Verse Lens · Context pointer
Ezekiel 21:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic lament states or reports “Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face…” at Ezekiel 21:16 as a specific part of “A Sharpened Sword Song Intensifies the Alarm.”
Read It With
- Ezekiel 21:8–17
Read Ezekiel 21:16 with 21:8–17. By itself, “Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, exilic horizon, visionary movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: A poetic sword is sharpened, polished, placed in the slayer's hand, and accompanied by crying, thigh striking, and repeated clapping.
Why It Needs Context
Ezekiel 21:8–17 gives Ezekiel 21:16 its literary owner and outcome. The prophetic lament states or reports “Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face…” at Ezekiel 21:16 as a specific part of “A Sharpened Sword Song Intensifies the Alarm.” Application waits until that movement is understood.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ezekiel 21:8–17 — A Sharpened Sword Song Intensifies the AlarmSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 21:8–17, 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 21:8–17
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗