What Does Ezekiel 30:21 Mean in the King James?
Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Hebrew uses the same root for making Pharaoh’s arm strong and for holding the sword, tying repair directly to the return of its power to strike.
THE MEANING
The verse places before you a broken weapon-bearing arm, with healing, binding, and restored strength all absent; the sword remains out of reach. Egypt’s name carries the image of two narrows, and here constricting power is itself unable to strike. The damage remains visible, without a promise of the arm’s recovery.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that constricting power cannot be stopped is undone: the sword-bearing arm can be broken, and no remedy restores its grip.
THE ROOT
לְחָזְקָהּ
lechazqah
GROWS FROM
חזק
Be strong, strengthen, or take hold firmly.
“make strong / hold” in this verse is lechazqah. English sounds like two actions: restore strength, then grip the sword. Hebrew repeats חזק (chazaq, be strong or take hold) in both clauses, tying the arm’s repair directly to its capacity to seize and hold the weapon.
ALSO GROWS
chazaq: Be strong, become firm, prevail.
חָזַק
The arm must regain this strength before it can hold the sword.
chazaqah: Strength, firmness, or possession.
חֲזָקָה
The root can name a firm hold, echoing the grip the arm would need to wield the weapon.
חֻבְּשָׁה
chubbeshah
GROWS FROM
חבש
Bind, wrap, or secure.
“bound up” in this verse is chubbeshah. Chabash can describe binding a wound or securing a saddle. Here that restorative binding never happens, so the image stays at breakage rather than moving toward repair.
ALSO GROWS
chavash: Bind up or wrap; also saddle an animal.
חָבַשׁ
The wound-binding sense makes the refused bandage a concrete act of care withheld.
chavush: Bound or held captive.
חָבוּשׁ
The same root can suggest restraint as well as care, giving “bound up” a wider range than a simple covering.
רְפֻאוֹת
refu’ot
GROWS FROM
רפא
Heal, cure, or restore.
“healing remedies” in this verse is refu’ot. This root names healing as treatment and a healer, while the neighboring form רפה (raphah, release or let the hands drop) adds an echo of loosening what is held fast. Here no remedy arrives to restore the arm’s strength or release it from its broken condition.
ALSO GROWS
rapha: Heal or restore.
רָפָא
This is the verb family behind the remedies the verse says are not applied.
rofe: Healer or physician.
רֹפֵא
The branch names an agent of healing, sharpening the absence of any restoring care in the scene.
THE PATTERN
A force loses its reach when the strength that carries its weapon is broken or bound.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.THE THREAD
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;Isaiah uses חבש (chabash, bind up), the same root behind “bound up” here, for binding broken hearts. The shared verb reveals binding as an act of care in Isaiah, while Ezekiel’s arm is explicitly left without that care.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us