Ezekiel 21:9

New Living Translation

"Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: "A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Son of man, prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says!’ You are to proclaim,

Hebrew Names Version
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

King James Version
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord ; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

English Standard Version
"Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: "A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,

New American Standard Bible
"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the LORD says:' Say, 'A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

New Century Version
"Human, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: A sword, a sword, made sharp and polished.

Amplified Bible
"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD.' Say, 'A sword, a sword [from Babylon] is sharpened And also polished!

World English Bible
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Sonne of man, prophecie, and say, Thus saith the Lorde God, say, A sworde, a sworde both sharpe, and fourbished.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD.' Say, 'A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

Legacy Standard Bible
"Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.' Say,‘A sword, a sword sharpenedAnd also polished!

Berean Standard Bible
"Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: 'A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished-

Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem: I have sharpened my sword to slaughter you; it is shiny and will flash like lightning! Don't celebrate— punishment is coming, because everyone has ignored my warnings. <

Complete Jewish Bible
Since I am going to rid you of both righteous and evildoers, my sword will also go out of its scabbard against everyone, from the Negev to the north.

Darby Translation
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Son of man, speak to the people for me. Say this, ‘This is what the Lord says: "‘Look, a sword, a sharp sword, and it has been polished.

George Lamsa Translation
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD God: A sword, a sword is sharpened;

Good News Translation
"Mortal man, prophesy. Tell the people what I, the Lord, am saying: A sword, a sword is sharpened and polished.

Lexham English Bible
"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord,' say, ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened and is also polished.

Literal Translation
Son of man, prophesy and say, So says the Lord: Say, A sword! A sword is sharpened and also is polished!

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou sonne of man, prophecie, and speake: Thus saieth the LORDE God: speake, the swearde is sharpened & wel scoured.

American Standard Version
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

Bible in Basic English
Son of man, say as a prophet, These are the words of the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword which has been made sharp and polished:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north;

King James Version (1611)
Sonne of man, prophecie and say, Thus sayth the Lord, Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also fourbished.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou sonne of man, prophecie and speake, thus saith the Lorde God, Speake, the sworde the sworde is sharpened and well furbished.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage,

English Revised Version
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he seide, Sone of man, profesie thou; and thou schalt seie, The Lord God seith these thingis, Speke thou, The swerd, the swerd is maad scharp, and is maad briyt;

Update Bible Version
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

Webster's Bible Translation
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

New English Translation
"Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says: "‘A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

New King James Version
"Son of man, prophesy and say, "Thus says the LORD!' Say: "A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished!

New Life Bible
"Son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord says, "A sword, a sharp and shining sword!

New Revised Standard
Mortal, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord; Say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, it is also polished;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Son of man, Prophesy and thou shalt say, Thus saith My Lord, - Say, A sword! a sword! Sharpened moreover also furbished:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Say: The sword, the sword is sharpened, and furbished.

Revised Standard Version
"Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, Say: A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,

Young's Literal Translation
`Son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said, Thus said Jehovah, say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

Contextual Overview

⁸ Then the Lord said to me, ⁹ "Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: "A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished. ¹⁰ It is sharpened for terrible slaughter and polished to flash like lightning! Now will you laugh? Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power! ¹¹ Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner. ¹² "Son of man, cry out and wail; pound your thighs in anguish, for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders— everyone will die! ¹³ It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign Lord . ¹⁴ "Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre, the great massacre facing them on every side. ¹⁵ Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter! ¹⁶ O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want. ¹⁷ I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the Lord , have spoken!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

A sword: Ezekiel 21:3, Ezekiel 21:15, Ezekiel 21:28, Deuteronomy 32:41, Deuteronomy 32:42, Job 20:25, Isaiah 66:16, Jeremiah 12:12, Jeremiah 15:2, Amos 9:4

sharpened: Psalms 7:11-13, Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 34:5, Isaiah 34:6

Reciprocal: Psalms 7:12 - he will Isaiah 5:28 - arrows Jeremiah 29:16 - General Jeremiah 46:4 - furbish Ezekiel 14:17 - I bring Ezekiel 33:2 - When I bring the sword upon a land Zechariah 13:7 - O sword Matthew 24:6 - ye shall hear

Cross-References

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.

Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 21:1
The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised.

Genesis 21:3
And Abraham named their son Isaac.

Genesis 21:5
Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

Genesis 21:6
And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.

Genesis 21:13
But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar's son because he is your son, too."

Genesis 21:14
So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar's shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Genesis 21:23
"Swear to me in God's name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner."

Genesis 21:24
Abraham replied, "Yes, I swear to it!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Son of man, prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord,.... Deliver out the following prophecy in the name of the Lord:

say, a sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished; it is not only drawn out of its sheath, as before, but is made sharp and bright, and ready for use. It is repeated, either to show the certainty of it, or to express the terror and anguish of mind on account of it; persons in distress generally repeating that which is the occasion of it. The Targum interprets it of two swords, the sword of the Babylonians, and the sword of the Ammonites; first the one was to be used, and then the other: this latter, Jarchi and Kimchi observe, was fulfilled by Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slaying Gedaliah, sent for that purpose by Baalis king of the Ammonites, Jeremiah 40:14, but if two distinct swords are meant, I should rather think the sword of the Chaldeans, and the sword of the Romans, are intended. Cocceius, before observed, interprets it only of the latter; but Abendana both of the sword of the king of Babylon, and of the sword of the Romans.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The second word of judgment: the glittering and destroying sword. The passage may be called the “Lay of the Sword;” it is written in the form of Hebrew poetry, with its characteristic parallelism.

Ezekiel 21:10

It contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree - The rod is the scepter of dominion, assigned to Judah Genesis 49:10. The destroying sword of Babylon despises the scepter of Judah; it despises every tree. Others render the verse, “Shall we make mirth” (saying), “the rod of my son,” (the rod which corrects my people) “contemneth” (treats with scorn, utterly confounds) “every tree” (every other nation); or, the scepter of my people “contemneth” (proudly despises) every other nation. Proud as the people are, they shall be brought to sorrow.

Ezekiel 21:12

Terrors - Better as in the margin.

Smite upon thy thigh - A token of mourning (compare the marginal reference note).

Ezekiel 21:13

Or,

For it is put to the proof, and if it contemneth even the rod, What shall not be? saith the Lord

i. e., What horrors will not arise when the sword shall cut down without regard the ruling scepter of Judah!

Ezekiel 21:14

Doubled the third time - i. e., “thrice doubled” to express its violence and force.

The sword of the slain - The sword whereby men are to be slain.

Of the great men ... - Or, The sword of the mighty slain, which presseth hard upon them.

Ezekiel 21:15

The point of the sword - The threatening sword or terror; as in Genesis 3:24, “the flaming sword.”

And their ruins be multiplied - literally, “to the multiplication of stumblingblocks,” that is, so that the causes of their fall may be more numerous. Compare Jeremiah 46:16.

Made bright ... - Or,

Ah! It is prepared for a lightning-flash, Drawn for slaughter.

Ezekiel 21:16

The prophet addresses the sword,

Gather thyself up, O sword, to the right or to the left.

Another rendering is: “Turn thee backwards! get thee to the right! Set thee forwards (?)!get thee to the left! O whither is thy face appointed?

Ezekiel 21:17

The Lord smites together His hands in anger (marginal reference), man in consternation.