For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For there is a trial. What if even the rod that condemns will be no more?” says the Lord Yahweh.
- KJV Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
- BSB Surely testing will come! And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue?’ declares the Lord GOD.
- NKJV “Because it is a testing, And what if the sword despises even the scepter? The scepter shall be no more,” says the Lord God.
- NLT It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God speaks of a testing or trial, asking what hope remains if even the ruling scepter (the rod of Judah) is destroyed. Judgment will reach the highest authority.
Overview
This difficult verse points to a probation or trial in which the very throne of Judah may be 'no more.' It signals that the Davidic monarchy itself is under judgment and will be cut down for a time. Yet the larger biblical hope is that the scepter ultimately belongs to Christ (Gen. 49:10), whose kingdom no trial can remove.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Cor 8:2how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality.
- Ezek 21:25“‘You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,
- Ezek 21:10It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Shall we then make mirth? The rod of my son condemns every tree.
- Job 9:23If the scourge kills suddenly, he will mock at the trial of the innocent.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 21:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.