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Translation
King James Version
Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.
Complete Jewish Bible
while [your prophets] produce false visions for you, while they divine lies for you to lay you out upon the necks of the wicked who are to be killed, whose day has come, at the time of final punishment.
Berean Standard Bible
while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you— to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
American Standard Version
while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
World English Bible Messianic
while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Whiles they see vanitie vnto thee, and prophecied a lie vnto thee to bring thee vpon the neckes of the wicked that are slaine, whose day is come when their iniquitie shall haue an ende.
Young's Literal Translation
In the seeing for thee of a vain thing, In the divining for thee of a lie, To put thee on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.
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Commentary on Ezekiel 21 verses 28–32
28 ¶ And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.
30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.
31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.
32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.
The prediction of the destruction of the Ammonites, which was effected by Nebuchadnezzar about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, seems to come in here upon occasion of the king of Babylon's diverting his design against Rabbath, when he turned it upon Jerusalem. Upon this the Ammonites grew very insolent, and triumphed over Jerusalem; but the prophet must let them know that forbearance is no acquittance; the reprieve is not a pardon; their day also is at hand; their turn comes next, and it will be but a poor satisfaction to them that they are to be devoured last, to be last executed.
I. The sin of the Ammonites is here intimated; it is their reproach, Eze 21:28. 1. The reproach they put upon themselves when they hearkened to their false prophets (for such it seems there were among them as well as among the Jews), who pretended to foretel their perpetual safety in the midst of the desolations that were made of the countries round about them: "They see vanity unto thee and divine a lie, Eze 21:29. They flatter thee with promises of peace, and thou art such a fool as to suffer thyself to be imposed upon by them and to encourage them therein by giving credit to them." Note, Those that feed themselves with a self-conceit in the day of their prosperity prepare matter for a self-reproach in the day of their calamity. 2. The reproach they put upon the Israel of God, when they triumphed in their afflictions, and thereby added affliction to them, which was very barbarous and inhuman. Their divines, by puffing them up with a conceit that they were a better people than Israel, being spared when they were cut off, and with a confidence that their prosperity should always continue, made them so very haughty and insolent that they did even tread on the necks of the Israelites that were slain, slain by the wicked Chaldeans, who had commission to execute God's judgments upon them when their iniquity had an end, that is, when the measure of it was full. We shall meet with this again, Eze 25:3, etc. Note, Those are ripening apace for misery who trample upon the people of God in their distress, whereas they ought to tremble when judgment begins at the house of God.
II. The utter destruction of the Ammonites is threatened. For the reproach cast on the church by her neighbours will be returned into their own bosom, Psa 79:12. Let us see how terrible the threatening is and the destruction will be. 1. It shall come from the wrath of God, who resents the indignities and injuries done to his people as done to himself (Eze 21:31): I will pour out my indignation as a shower of fire and brimstone upon thee. The least drop of divine indignation and wrath will create tribulation and anguish enough to the soul of man that does evil; what then would a full stream of that indignation and wrath do? "I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath; that is, I will blow up the fire of my wrath against thee; it shall burn with the utmost vehemence." Thou shalt be for fuel to this fire, Eze 21:32. Note, Wicked men make themselves fuel to the fire of God's wrath; they are consumed by it, and it is inflamed by them. 2. It shall be effected by the sword of war; to them he must cry, as before to Israel, because they had triumphed in Israel's overthrow: The sword, the sword is drawn (Eze 21:28, compare Eze 21:9, Eze 21:10); it is drawn to consume because of the glittering, because it is brandished and glitters, and is fit to be made use of. God's executions will answer his preparations. This sword, when it is drawn, shall not return into its sheath (Eze 21:30) till it has done the work for which it was drawn. When the sword is drawn it does not return till God causes it to return, and he is in one mind and who can turn him? Who can change his purpose? 3. The persons employed in it are brutish men, and skilful to destroy. Men of such a bad character as this, who have the wit of men to do the work of wild beasts - human reason, which makes them skilful, but no human compassion, which makes them skilful only to destroy - though they are the scandal of mankind, yet sometimes are made use of to serve God's purposes. God delivers the Ammonites into the hands of such, and justly, for they themselves were brutish, and delighted in the destruction of God's Israel. We have reason to pray, as Paul desired to be prayed for, that we may be delivered from wicked and unreasonable men (Th2 3:2), men that seem made for doing mischief. 4. The place where they should thus be reckoned with: "I will judge thee where thou wast created, where thou wast first formed into a people, and where thou hast been settled ever since, and therefore where thou seemest to have taken root; the land of thy nativity shall be the land of thy destruction." Note, God can bring ruin upon us even where we are most secure, and turn us out of that land which we thought we had a title to not to be disputed and a possession of not to be disturbed. Thy blood shall be shed not only in thy borders, but in the midst of thy land. Lastly, I shall be an irreparable ruin: "Though thou mayest think to recover thyself, it is in vain to think of it; thou shalt be no more remembered with any respect," Psa 9:6. Justly is their name blotted out who would have Israel's name for ever lost.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 28–32. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 35, 36, and following) And I will bring you into a desert of peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. Just as I contended with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, says the Lord. And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, and I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked: from their place of residence I will bring them out, and they will not enter the land of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord: I will do for you who are in Babylon, and now serve idols, what I did for your ancestors in Egypt. I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face, just as I contended with them in judgment when they came out of Egypt. And after I have judged you, I will subject you to my scepter and rule, and I will make a covenant with you and bring you into your land with the bonds of love, so that bound by my love, you will never be able to depart from me. But I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked, who persist in the hardness of their hearts in evil deeds, not for possession, but for rejection. And I will indeed bring them out of the land of their dwelling, so that when they are brought out, they will not enter the land of Israel; but they will perish in various regions. And by the distinction between good and evil, you shall know that I am the Lord, who judges all things. The rest of the discourse hastens, and we briefly go through each point, in order to provide only the meaning to the readers.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Ver. 23, 24 onwards) Again, I raised my hand against them in the wilderness, to scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the lands, because they had not performed my judgments, and had rejected my commandments, and had violated my Sabbaths, and their eyes had been after the idols (or thoughts) of their fathers. Therefore, I also gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they would not live, and I defiled them in their offerings (or transgressions), as they offered (or led astray) everything that opens the womb because of their sins (for which the Septuagint translated, to destroy them and what they had overlooked): and they will know that I am the Lord. Where in the Old Testament, against their children, who fell in the wilderness, the Lord lifted up His hand to scatter them among the nations, Scripture does not say; but it is to be believed that this was done in accordance with what is reported here. Or he signifies by this, that after they entered the promised land, they were given over at various times, for many sins, to different nations and kings, and at that time the commandments of the Lord, which were good according to their nature, and the judgments by which believers could live, were made not good for them, since they were in no way able to keep the precepts of the law in captivity, and to do what the divine word commanded. He did not say, 'I gave them evil commandments,' but, 'not good commandments.' For it does not immediately follow that what is not good is evil, as the Apostle teaches, it is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of incontinence, let each possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (I Cor. VII). And if he does not do this, it is neither good nor evil. Therefore, God gave them, dispersed among the nations, not good commandments, that is, he allowed them to follow their own thoughts and desires, to do what is not appropriate. And he defiled them in his gifts: just as a Priest separates lepers from the people, and shows that they are defiled; while they offer to idols what they should offer to God. And they pass everything that opens the womb through the fire of Baal, that is, the firstborn; so that after they have deserted God and been handed over to the worship of idols, then they may understand that He is the Lord whom they have provoked to anger by their own fault. Symmachus interpreted this passage more explicitly, treating the future as past. Therefore, I will also give them bad precepts and judgments for which they will not live, and I will defile them because of their gifts, as they consecrate and offer everything that opens the womb, so that I may destroy them, and they will know that I am the Lord. And the meaning is this: because I have seen the sons of the fathers equaling the wickedness of their ancestors and doing the same things for which they offended God, I wanted to divide them into nations and disperse them throughout the whole world, and give them bad precepts and judgments in which they would not live, so that I may defile them with their gifts, for they consecrated everything that opens the womb to idols, and I may destroy them forever, and they will know that I am the Lord. Through which he showed that he had not given them good commandments who dwelt in the wilderness, but to those whom he wanted to scatter among the nations, and to make foreigners in the whole world, he gave them a desire for things that he did not give: so that there they would do good commandments of God, not good because of their own fault, while they exhibited to idols what God had commanded to be exhibited. This can also be said, that before the offense, they received only the Ten Commandments; but after idolatry and blasphemy, they received multiple ceremonies of the law, so that they would offer victims to God rather than to demons, and by comparison with sacrilege, what was not good in itself became lighter, and by no means evil, because it was offered to God, and yet not good, because they offended the author of good.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 27, 29 onwards) Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: Moreover, your fathers have blasphemed against me and have treated me with contempt, even as they spurned me. And I brought them into the land that I had lifted my hand to give them ((Vulgate adds: that land)): they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices and presented there the irritation of their offerings, and they placed there the fragrance of their sweetness, and they poured out their ((Vulgate is silent on this)) libations there. And I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you are going?' And its name was called the High Place until this day. Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: As for your fathers, they have provoked Me to anger by their iniquities, by the fact that they have fallen away from Me. So I brought them into the land that I had lifted My hand in an oath to give them.' They saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. They also presented there the provocation of their gifts, and they set there their pleasing aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings. And I said to them: What is abbana, because you enter there? And they called its name abbana until this day. I wanted, he said, to scatter them in the wilderness, and to give them not good precepts, so that they would sacrifice to idols what they should have offered to me, and consecrate all their first-fruits to them by fire, so that I might kill them and destroy them. But when he says, I wanted, he shows that he did not do what he wanted. And that which follows: 'And they shall know that I am the Lord,' is not found in the Septuagint. For it did not seem fitting to them to know after their destruction that he himself is the Lord. But you, son of man, speak again to them, that is, to the elders of the house of Israel, who have come to inquire of you: Your fathers, from whom you have descended, have also blasphemed against me and held me in contempt; after I brought them into the land which I had given them to possess, they turned against me to provoke me. For when they saw every high hill and leafy tree, they would sacrifice on the mountains and in the groves and thickets, and offer victims to the idols, and pour out libations. And when I saw this, I said to them: What is this, Bama? for it is called high: or why do you enter into such a place which you have chosen for yourselves in all the hills, so that even today these places are called Bamoth, and the ancient error retains its original name? Regarding Bama, which we translate as excelsum, there is an error in the Septuagint edition, where it is written as ἀββανὰ, which does not resonate in the Hebrew language. Bama can mean 'in which' if the two syllables are divided into two words, but in the present context, that sense does not fit. However, wherever it is written in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: 'The people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places,' Bama in the singular and Bamoth in the plural mean 'high places.'
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Verse 28 and following) And you, son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon and to their disgrace. And you shall say: Sword, sword, draw yourself out for slaughter: hone yourself to kill and to shine. Although they seem vain to you and their divinations are lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wicked wounded, whose appointed day has come in the time of iniquity. Return to your sheath, in the place where you were created: in the land of your birth I will judge you. And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy. You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be forgotten, for I the Lord have spoken.” The sword of the king of Babylon has been at the head of the two roads, in the fork of the two ways, to use divination. He has shaken the arrows; he has consulted the household gods; he has looked at the liver. When it is conquered and captured, it is predicted that both his kingdom and priesthood shall perish forever. The rest belonged to the sons of Ammon, and the order of division itself demanded what had happened on the left path. Therefore, the prophet is commanded to speak to the sons of Ammon, and to their reproach, that they themselves are to be captured, and he directs the same sword speech to them: Oh sword, sword, which is ready for slaughter, which is sharpened, so that you may shine and kill: although idols may have responded to you, and everything that is answered by demons is empty, so that you may threaten the necks of the wounded, and fulfill what the Lord had threatened long ago; nevertheless, after completing your work, which you have done against the sons of Ammon, return to your sheath, that is, to Babylon, to the place where you were made and created: so that in the land of your birth I may judge you, and I will pour out my indignation upon you, and you shall be captured by the power of the Medes and Persians. What is said more fully in the book of Isaiah, in a vision against Babylon: Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them. And a little later: And Babylon, that glorious one among kingdoms, renowned for its pride among the Chaldeans, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, it shall never be inhabited until the end (Isa. XIII, 17 et seqq.). And because once he was speaking in the person of the sword about the king, or rather the kingdom of Babylon, it retains the metaphor. In the fire, he says, of my wrath I will blow upon you; to make you be consumed by fire and delivered into the hands of ignorant and foolish men, who do not have the skill to forge swords and sharpen them; so that you may no longer be sharpened, polished, and shine for killing; but be the food of fire, and let your blood, which you have shed before all who watch, overflow within you; and be consigned to eternal oblivion, and perish forever, for I the Lord have spoken, and what I have spoken, I have done.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 21:29 delivers a severe divine indictment against the false prophets and diviners in Judah who offered deceptive assurances of peace and security, directly contradicting God's warnings of imminent judgment. This verse starkly exposes the spiritual peril of embracing falsehood over divine truth, asserting that such deceit would inevitably lead the people, particularly the wicked, to utter defeat and destruction. It underscores the certainty of God's appointed time for righteous judgment, when the full measure of human iniquity would inevitably reach its divinely determined end, bringing about inescapable consequences.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 21:29 is profoundly rich in Vivid Imagery, particularly evident in the chilling phrase "upon the necks of them that are slain," which powerfully conveys the abject defeat, humiliation, and utter destruction awaiting those who trust in falsehood. This graphic depiction functions as a form of Hyperbole, amplifying the totality and severity of the coming devastation. There is also a profound and tragic Irony at play: the false prophets, who claim to offer visions of peace, security, and deliverance, are ironically leading their trusting audience directly into the path of destruction and death. Their "vanity" and "lie" are not merely empty words but become instruments of doom. The concept of "whose day is come" functions as a potent Metaphor for a divinely appointed, inescapable time of reckoning, where the "day" represents the culmination of God's long-suffering patience and the decisive unleashing of His righteous judgment. This also hints at Personification, as the "day" itself seems to arrive with an active, predetermined purpose, bringing about the inevitable end.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 21:29 profoundly illustrates God's unwavering commitment to justice, truth, and His own holy character, revealing His absolute abhorrence for deception, especially when it deceptively masquerades as divine revelation. It underscores the critical theological principle that while God is infinitely patient and merciful, there is a divinely appointed limit to human rebellion, persistent sin, and accumulated iniquity. When that limit is reached, judgment is not merely a possibility but a certainty, an inevitable and righteous consequence of prolonged defiance. This verse serves as a stark and timeless reminder that true spiritual leadership and genuine prophetic ministry must always align unequivocally with God's revealed truth, regardless of how unpopular, challenging, or counter-cultural that truth may be. To offer false comfort, to deny the pervasive reality of sin, or to obscure the necessity of repentance is to actively participate in the very deception that leads to spiritual and physical destruction. The judgment described here is not arbitrary or capricious but is a righteous and just response to a people who have repeatedly rejected God's loving warnings and defiantly embraced lies.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 21:29 offers a timeless and profoundly sobering lesson for believers today, emphasizing the critical and ongoing importance of spiritual discernment in a world saturated with competing voices, ideologies, and messages. We are called to be vigilant, actively testing every spirit, every teaching, and every claim against the unchanging, authoritative truth of God's Word, rather than being swayed by what is popular, superficially comforting, or appealing to our fleshly desires. This verse powerfully reminds us that genuine spiritual health and growth require a courageous willingness to confront uncomfortable truths about sin and its inevitable consequences, rather than seeking out those who "divine a lie" or promise an easy, consequence-free path. It challenges us to critically reflect on the sources of our spiritual guidance and to ensure that our hope, faith, and security are anchored solely in the unvarnished reality of God's character—His holiness, His justice, His unwavering commitment to truth, and His ultimate sovereignty—rather than in empty assurances or deceptive narratives. Ultimately, it calls us to a posture of profound humility and ongoing repentance, recognizing that while God's patience is immense, it does have a limit, and His perfect justice will ultimately prevail.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are "they" who "see vanity" and "divine a lie" in this verse?
Answer: "They" refers to the false prophets and diviners operating within Judah and Jerusalem during Ezekiel's time who were actively misleading the people. These individuals claimed to possess divine insight or prophetic revelations, but their messages were not genuinely from God. Instead, they offered deceptive assurances of peace, security, and deliverance, directly contradicting the true prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, who were faithfully delivering God's warnings of impending judgment and calls to repentance. Their pronouncements were rooted in their own imaginations, self-interest, or illicit divinatory practices, rather than being inspired by the Spirit of the Lord.
What does "whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end" mean for the wicked?
Answer: This phrase signifies a divinely appointed and inescapable time of reckoning for the wicked. "Whose day is come" refers to the specific moment when God's immense patience with their accumulated sin (their "iniquity") has reached its divinely determined limit. It means that their persistent rebellion, moral corruption, and rejection of God's repeated warnings have reached a tipping point, triggering the inevitable divine judgment. It is not an arbitrary act but a just and righteous response to the full measure of their unrepentant sin, ensuring that evil and defiance will not continue indefinitely without consequence. This concept is seen elsewhere in scripture, such as when God tells Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full before their judgment.
How does this verse relate to God's love and mercy?
Answer: While Ezekiel 21:29 focuses intensely on judgment, it implicitly highlights God's justice, which is an intrinsic attribute of His perfect love. God's love is not merely sentimental or permissive; it is holy, righteous, and demands justice. His judgment on iniquity, especially that which leads His people astray and prevents their repentance, demonstrates His unwavering commitment to righteousness and His ultimate desire for a just and holy world. The fact that there is a specific "day" when iniquity "shall have an end" implies a preceding period of immense patience and mercy during which repentance was possible and repeatedly offered. God consistently sent prophets to warn His people and call them back to Himself, as seen in 2 Chronicles 36:15-16. The judgment, therefore, is a sorrowful but necessary consequence of persistent rejection of His loving warnings and a deliberate embrace of destructive falsehoods.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 21:29, with its stark portrayal of divine judgment against false prophecy and unrepentant iniquity, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in several profound and redemptive ways. Firstly, Jesus Christ stands as the True Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15), the very embodiment of truth who never "sees vanity" or "divines a lie." He consistently spoke the unvarnished truth of God, calling all people to genuine repentance and fearlessly exposing the spiritual blindness and hypocrisy of those who clung to self-deception and false religious systems (e.g., Matthew 23:13-36). His incarnation and ministry marked the definitive end of the era where humanity groped for truth amidst a cacophony of false voices; in Him, the ultimate and definitive word of God was spoken to humanity (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Secondly, the "day" when "their iniquity shall have an end" points forward to Christ's supreme role as the ultimate and righteous Judge. While Ezekiel describes a temporal judgment on Judah, the New Testament reveals that all humanity will ultimately face the righteous judgment of Christ, who will bring every hidden thing to light and render justice according to truth (John 5:22; Romans 2:16). His first coming inaugurated the "day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2), offering a gracious way for iniquity to be forgiven and atoned for, rather than punished, through His perfect and atoning sacrifice on the cross (Isaiah 53:5-6). For those who reject this divine offer of grace, His glorious second coming will be the definitive "day" when all unrepentant iniquity will indeed "have an end," and His eternal kingdom of perfect righteousness will be fully and finally established (Revelation 20:11-15). Thus, Christ fulfills both the righteous judgment against sin and the merciful provision for its ultimate eradication, offering salvation to those who believe and just condemnation to those who persist in their iniquity.