Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 21:12
Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it [shall be] upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon [thy] thigh.
12. terrors the sword ] With R. V. they (the princes) are delivered over to the sword with my people.
smite upon thy thigh ] A gesture implying despair or the sense of a terrible and irreparable evil happening, Jer 31:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 12. Smite – upon thy thigh.] See on Jer 31:19. So HOMER, Il. xv. ver. 113: –
‘
, .
“She spake; and, with expanded arms his thighs
Smiting, thus sorrowful the god exclaimed.”
COWPER.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Cry, as one in great distress; nay, how unseemly soever it may appear, howl, that they may by this know what sorrows are coming on them, and how they, like wild beasts taken in the toils and girts, shall howl. For the devouring sword of Babylon shall certainly be upon all, high and low.
Terrors; surrounding terrors, out of which no way to escape.
The sword; that sword God will draw against them.
Smite upon thy thigh, in token of thy sense of what they must suffer, and to presignify what their sorrows shall be, when they must express them by signs, because too great for words.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. terrors by reason of the sword,&c.rather, “they (the princes of Israel) are deliveredup to the sword together with My people” [GLASSIUS].
smite . . . upon . . .thigha mark of grief (Jer31:19).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Cry, howl, son of man,…. Not only sigh, but cry; and not cry only, but howl; signifying hereby that this would be the case of the Jews when these calamities should come upon them; and, in order to affect them with them before hand, the prophet is ordered to act such a part, as well as to express his sympathy with them:
for it shall be upon my people; that is, the sword, or the calamity signified by it; this should be not upon other nations, but upon the Lord’s own people; such who professed themselves to be his people, and whom he had distinguished from all others; this is said, to affect the prophet the more, they being both the Lord’s people, and his also:
and it shall be upon all the princes of Israel; who were slain in Riblah by the king of Babylon, Jer 52:10, the sword spared neither people nor princes.
Terrors, by reason of the sword, shall be upon my people; upon the rumour of the invasion, and when besieged in the city, and when attempting to make their escape by flight: or “my people are fallen by the sword” u, as some:
smite therefore upon thy thigh; as one grieved in spirit, in great distress and anguish; see Jer 31:19.
u So R. Sol Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 59. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) Smite therefore upon thy thigh.A mark of extreme grief, see Jer. 31:19. The connection of Eze. 21:11-12 with the objection in Eze. 21:10 is this: you think there is security for you in the promise to Judah; do not deceive yourselves, but prepare for sorrow and desolation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Terrors by reason of the sword Rather, they [the princes of Israel] with my people are delivered unto the sword.
Smite therefore upon thy thigh A gesture naturally expressing either antagonism or despair. Perhaps implying here “the sense of a terrible and irreparable evil happening.” (Compare Jer 31:19.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Cry and howl, son of man, for it (the sword) is against my people, it is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Smite therefore on your thigh. For there is a trial. And what if it condemn even the rod? It will be no more, (or alternately ‘what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more?’), says the Lord Yahweh.”
Ezekiel is not to exult in God’s judgment. Rather he is to cry aloud and wail like a mourner. For it would be God’s erstwhile people in Jerusalem/Judah, and their princes, who would be smitten, for they are undergoing trial. And that period will also result in the rod itself being condemned so that ‘it will be no more’. The puzzle of how Nebuchadnezzar could be used as God’s ‘son’ is solved, for having condemned others he will then himself be condemned.
‘Smiting on the thigh’ was presenting a picture of grief and despair. For this whole idea of God using such an instrument see Habakkuk.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it [shall be] upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon [thy] thigh.
Ver. 12. Cry and howl, son of man. ] While others make mirth, as Eze 21:10 and are insolent against God. Mourners shall be marked, Eze 9:4 comforted. Isa 57:18
Smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
it: i.e. the sword of Jehovah, the king of Babylon.
princes = leaders.
be = come.
terrors by, &c. = who shall be delivered to the sword with My People.
smite therefore, &c. This was the symbol of grief in man, as beating the breast was in woman.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
howl: Eze 21:6, Eze 9:8, Eze 30:2, Jer 25:34, Joe 1:13, Mic 1:8
terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my: or, they are thrust down to the sword with my. smite. This was an expression of deep affliction. Eze 21:14, Eze 6:11, Jer 31:12
Reciprocal: Lev 26:36 – I will send Isa 13:6 – Howl ye Jer 4:8 – howl Jer 31:19 – I smote Zep 1:11 – Howl
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 21:12. Cry and howl was for the same reason as sigh in verse 6. The impending calamity about to come on Jerusalem will be great and bitter and the prophet was instructed to indicate it by his physical expressions. In ancient times many actions were done to indicate the feelings of a person. such as to smite upon the thigh.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 21:12-13. Cry and howl, son of man As a mark of the vehemence of thy grief. For it shall be upon my people Namely, the devouring sword; upon all the princes of Israel Both princes and people shall be involved in one common destruction. Smite therefore upon thy thigh
Use all the outward expressions of grief and mourning. Because it is a trial As all great calamities are often styled: see the margin.
And what if the sword contemn even the rod? Namely, the sceptre and royal family. The Hebrew, , it seems, should rather be rendered, And what if even the rod, or sceptre, contemn? That is, if the king and kingdom of Judah despise this trial. It shall be no more, saith the Lord Both shall be destroyed, and be no more. The word rendered rod here, is continually put in Scripture for governor, or government; a rod, staff, or sceptre, being the usual signs of government. God, therefore, here foretels, that if the sceptre of Judah should despise, or not profit by, the correction or punishment brought upon it by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar, it should be entirely broken, and be no more; which came to pass accordingly. The royal family was not amended by this severe judgment, and therefore was laid aside. The sceptre here only means the kingly power in the house of David, and not that supreme authority which Jacob foretold should not forsake Judah till the coming of the Messiah.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:12 Cry and wail, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it [shall be] upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: {k} smite therefore upon [thy] thigh.
(k) Read Eze 6:11 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Ezekiel was therefore to cry out and slap his thigh in great despair because this judgment was coming on the people and officials of Judah (cf. Jer 31:19). The leaders would die with the rest of the people. This cutting off of Israel’s leadership was a cause for even greater sorrow than the destruction of the ordinary Israelites. This would really test the nation. The Judahites should not despise the rod that the Lord would use to judge them; they should not think that Nebuchadnezzar lacked the power to destroy Judah. Nevertheless even Nebuchadnezzar would not prevail over Israel ultimately because the rod Messiah would be the final victor.