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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.
- KJV 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:
- BSB Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
- NKJV Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north,
- NASB Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against humanity from south to north.
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
Because God will cut off both righteous and wicked, His sword will go out against all flesh from south to north. None in the land will escape the coming judgment.
Overview
The sweeping reach of the sword underscores the totality of the judgment on Jerusalem and Judah. In the calamity of the siege, the entire population is engulfed, godly and ungodly together. While such temporal judgment falls broadly, Scripture assures that God ultimately distinguishes His own and that eternal salvation is secure in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezek 20:47and tell the forest of the South, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned thereby.
- Ezek 7:2“You, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.
- Ezek 6:11–14“Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas!” Because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 21:4 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.