ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Ezekiel 21.1-5

Book: Ezekiel · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"1. And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3. and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4. 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: 5. and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more."

"6. Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. 7. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah." (Ezekiel 21:1-7, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2. “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. 3. Tell the land of Israel, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. 4. Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. 5. All flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword out of its sheath. It will not return any more.”’"

"6. “Sigh therefore, you son of man. You shall sigh before their eyes with a broken heart and with bitterness. 7. It shall be, when they ask you, ‘Why do you sigh?’ that you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it comes! Every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.’”" (Ezekiel 21:1-7, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3. And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 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: 5. That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more."

"6. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 7. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD. shall be weak: Heb. shall go into water" (Ezekiel 21:1-7, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2. 'Son of man, set thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto the ground of Israel; 3. and thou hast said unto the ground of Israel: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off from thee righteous and wicked. 4. Because that I have cut off from thee righteous and wicked, Therefore go out doth My sword from its scabbard, Unto all flesh, from south to north. 5. And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It doth not turn back any more."

"6. And thou, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, yea, with bitterness thou dost sigh before their eyes, 7. and it hath come to pass, when they say unto thee, For what art thou sighing? that thou hast said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And melted hath every heart, And feeble hath been all hands, And weak is every spirit, And all knees go, waters, Lo, it is coming, yea, it hath been, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'" (Ezekiel 21:1-7, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Ezekiel the priest + LORD direct discourse
  • Audience: exiles in Babylon
  • Location: Babylonian exile (Tel Abib)
  • Time period: ministry c. 593-571 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.