Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
Here is another prophecy of the sword, which is delivered in a very affecting manner; the expressions here used are somewhat intricate, and perplex interpreters. The sword was unsheathed in the foregoing verses; here it is fitted up to do execution, which the prophet is commanded to lament. Observe, I. How the sword is here described. 1.
Commenting on Ezekiel 21:8-17
The word of the Lord came unto me again,.... Immediately after the former; for this respects the same prophecy about the sword, and the way of its coming, and the cause of it: saying; as follows:
Apostrophe to the sword. Go . . . one way--or, "Concentrate thyself"; "Unite thy forces on the right hand" [GROTIUS]. The sword is commanded to take the nearest route for Jerusalem, "whither their face was set," whether south or north ("right hand or left"), according to where the several parts of the Chaldean host may be. or other, . . .