Ezekiel 24:21

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ¹⁶ Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. ¹⁷ Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. ¹⁸ So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. ¹⁹ And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? ²⁰ Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ²¹ 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. ²² And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. ²³ And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. ²⁴ Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall 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
And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

Genesis 24:6
And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

Genesis 24:7
The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Genesis 24:12
And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

Genesis 24:18
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

Genesis 24:20
And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

Genesis 24:56
And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

Psalms 107:1
O give thanks unto the Lord , for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalms 107:8
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalms 107:15
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

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.