Ezekiel 24:21

Easy-to-Read Version

to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord God said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

Hebrew Names Version
Speak to the house of Yisra'el, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

King James Version
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

English Standard Version
‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God : Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

New American Standard Bible
'Speak to the house of Israel, "This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

New Century Version
‘Say to the people of Israel, This is what the Lord God says: I am going to dishonor my Temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it, and you look at it with love and tenderness. But your sons and daughters that you left behind in Jerusalem will fall dead by the sword.

Amplified Bible
'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind [in Jerusalem] will fall by the sword.

World English Bible
Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Speake vnto the house of Israel, Thus sayth the Lord God, Behold, I will pollute my Sanctuarie, euen the pride of your power, the pleasure of your eyes, and your hearts desire, and your sonnes, and your daughters whom ye haue left, shall fall by the sworde.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘Say to the house of Israel, "Thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

Berean Standard Bible
Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul. And the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

Contemporary English Version
he is ready to destroy the temple in which you take such pride and which makes you feel so safe. Your children who now live in Jerusalem will be killed.

Complete Jewish Bible
to speak to the house of Isra'el and say that this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes and your heart's desire. Your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword.

Darby Translation
Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul's longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.

George Lamsa Translation
Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the LORD God: Behold, I will allow my sanctuary to be profaned, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, the cleanser of your souls; and your sons and your daughters whom you leave behind shall fall by the sword.

Good News Translation
to give you Israelites this message: You are proud of the strength of the Temple. You like to look at it and to visit it, but the Lord is going to profane it. And the younger members of your families who are left in Jerusalem will be killed in war.

Lexham English Bible
"Say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I will be profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength and the delight of your eyes and the object of your own affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword,

Literal Translation
Speak to the house of Israel, So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities. And your sons andyour daughters whom you have forsaken shallfall by the sword.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Tell the house of Israel, thus saieth ye LODDE God: beholde, I wil suspende my Sanctuary: eue the glory of youre power, the pleasure of yor eyes, and the thinge that ye loue: youre sonnes and doughters whom ye haue left, shal fall thorow the swerde.

American Standard Version
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.

Bible in Basic English
Say to the people of Israel, The Lord has said, See, I will make my holy place unclean, the pride of your strength, the pleasure of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and daughters, who did not come with you here, will be put to the sword.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Speak unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.

King James Version (1611)
Speake vnto the house of Israel; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will prophane my sanctuarie, the excellencie of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soule pitieth; and your sonnes and your daughters, whom yee haue left, shall fall by the sword.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Tell the house of Israel, thus sayth the Lorde God: Beholde, I will pollute my sanctuarie, euen the glorie of your power, the pleasure of your eyes, and your heartes delite: & your sonnes and daughters whom ye haue left, shall fall through the sworde.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Say to the house of Israel,

English Revised Version
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he seide, Speke thou to the hous of Israel, The Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal defoule my seyntuarie, the pride of youre empire, and the desirable thing of youre iyen, and on which youre soule dredith; and youre sones and youre douytris, whiche ye leften, schulen falle bi swerd.

Update Bible Version
Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Look, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

Webster's Bible Translation
Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellence of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

New English Translation
Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life's passion. Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword.

New King James Version
"Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

New Living Translation
and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword.

New Life Bible
'Tell the people of Israel, "The Lord God says, ‘I am about to let sin fill My holy place, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the happiness of your soul. And your sons and daughters you have left behind will be killed by the sword.

New Revised Standard
Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God : I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart's desire; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Say to the house of Israel thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, Behold me! profaning my sanctuary. The pride of your strength, The delight of your eyes And the object of the tender regard of your soul,- And your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind, by the sword, shall fall.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.

Revised Standard Version
'Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

Young's Literal Translation
Say to the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am polluting My sanctuary, The excellency of your strength, The desire of your eyes, and the pitied of your soul, And your sons and your daughters whom ye have left, by sword they do fall.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ¹⁶ "Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall, ¹⁷ but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don't cover your mustache, and don't eat the food people normally eat when someone dies." ¹⁸ The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did what God commanded. ¹⁹ Then the people said to me, "Why are you doing this? What does it mean?" ²⁰ Then I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me. He told me ²¹ to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord God said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle. ²² But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies. ²³ You will wear your turbans and your sandals. You will not show your sadness publicly or cry publicly, but you will waste away with guilt and talk to each other quietly about your grief. ²⁴ So Ezekiel is an example for you. You will do all the same things he did. That time of punishment will come, and then you will know that I am the Lord God .'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will: Ezekiel 7:20-22, Ezekiel 9:7, Psalms 74:7, Psalms 79:1, Isaiah 65:11, Jeremiah 7:14, Lamentations 1:10, Lamentations 2:6, Lamentations 2:7, Daniel 11:31, Acts 6:13, Acts 6:14

the excellency: Psalms 96:6, Psalms 105:4, Psalms 132:8

the desire: Ezekiel 24:16, Psalms 27:4, Psalms 84:1

that which your soul pitieth: Heb. the pity of your soul, your sons. Ezekiel 23:25, Ezekiel 23:47, Jeremiah 6:11, Jeremiah 9:21, Jeremiah 16:3, Jeremiah 16:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:6 - pleasant Leviticus 26:31 - and bring 1 Kings 9:7 - this house Isaiah 47:6 - I have polluted Isaiah 64:11 - holy Jeremiah 12:7 - I have given Jeremiah 14:21 - disgrace Jeremiah 15:7 - children Jeremiah 25:27 - because Jeremiah 51:51 - for strangers Jeremiah 52:13 - burned Lamentations 1:6 - all Lamentations 2:1 - the beauty Ezekiel 16:40 - and thrust Ezekiel 24:25 - their strength Ezekiel 33:28 - and the pomp Hosea 9:16 - the beloved fruit Amos 6:8 - the excellency Amos 6:10 - Hold Zephaniah 3:11 - that rejoice Haggai 1:4 - and Zechariah 11:3 - for their Zechariah 11:10 - Beauty Matthew 12:5 - profane

Cross-References

Genesis 24:1
Abraham lived to be a very old man. The Lord blessed him and everything he did.

Genesis 24:6
Abraham said to him, "No, don't take my son to that place.

Genesis 24:7
The Lord , the God of heaven, brought me from my homeland to this place. That place was the home of my father and the home of my family, but he promised that this new land would belong to my family. May he send his angel before you so that you can choose a wife for my son.

Genesis 24:12
The servant said, " Lord , you are the God of my master Abraham. Please show your kindness to my master by helping me find a wife for his son Isaac.

Genesis 24:18
Rebekah quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. She said, "Drink this, sir."

Genesis 24:20
So Rebekah quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she ran to the well to get more water, and she gave water to all the camels.

Genesis 24:56
But the servant said to them, "Don't make me wait. The Lord has made my trip successful. Now let me go back to my master."

Psalms 107:1
Praise the Lord , because he is good! His faithful love will last forever!

Psalms 107:8
Thank the Lord for his faithful love and for the amazing things he does for people.

Psalms 107:15
Thank the Lord for his faithful love and for the amazing things he does for people.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Speak unto the house of Israel,.... By word of mouth, to those who were upon the spot with him in Chaldea: and by a messenger, or a letter, to them that were in Judea:

thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will profane my sanctuary; the temple, built for him, and where he dwelt, and was worshipped; where duties performed and holy sacrifices offered up formerly; this he now says he would profane, that is, would bring the Chaldeans against Jerusalem, who should take it, and enter into the temple, and so profane it, and make it common, yea, utterly destroy it:

the excellency of your strength, desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; all which is said of the temple; it was the pride and glory of the Jews, what they boasted of, and put their confidence in, and reckoned their strength and security; it was as dear and as desirable to them as Ezekiel's wife was to him, the emblem of it; the destruction and desolation of which would be pitied by them, and would sensibly affect them upon hearing of it, even in prophecy:

and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword; whom they had left behind them in Judea, when they were carried captive with Jehoiakim, and to whom they hoped to return, as their false prophets had assured them; but so it should not be, for these should die by the sword of the Chaldeans, when the city of Jerusalem should be taken, and the temple profaned; and this should be the case of the sons and daughters of those who then should be carried captive, that should be left in the land; as was the case of Gedaliah, and those that were with him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The death of Ezekiel’s wife took place in the evening of the same day that he delivered the foregoing prophecy. This event was to signify to the people that the Lord would take from them all that was most dear to them; and - owing to the extraordinary nature of the times - quiet lamentation for the dead, according to the usual forms of mourning, would be impossible.

Ezekiel 24:17

The priest in general was to mourn for his dead (Leviticus 21:1 ff); but Ezekiel was to be an exception to the rule. The “tire” was the priest’s mitre.

Eat not the bread of men - Food supplied for the comfort of the mourners.

Ezekiel 24:23

Pine away - Compare Leviticus 26:39. The outward signs of grief were a certain consolation. Their absence would indicate a heart-consuming sorrow.

Ezekiel 24:27

Ezekiel had been employed four years in foretelling the calamities about to come to pass. He had been utterly disregarded by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and received with apparent respect but with real incredulity by those in exile. Now until the city had been actually taken, the voice of prophecy should cease, so far as God’s people were concerned. Hence the intervening series of predictions relating to neighboring and foreign nations Ezek. 25–32. After which the prophet’s voice was again heard addressing his countrymen in their exile. This accounts for the apparently parenthetical character of the next eight chapters.