The Meaning of Ezekiel 33:21 Explained

Ezekiel 33:21

KJV: And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.

YLT: And it cometh to pass, in the twelfth year -- in the tenth month, in the fifth of the month -- of our removal, come in unto me doth one who is escaped from Jerusalem, saying, 'The city hath been smitten.'

Darby: And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten!

ASV: And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month , in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass in the twelfth  year  of our captivity,  in the tenth  [month], in the fifth  [day] of the month,  [that] one that had escaped  out of Jerusalem  came  unto me, saying,  The city  is smitten. 

What does Ezekiel 33:21 Mean?

Study Notes

tenth month
i.e. January.

Verse Meaning

On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of the Jews" exile, namely, on January19 , 585 B.C, word reached the exiles from refugees who had come from Jerusalem. [1] They announced that Jerusalem had fallen to Nebuchadnezzar. The siege of Jerusalem began on the tenth month, the tenth day, and the ninth year of King Zedekiah"s reign ( 2 Kings 25:1; 588 B.C.). The city fell on the fourth month, the ninth day, and the eleventh year of Zedekiah"s reign ( 2 Kings 25:2-7; 586 B.C.). Thus the siege lasted18 months. The news of Jerusalem"s fall reached the exiles in Babylon about five months after the city fell in586 B.C. According to one method of reckoning, it took18 months for news of Jerusalem"s fall to reach the exiles, but it seems more probable that it took about five months, which was apparently the normal time it took to make this trip (cf. Ezra 7:6-9). [2]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 33

1  According to the duty of a watchman in warning the people
7  Ezekiel is admonished of his duty
10  God shows the justice of his ways toward the penitent and toward revolters
17  He maintains his justice
21  Upon the news of the taking of Jerusalem
25  he prophecies the desolation of the land
30  God's judgment upon the mockers of the prophets

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 33:21 mean?

and it came to pass in two [and] ten the year in the tenth [month] on [day] five of the month of our captivity [that] came to me one who had escaped from Jerusalem and said has been captured the city
וַיְהִ֞י בִּשְׁתֵּ֧י עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֗ה בָּעֲשִׂרִ֛י בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֥ה לַחֹ֖דֶשׁ לְגָלוּתֵ֑נוּ בָּא־ אֵלַ֨י הַפָּלִ֧יט מִירוּשָׁלִַ֛ם לֵאמֹ֖ר הֻכְּתָ֥ה הָעִֽיר

וַיְהִ֞י  and  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בִּשְׁתֵּ֧י  in  two 
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, fdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה  [and]  ten 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: עָשָׂר 
Sense: ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers).
שָׁנָ֗ה  the  year 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
בָּעֲשִׂרִ֛י  in  the  tenth  [month] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: עֲשִׂירִי  
Sense: ordinal number.
בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֥ה  on  [day]  five 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Number, masculine singular
Root: חָמֵשׁ  
Sense: five.
לַחֹ֖דֶשׁ  of  the  month 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
לְגָלוּתֵ֑נוּ  of  our  captivity 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: גָּלוּת  
Sense: exile, exiles.
בָּא־  [that]  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵלַ֨י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַפָּלִ֧יט  one  who  had  escaped 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: פָּלִיט 
Sense: refugee, fugitive, escaped one.
מִירוּשָׁלִַ֛ם  from  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
לֵאמֹ֖ר  and  said 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הֻכְּתָ֥ה  has  been  captured 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
הָעִֽיר  the  city 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.