Ezekiel 14:12-23
New English Translation
12 The Lord’s message came to me: 13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply,[a] cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel,[b] and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.
17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 18 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters—they would save only their own lives.
19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments—sword, famine, wild animals, and plague—to Jerusalem to kill both people and animals! 22 Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem—for everything I brought on it. 23 They will console you when you see their behavior and their deeds, because you will know that it was not without reason that I have done everything that I have done in it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 14:13 tn Heb “break its staff of bread.”
- Ezekiel 14:14 sn Traditionally this has been understood as a reference to the biblical Daniel, though he was still quite young when Ezekiel prophesied. One wonders if he had developed a reputation as an intercessor by this point. For this reason some prefer to see a reference to a ruler named Danel, known in Canaanite legend for his justice and wisdom. In this case all three of the individuals named would be non-Israelites, however the Ugaritic Danel is not known to have qualities of faith in the Lord that would place him in the company of the other men. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:447-50.
Ezekiel 14:12-23
Christian Standard Bible
Four Devastating Judgments
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, suppose a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its supply of bread,(A) to send famine through it, and to wipe out both people and animals from it. 14 Even if these three men(B)—Noah,(C) Daniel,(D) and Job(E)—were in it, they would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15 “Suppose I allow dangerous animals(F) to pass through the land and depopulate it so that it becomes desolate, with no one passing through it for fear of the animals. 16 Even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not rescue their sons or daughters. They alone would be rescued, but the land would be desolate.(G)
17 “Or suppose I bring a sword(H) against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I wipe out both people and animals from it.(I) 18 Even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not rescue their sons or daughters, but they alone would be rescued.
19 “Or suppose I send a plague into that land(J) and pour out my wrath on it with bloodshed to wipe out both people and animals from it. 20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not rescue their son or daughter. They would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Lord God says: How much worse will it be when I send my four(K) devastating judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague—in order to wipe out both people and animals from it! 22 Even so, there will be survivors left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. Indeed, they will come out to you, and you will observe their conduct and actions.(L) Then you will be consoled about the devastation I have brought on Jerusalem, about all I have brought on it. 23 They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done what I did to it.”(M) This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Read full chapterNET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.