Ezekiel 21:8

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished; it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree. And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh. For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah."

Bunn referred to this chapter as, "One of the most shocking and awesome passages"[2] in the Bible.

"The rod of my son, it contemneth every tree ..." (Ezekiel 21:10). "'The rod of my son,.' here, is the scepter of the House of David."[3] These words were spoken by the people who claimed not to fear the sword of punishment coming upon them, because the scepter of the House of David, whom God recognizes as his son, contemneth (despises) all other scepters as mere pieces of wood.

"Cry and wail, son of man ..." (Ezekiel 21:12). This behavior supplements that of Ezekiel 21:6, such bizarre actions being for the purpose of getting attention, and also for the purpose of emphasizing the predictive nature of these prophecies.

"Smite therefore upon thy thigh ..." (Ezekiel 21:12). "This was done as an expression of grief."[4] Efforts have been made to view this as a demonstration of glee or delight on Ezekiel's part; but that could not possibly fit into the context here. Both this gesture and the clapping of hands, mentioned later, were bona fide expressions of extreme grief, especially when accompanied by the crying and walling of the prophet.

"What if the rod that contemneth shall be no more ..." (Ezekiel 21:13)? This stops a little short of prophesying the end of the earthly house of David; but, in context, that is certainly the meaning of it.