Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness

¹² The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ¹³ “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its ^(A)supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. ^14 (B)Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves ^(C)by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “If I cause ^(D)wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ^[a]empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ even ^(E)though these three men were ^[b]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be ^(F)desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if ^(G)I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I ^(H)cut off man and beast from it, ¹⁸ even ^(I)though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

¹⁹ “Or if I send ^(J)a pestilence into that land and ^(K)pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even ^(L)though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when ^(M)I send My four ^[c]severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? ^22 (N)Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be ^(O)brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and ^(P)you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. ²³ And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing ^(Q)without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.