act.
All knees shall be weak as water] See Clarke on Eze 7:17.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Melt. Literally, "decay," Josue vii., &c. --- Knee. Chap.…
Melt. Literally, "decay," Josue vii., &c. --- Knee. Chap. vii. 17. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The abrupt sentences and mournful repetitions imply violent emotions.
The abrupt sentences and mournful repetitions imply violent emotions.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Faint — Rather, dulled.
7. Faint — Rather, dulled.
Weak as water — Rather, melt into waters.
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THE ODE OF THE SWORD, Eze_21:8-22.
This is a wild and irregular song of war, and, as Dr. Muller says, is one of the most powerful passages which we possess from the pen of Ezekiel. It is a “cry” rather than a poem (Eze_21:12). Yet it not only shows the parallelism common to Hebrew poetry, but evident traces of meter (D.H. Muller, Die Propheten, 1896).
The niceties of grammar are neglected, and to those who cannot see the singer’s gestures and hear his wails (Eze_21:6; Eze_21:12) there may seem a lack of connection between the lines and considerable obscurity of meaning. Dr. Skinner has given a good idea “both of the structure and the rugged vigor of the original,” though there are some phrases which he does not attempt to translate: —
I.
A sword, a sword! It is sharpened and burnished withal.
For a work of slaughter is it sharpened!
To gleam like lightning burnished!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
And ‘twas given to be smoothed for the grip of the hand,
Sharpened is it, and furbished —
To put in the hand of the slayer
(Eze_21:14-16).
II.
Cry and howl, son of man!
For it has come among my people;
Come among all the princes of Israel!
Victims of the sword are they, they and my people;
Therefore smite upon thy thigh!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It shall not be, saith Jehovah the Lord
(Eze_21:17-18).
III.
But, thou son of man, prophesy, and smite hand on hand;
Let the sword be doubled and tripled (?)
A sword of the slain is it,
the great sword of the slain whirling around them —
That hearts may fail, and many be the fallen in all their gates.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It is made like lightning, furbished for slaughter!
(Eze_21:19-20.)
IV.
Gather thee together! Smite to the right, to the left,
Whithersoever thine edge is appointed!
And I also will smite hand on hand,
And appease my wrath:
I Jehovah have spoken it (Eze_21:21-22).
As Dr. Skinner remarks, this ode, in spite of its obscurity and its abrupt transitions, exhibits a definite poetic form and a real progress of thought from the beginning to the close. “The prophet’s gaze is fascinated by the glittering sword which symbolized the instrument of Jehovah’s vengeance.”
In the opening stanza he describes the preparation of the sword, then (II) he announces the purpose for which it is prepared. In the next stanza (III) he sees the sword in action, and at length, having accomplished its work, it is seen at rest (IV).
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. it cometh] i.e. the overwhelming disaster. The words,…
7. it cometh] i.e. the overwhelming disaster. The words, “and … to pass” are wanting in LXX.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.