Ezekiel 21:4

Eze 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

Ver. 4. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteons.] Velut eodem contubernio deprehensos. This is repeated for more assurance, because it might seem strange. The Septuagint hath it, The unrighteous and the wicked. The Chaldee, I will make the righteous flee, and destroy the wicked. But the Hebrew verity is as before; neither need we wonder, since the best have their infirmities.

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.

Meaning, through all the land.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The "sword" did not, literally, slay all; but the judgments of God by the foe swept through the land "from the south to the north."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. From the south to the north] The whole land shall be ravaged from one end to the other.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath,.... The same with kindling a fire in Judea; see Gill on Eze 20:48,

it shall not return any more; that is, into its sheath, until it has done all its work; meaning that the Chaldean army should not return to their own land until they had executed the whole will of God upon the Jews; this is the fire that should not be quenched, Eze 20:48 and here ends the explanation of the said prophecy.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The righteous and the wicked - take the place of “every green tree and every dry tree” Eze 20:47; “all faces” that of “all flesh:” to show the universality of the destructions. National judgment involves the innocent in the temporal ruin of the guilty. The equity of God is vindicated by the ruin being only temporal.

From the south to the north - From one end of the holy land to the other; the seer is in the north, and looks at once on the whole extent of the ruin.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

North, including all the country belonging to Israel.

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).

I will cut off; it is both my purpose and threat, to do that by the Chaldeans in such manner as that it shall appear I did it.

The righteous, signified by the green tree, Eze 20:47.

The wicked; the dry tree, Eze 20:47. Go forth; have a commission, such as I gave Nebuchadnezzar, as large as is necessary for this work.

All flesh; all the Jews that dwell in the land; it may somewhat reflect upon the nations near about the Jews, as Moab and Ammon.

From the south; as it doth certainly denote the whole of the land of Judea, it may intimate the rise and spring of this evil from the south, i.e. Babylon, and its progress northward.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

HOMILETICS.

The common fate of righteous and wicked.

Both the righteous and the wicked are to be cut off. Though not equal in moral character, they are to share in the same general calamities.

I IT IS A FACT THAT THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER WITH THE WICKED. We see this fact in everyday experience, and it would be a falsehood to formulate a doctrine which seemed to our short-sighted judgment more just, if it did interpret events.

1. From human conduct. The bad policy of a king brings war and its attendant miseries on a whole nation. The crime of a father bequeaths poverty, shame, and misery to his whole family.

2. From natural calamities. An earthquake will shake down a church upon the heads of the most devout worshippers, with as terrible a slaughter as that which follows the overthrow of some theatre of sinful revelry.

II THE COMMON LIFE OF MANKIND NECESSITATES THIS COMMON FATE. There is a certain solidarity of man. We are members one of another, so that if one member suffers, all the members suffer. This is one penalty we pay for the union with our fellow men which on the whole is immensely helpful Without such a union there would be no society, no organic connection between individuals. The rich, full life that grows out of the mutual ministries of man would then be impossible.

III IT IS AN AGGRAVATION OF A CALAMITY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS SHARE THE FATE OF THE WICKED. The wicked could well be spared, and it might seem to be a good thing for the world that their places should be vacant; but every good man has his good work which suffers when he is taken away. The guilt of those who bring disaster on the innocent is all the greater on this account. No worse thing can happen to a people than that its saving elements should be taken away. They are the salt of the land.

IV THE RIGHTEOUS WHO SUFFER WITH THE WICKED ARE NOT ULTIMATELY INJURED, The injustice is temporary.

1. The outward suffering is an inward blessing. The physical nature of the suffering may be the same in both eases; but its moral character differs entirely according as it is deserved or not. When it falls on innocent men it is not punishment; there is no curse in it; it comes as the fire that purges the silver.

2. The temporary suffering will be followed by eternal blessedness. We may say of the righteous and the sinful who were victims of a common calamity, "In their death they were not divided." But after death there is a swift and searching separation. Then it is seen that the righteous were taken from the evil to come.

V THE COMMON FATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED MAY BE A MEANS OF SAVING BOTH. It was so in the Captivity. Good men like Daniel and "The Three Children" were taken to Babylon together with the corrupt courtiers of Jerusalem, and there they maintained the flame of ancient Hebrew piety, so as to prepare for a renewed people"s restoration. Christ died the sinner"s death that he might save the sinner, after he himself had been raised up from the dead in victory over sin.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All flesh - All the Jews that dwell in the land.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the land of Israel.

cut off

This is a euphemism that means to kill. AT: "kill" (See: Euphemism)

the righteous ... the wicked

This refers to righteous and wicked people. AT: "those who are righteous ... those who are wicked" or "the righteous people ... the wicked people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

from you

"among you"

my sword will go out from its sheath against

This speaks of Yahweh causing these people to die as if he actually killed them with his own sword. AT: "it will be as though I pull my sword from its sheath and strike" (See: Metaphor)

all flesh

Here "flesh" is a metonym for "people." AT: "all people" (See: Metonymy)

from the south to the north

This is a merism that refers to the area to the north, and to the south, and all places in between. AT: "in every direction" or "everywhere" (See: Merism)

that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword from its sheath

This speaks of Yahweh causing people to die as if he actually killed them with his own sword. AT: "it is as though I, Yahweh, have struck people with my sword" (See: Metaphor)

It will no longer hold back

This speaks of Yahweh not holding back his sword from attacking people as if his sword were a person that was no longer holding itself back from attacking. AT: "and I will not put it back in its sheath again" or "I will not hold back from attacking people" (See: Personification)

translationWords

cut off

righteous

evil

sword

flesh

Yahweh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.