Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 21:4
Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
The righteous and the wicked – take the place of every green tree and every dry tree Eze 20:47; all faces that of all flesh: to show the universality of the destructions. National judgment involves the innocent in the temporal ruin of the guilty. The equity of God is vindicated by the ruin being only temporal.
From the south to the north – From one end of the holy land to the other; the seer is in the north, and looks at once on the whole extent of the ruin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. From the south to the north] The whole land shall be ravaged from one end to the other.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will cut off; it is both my purpose and threat, to do that by the Chaldeans in such manner as that it shall appear I did it.
The righteous, signified by the green tree, Eze 20:47.
The wicked; the dry tree, Eze 20:47. Go forth; have a commission, such as I gave Nebuchadnezzar, as large as is necessary for this work.
All flesh; all the Jews that dwell in the land; it may somewhat reflect upon the nations near about the Jews, as Moab and Ammon.
From the south; as it doth certainly denote the whole of the land of Judea, it may intimate the rise and spring of this evil from the south, i.e. Babylon, and its progress northward.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. The “sword” didnot, literally, slay all; but the judgments of God bythe foe swept through the land “from the south to the north.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked,…. Some by the sword, some by famine, some by pestilence, and others by captivity; and, upon the whole, none spared, but the land left desolate:
therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north; the Chaldean army shall go out of their own land against all the inhabitants of Judea, from Beersheba to Dan; this explains what is meant by all faces being burnt from the south to the north, Eze 20:47, namely, the general destruction of the Jews by the Chaldeans.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore will my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. And all flesh shall know that I Yahweh have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath. It shall not return any more.”
This time the judgment will be total and unrestrained. The whole land will be included, both those who think themselves righteous, as well as the very wicked. It will cover all, moving from the south upwards, and all will realise that this is indeed the work of Yahweh and that it is final. There comes a time for all when God’s moment for reaping comes.
For ‘it shall not return any more’ compare ‘it shall not be quenched’ (Eze 20:48). The two sections are parallel.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
Ver. 4. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteons. ] Velut eodem contubernio deprehensos. This is repeated for more assurance, because it might seem strange. The Septuagint hath it, The unrighteous and the wicked. The Chaldee, I will make the righteous flee, and destroy the wicked. But the Hebrew verity is as before; neither need we wonder, since the best have their infirmities.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
against: Eze 6:11-14, Eze 7:2, Eze 20:47
Reciprocal: Lev 26:25 – will bring Job 9:22 – He destroyeth Isa 34:6 – filled Jer 25:27 – because Eze 14:17 – I bring Eze 21:16 – Go Eze 21:30 – Shall I cause it to return Zec 13:7 – O sword Luk 23:31 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 21:4. All flesh is to be understood in the light of righteous and wicked as explained in the preceding verse. My sword refers literally to the sword of the Babylonians, but is so designated because God was using that nation as his instrument for chastising his people.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the {c} north:
(c) Meaning, through all the land.