Ezekiel is told to set his face against Jerusalem and to preach against the sanctuary. Not only does this sharpen the focus of chapter 21; it also indicates that the destruction of the city and temple have not yet occurred. Thus, the oracle must be prior to 587/6 BC. The forest fire of 20:45–49 is now replaced by a sword (the word appears fifteen times in this chapter) as the symbol of destruction. We move from a natural-disaster analogy to a military analogy. In either case, the catastrophe will be far-reaching.

The phrase “I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked” (21:4) is difficult. Has not Ezekiel, just three chapters back, said the opposite? Does character count for nothing? Granted that one’s righteousness cannot save another person (chap. 14), now it seems that the righ…