Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem Here God directs the prophet to declare in plain language, what he had ordered him to speak allegorically, from the 46th to the 48th verses of the foregoing chapter. And say to the land of Israel The prophet's face being turned toward Judea and Jerusalem, he addresses them as if they were present before him. Behold, I am against thee I am become thine enemy because of thy sins; I hate thy practices, and will punish thee for them. And will draw forth my sword out of his sheath By the sword here is meant the same as by the fire in the foregoing chapter, namely, every thing which destroys. It may, however, be taken in a rather more literal sense than the fire is there to be understood, as the calamities of Judea were chiefly to arise from the sword of the king of Babylon, who was God's instrument to execute his purpose on Judea. And will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked I will take away from thee the righteous by sending them into captivity; and the wicked by destroying them, either by the sword, or famine, or pestilence. My sword shall go forth against all flesh Against all the Jews that dwell in the land. It shall not return any more That is, into its sheath, till it hath executed all my purposes.
Ezekiel 21:1-5
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.