Then the Lord thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Cause those who are in charge of the city to draw near, each man with his destroying weapon in his hand.”
- KJV He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
- BSB Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with a weapon of destruction in hand.”
- NKJV Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.”
- NASB Then He cried out in my presence with a loud voice, saying, “Come forward, you executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.”
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 summons the executioners of the city, each armed for destruction. It begins the enactment of judgment against Jerusalem.
Overview
The loud cry signals the start of judgment, as God calls heavenly agents ("those in charge of the city") to carry out His sentence. These armed figures represent the instruments of divine wrath against persistent sin. The vision moves from diagnosis to execution. Yet even here judgment is ordered and purposeful, not chaotic, reflecting a God who judges righteously, as He does fully and finally through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 6:8I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
- Rev 1:10–11I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- 2 Kgs 10:24So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men outside, and said, “If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets him go, his life shall be for the life of him.”
- 1 Chr 21:15God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy, Yahweh saw, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” Yahweh’s angel was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
- Rev 14:7He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”
- Amos 3:7–8Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
- Ezek 43:6–7I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.
- Exod 12:23For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
- Isa 10:6–7I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the plunder and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
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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 9:1 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
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