Ezekiel 7:14-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 They have blown the horn and made everything ready,
but no one goes to battle,
for my wrath is upon all their multitude.
15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside;
those in the field die by the sword;
those in the city—famine and pestilence devour them.(A)
16 If any survivors escape,
they shall be found on the mountains
like doves of the valleys,
all of them moaning over their iniquity.(B)
17 All hands shall grow feeble,
all knees turn to water.(C)
18 They shall put on sackcloth;
horror shall cover them.
Shame shall be on all faces,
baldness on all their heads.(D)
19 They shall fling their silver into the streets;
their gold shall be treated as unclean.
Their silver and gold cannot save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.(E)
Read full chapter
Ezekiel 7:14-19
New English Translation
14 “They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd.[a] 15 The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city. 16 Their survivors will escape to the mountains and become like doves of the valleys[b] ; all of them will moan—each one for his iniquity. 17 All their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine.[c] 18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved bald.[d] 19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth.[e] Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury.[f] They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth[g] was the obstacle leading to their iniquity.[h]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 7:14 tn The Hebrew word refers to the din or noise made by a crowd, and by extension may refer to the crowd itself.
- Ezekiel 7:16 sn The simile compares doves that flee their valley home for the mountains, where they coo in mournful discomfort. For doves moaning or mourning see Isa 38:14; 59:11; Ezek 7:16 and Nah 2:7.
- Ezekiel 7:17 tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.
- Ezekiel 7:18 tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”
- Ezekiel 7:19 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
- Ezekiel 7:19 sn Cf. Zeph 1:18.
- Ezekiel 7:19 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
- Ezekiel 7:19 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.