Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Ezekiel 17:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic word through Ezekiel carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall…” at Ezekiel 17:21 as part of “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.”
Read It With
- Ezekiel 17:11–21
Read Ezekiel 17:21 with 17:11–21. By itself, “And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, exilic horizon, visionary movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Babylon's removal of king and nobles, covenant with Zedekiah, appeal to Egypt, and failed rebellion explain the vine's uprooting and the king's death in Babylon.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “Two Eagles, a Cedar, and a Vine Form a Political Riddle” into “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.” Its non-interchangeable contribution is: Babylon's removal of king and nobles, covenant with Zedekiah, appeal to Egypt, and failed rebellion explain the vine's uprooting and the king's death in Babylon. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic word through Ezekiel carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall…” at Ezekiel 17:21 as part of “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.”
What Remains True
Worship, public violence, economic exploitation, leadership, and treatment of vulnerable people cannot be separated from moral accountability. In Ezekiel 17:21, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall…” at Ezekiel 17:21 as part of “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Name the concrete wrong and affected people, submit present communities to the same ethical scrutiny, and refuse ethnic blame, punitive certainty, or human imitation of divine judgment. This response follows Ezekiel 17:11–21's specific concern, “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall…” at Ezekiel 17:21 as part of “The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken Oath.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ezekiel 17:11–21 — The Riddle Interprets Zedekiah's Broken OathSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 17:11–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 17:11–21
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 17:11–21
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗