Have you seen the movie Pulp Fiction and wanted to know more about Ezekiel 25:17? Or are you simply looking to increase your knowledge of the biblical books with a new analysis? In any case, you will find what you are looking for here!
Ezekiel 25:17 bible quote from pulp fiction
“And I will wreak great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I work my vengeance on them.” (Ezekiel 25:17 NKJV1960)
The Bible is a book that, beyond serving as a reference and guide for Christians around the world, has transcended to reach the whole of society and we often find references to it in the general culture.
This has been the case with verse Ezekiel 25:17 which is mentioned in the movie Pulp Fiction although with modifications, as you will see at the end of this article.
However, we are here to reflect on the reflection on the Bible So, before we get to the curiosities, you are going to learn who Ezekiel was and how he came to write that verse. We will analyze the context and also the content of the text to obtain a complete view of the text.
Explanation and meaning of Ezekiel 25 17
Well, now you have the text in your hand, and we can start with the complete analysis of it. First, we will see the character of Ezekiel and also his work that will help you understand everything better.
The name Ezekiel is quite widely used today and, you may not have known it, but it has a very special meaning. Its literal translation from Hebrew means “God is my strength”so if you have the opportunity and you like the name, do not hesitate to propose it.
For the biblical Ezekiel this name acquires a special value. He lived through difficult times in which faith was the only way to get ahead and not collapse.
Historical context of Ezekiel 25:17
Before going with the analysis of the text and its relationship with Pulp Fiction you just need to locate all these facts in the history of Israel because everything is part of our religion and knowledge helps us to always find the way forward.
The historical period in which Ezekiel lived is known worldwide as the Jewish Babylonian Captivity, referring to the exile that the inhabitants of Judah had to live through at that time.
This occurred during the 6th century B.C.that is, six hundred years before Jesus came into the world to save us. At that time, as we have already said, they were beginning to forget the written texts of Moses, which he gave them about six hundred years earlier.
Thus, the Babylonian exile is situated almost midway between the beginning of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. It was at that point that things began to go awry for the Jews, and the Lord had to to send his son to die for us.
Other texts from the same period are those of Jeremiah and Daniel so that we have a lot of information about this period and we recognize it as one of the most important in our history.
Ezekiel 25 in English and large print
In our articles, we always put the full text after the video, in case you want to take a look at it without haste before reflecting on it and its context. So here you have Ezekiel 25 in English.
This is from the version of the Bible called King James Version It is in this version that the most faithful translations of the original Hebrew are found. Did you know?
Prophecy against Amon
1 The word of Jehovah came to me, saying:
2 Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon, and prophesy against them.
3 And thou shalt say unto the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, well, when my sanctuary was profaned, and the land of Israel was desolate, and the house of Judah carried away captive;
4 Therefore, behold, I will give thee to the men of the east for an inheritance, and they shall put their folds in thee, and plant their tents in thee; they shall eat thy seed, and drink thy milk.
5 And I will make Rabbah the habitation of camels, and the children of Ammon the fold of sheep; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast beaten thine hands, and stamped with thy foot, and rejoiced in thy soul with all thy contempt for the land of Israel,
7 Therefore, behold, I will stretch out my hand against thee, and will deliver thee unto the heathen to be plundered; I will cut thee off from among the people, and destroy thee out of the countries; I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD..
Prophecy against Moab
8 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because Moab and Seir said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations;
9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from the cities thereof that are in the border thereof, the pleasant land of Bethjesimoth, Baal-meon, and Kirjathaim.,
10 the children of the east against the children of Ammon; and I will give it for an inheritance, so that the children of Ammon shall no more be remembered among the nations.
11 I will also execute judgments in Moab, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Prophecy against Edom
12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because of that which Edom did, taking vengeance on the house of Judah, because they trespassed exceedingly, and took vengeance on them;
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will stretch out mine hand also upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it, and will make it desolate: from Teman even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword..
14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom in the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
Prophecy against the Philistines
15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because of that which the Philistines have done with vengeance, when they took vengeance with spitefulness of mind, destroying by ancient enmity;
16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand against the Philistines, and cut off the Cherethites, and will destroy the remnant that remaineth on the sea coast.
17 And I will wreak great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wreaked my vengeance on them.
Who was Ezekiel in the Bible?
To come to the point, Ezekiel is considered to be one of the 4 major prophets together with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel. This is because his works are longer than those of the minor prophets and, therefore, have much more content.
During his lifetime, Ezekiel saw the kingdom of Judah, the promised land to which Moses had brought them years before, invaded by the Babylonian empire and Jerusalem was left in ruins, including the temple.
Later many Jews were taken into exile, and it was there that Ezekiel began his prophetic mission. Its mission was to regaining faith in his compatriots, who had just received this punishment from God for turning away from the Holy Scriptures.
Ezekiel’s prophecies are characterized as images, metaphors and allegories, leaving room for one’s own interpretation.
Although not fully known, it is said that Ezekiel died a martyr’s death at the hands of a leader of his own people; although we cannot be entirely sure.
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel belongs to the Old Testament and you can find it together with the other books, before Daniel and after Lamentations if it is a Protestant Bible or Baruch if it is a Catholic Bible.
In the book, Ezekiel collects all his prophecies all his prophecies, and they are divided into three parts according to their themes: the first are prophecies against Judah, the second prophecies against foreign nations as is the case in chapter 25; and the third and last are prophecies of hope.
It is not strange that Ezekiel’s character deals with these issues because the Jewish people were not complying with the law of Moses and the Lord was to punish them. The same fate had to befall the neighboring nations, for they had always been enemies of God’s people.
Finally, towards the end of the exile, the Lord wants to show them that if they recover their faith, they will be saved. This is a typical process for anyone who at some point turns away from God; so we can all learn a lot from these texts.
For a better understanding the Book of Ezekiel In order to better understand the Book of Ezekiel, below you will be able to watch a short video with a very good explanation of the first 33 chapters of the book or, in other words, those that correspond to the prophecies of punishment and misfortunes.
Bible Study Ezekiel 25:17
Everything we wanted to tell you about Ezekiel and his work has been said so we are not going to make you wait any longer to understand the meaning of Ezekiel 25:17.
Four nations are mentioned throughout the chapter, Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. They all share one characteristic: they have been enemies of Israel from time immemorial.
The Lord is just and, if He punishes His people for not having faith and living without following the Word of God, He also punishes the enemies of His people who have not even considered the great power that He has.
It seems that the text gives us an image of God violent and vengeful, who acts on impulse and who can destroy humanity at will. However, this is due to the style in which Ezekiel wrote the book, and we can come up with other interpretations.
The end and the means of the Lord is always love and never anger, envy or violence. The Lord protects and helps those who decide to follow him, but he cannot prevent us humans, as the wandering beings that we are, from straying from the path as if we were stray sheep.
We are fruits of His creation, and He loves us so much that He lets us choose which option we take. Now, if we choose to turn away from Him, we will find ourselves in a difficult world and without His shield and protection it will probably be a disaster.
God will never abandon us and always lets us return under his arm and resume the path that enlightens us. What we call chastisement is nothing more than a teaching that obliges us to take up our faith again and always return to the Holy Scriptures.
In conclusion, it is not God’s punishment that prevents us from being happy, but rather our own actions that keep us away from Him.
Ezekiel 25:17 in Pulp Fiction
Now let’s get to the topic we’ve been mentioning throughout the article and why many readers have come this far. It is the following text:
“The path of the upright man is everywhere surrounded by the injustices of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is that shepherd who in the name of charity and good will leads the weak out of the valley of darkness, for he is his brother’s true keeper and the finder of lost children. And I assure you that I will come to punish with great vengeance and furious anger those who seek to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know that my name is Yahweh, when my vengeance falls upon you!”
As you can see, it differs quite a bit from the original Ezekiel 25:17 verse, but in the movie Pulp Fiction, this text appears named as if it were the aforementioned verse.
This film was released in 1994 and was directed by the well-known director Quentin Tarantino. It is a classic of the crime genre for many and featured famous actors such as John Travolta and Bruce Willis in its cast.
The fragment that we quoted at the beginning of this section was a phrase that one of the protagonists used before executing someone. Appears three times throughout the film.
Although it is different from the actual verse Ezekiel 25:17, parts of its meaning may be intended to be passed on, such as the punishment so that justice may be done being part of a greater purpose.
However, as Christians, we must know that our actions cannot be compared to God and that our concept of justice may be mistaken and not coincide with that of Our Lord.
Before judging acts on our own, we should search the Scriptures for what we can learn and let God act on His own. Judging, taking into account our fragile condition as sinners, is something that we cannot afford, let alone kill for it.
This has been the article on Ezekiel 25:17 with which we hope you have learned many things.
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See you next time!