Ezekiel 14:17

Contemporary English Version

Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Or suppose I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I wipe out both man and animal from it.

Hebrew Names Version
Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and animal;

King James Version
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:

English Standard Version
"Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast,

New American Standard Bible
"Or if I were to bring a sword on that country and say, 'A sword is to pass through the country,' and I eliminated human and animal life from it,

New Century Version
"Or I might bring a war against that country. I might say, ‘Let a war be fought in that land,' in this way destroying its people and its animals.

Amplified Bible
"Or if I were to bring a sword on that land and say, 'Let a sword go through the land and cut off man and animal from it,'

World English Bible
Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and animal;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Or if I bring a sworde vpon this land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I destroy man and beast out of it,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Or if I should bring a sword on that country and say, 'Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and beast from it,'

Legacy Standard Bible
Or if I should bring a sword on that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and beast from it,'

Berean Standard Bible
Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, 'Let a sword pass through it,' so that I cut off from it both man and beast,

Complete Jewish Bible
"Or if I bring the sword down on that land, saying, ‘Let the sword pass through the land,' so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals;

Darby Translation
Or [if] I bring the sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it,

Easy-to-Read Version
"Or I might send an enemy army to fight against that country. The soldiers would destroy that country—I would remove all the people and animals from that country.

George Lamsa Translation
Or if I should bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through that land, and I destroy man and beast from it;

Good News Translation
"Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike,

Lexham English Bible
Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, ‘Sword, let it cross over into the land!' And I will cut off from it both human and animal.

Literal Translation
Or if I bring a sword on that land and say, Let a sword go through the land, and I will cut off man and beast from it;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Or, yf I bringe a swearde in to the londe, and charge it to go thorow the londe: so that I slaye downe man and beest in it,

American Standard Version
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast;

Bible in Basic English
Or if I send a sword against that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, cutting off from it man and beast:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say: Let the sword go through the land, so that I cut off from it man and beast;

King James Version (1611)
Or if I bring a sword vpon that land, and say, Sword, goe through the lande, so that I cut off man and beast from it:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Or if I bryng a sworde vpon this lande, and say, sworde go through the lande, so that I slay downe man and beast in it,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Or again if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Let the sword go through the land; and I cut off from them man and beast:

English Revised Version
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ethir if Y brynge in swerd on that lond, and Y seie to the swerd, Passe thou thorouy the lond, and Y sle of it man and beeste,

Update Bible Version
Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast;

Webster's Bible Translation
Or [if] I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:

New English Translation
"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.

New King James Version
"Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, "Sword, go through the land,' and I cut off man and beast from it,

New Living Translation
"Or suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I sent enemy armies to destroy both people and animals.

New Life Bible
If I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and animal from it,'

New Revised Standard
Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, "Let a sword pass through the land," and I cut off human beings and animals from it;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Or, a sword, I should bring upon that land, and should say. O sword! thou shalt go through the land, and so I should cut off therefrom, man and beast,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Or if I bring the sword upon that land, and say to the sword: Pass through the land: and I destroy man and beast out of it:

Revised Standard Version
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Let a sword go through the land; and I cut off from it man and beast;

Young's Literal Translation
`Or -- a sword I bring in against that land, and I have said: Sword, thou dost pass over through the land, and I have cut off from it man and beast --

THE MESSAGE
"Or, if I bring war on that country and give the order, ‘Let the killing begin!' leaving both people and animals dead, even if those three men were alive at the time, as sure as I am the living God, neither sons nor daughters would be rescued, but only these three.

Contextual Overview

¹² The Lord God said: ¹³ Ezekiel, son of man, suppose an entire nation sins against me, and I punish it by destroying the crops and letting its people and livestock starve to death. ¹⁴ Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living in that nation, their faithfulness would not save anyone but themselves. ¹⁵ Or suppose I punish a nation by sending wild animals to eat people and scare away every passerby, so that the land becomes a barren desert. ¹⁶ As surely as I live, I promise that even if these three men lived in that nation, their own children would not be spared. The three men would live, but the land would be an empty desert. ¹⁷ Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock. ¹⁸ If these three men were in that nation when I punished it, not even their children would be spared. Only the three men would live. ¹⁹ And suppose I am so angry that I send a deadly disease to wipe out the people and livestock of a sinful nation. ²⁰ Again, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, I, the Lord , promise that the children of these faithful men would also die. Only the three of them would be spared. ²¹ I am the Lord God, and I promise to punish Jerusalem severely. I will send war, starvation, wild animals, and deadly disease to slaughter its people and livestock.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I bring: Ezekiel 5:12, Ezekiel 5:17, Ezekiel 21:3, Ezekiel 21:4, Ezekiel 21:9-15, Ezekiel 29:8, Ezekiel 38:21, Ezekiel 38:22, Leviticus 26:25, Jeremiah 25:9, Jeremiah 47:6

so that: Ezekiel 14:13, Ezekiel 25:13, Jeremiah 33:12, Hosea 4:3, Zephaniah 1:3

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:6 - shall the sword Isaiah 65:12 - will I Jeremiah 5:10 - ye up Jeremiah 9:16 - and I Jeremiah 12:12 - the sword Jeremiah 21:6 - I will Jeremiah 25:29 - I will Jeremiah 34:17 - to the sword Jeremiah 47:7 - the Lord Ezekiel 12:14 - I will draw Ezekiel 14:21 - my four Ezekiel 21:16 - Go Ezekiel 33:2 - When I bring the sword upon a land Matthew 8:9 - Go Matthew 24:6 - ye shall hear

Cross-References

Judges 11:34
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, the first one to meet him was his daughter. She was playing a tambourine and dancing to celebrate his victory, and she was his only child.

1 Samuel 18:6
David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were singing happy songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps.

2 Samuel 18:18
When Absalom was alive, he had set up a stone monument for himself in King's Valley. He explained, "I don't have any sons to keep my name alive." He called it Absalom's Monument, and that is the name it still has today.

Proverbs 14:20
You have no friends if you are poor, but you have lots of friends if you are rich.

Proverbs 19:4
The rich have many friends; the poor have none.

Hebrews 7:1
Melchizedek was both king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He was the one who went out and gave Abraham his blessing, when Abraham returned from killing the kings.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Or [if] I bring a sword upon that land,.... The land which had grievously sinned; the same land into which a famine should come, and through which evil beasts should pass; to which, if the Lord should add, as he would, a third judgment, the sword; suffer a foreign enemy to come in among them, and destroy them. So the Targum,

"or if those that slay with the sword I should bring upon that land;''

the Chaldean army, as he did; the sword has its commission from God; war is not by chance; the invasion of a foreign enemy is from the Lord; and all the mischiefs and ravages of a tumultuous army are all by divine order:

and say, sword, go through the land; not only enter the borders of it, or proceed far in it, but even go through it; which is terrible indeed! but if the Lord bids it go, it must go, and does; it is a servant of his, and punctually obeys his commands; that is, such are those that use it, however profane and wicked they may be in themselves, as generally armies consist of dissolute persons; yet these are under a divine direction, and are obedient to the will of God, though they may know it not. So the Targum,

"and I say that they that kill with the sword pass through the land:''

so that I cut off man and beast from it; by the sword; the one being destroyed as an enemy, the other for food.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Jeremiah 14:0; Jeremiah 15:0 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied.

(1) Can God cast out a people who are holy unto Himself?

(2) Is it just to punish them with utter desolation?

The prophet answers:

(1) That when a people is so corrupt as to call down national judgment, individual piety shall save none but the individuals themselves.

(2) The corrupt condition of the people shall be made so manifest, that none will question the justice of God in dealing thus severely with them.

Ezekiel 14:12

Or, “When a land” - the case is first put in a general form, and then ism brought with increased force home to Jerusalem - “sinneth against me by trespassing grievously,” and I stretch out “mine hand upon it,” and break the staff of bread “thereof,” and send famine “upon it and” cut off “man and beast: though these three men” etc.

Ezekiel 14:14

Noah, Daniel, and Job - Three striking instances of men who, for their integrity, were delivered from the ruin which fell upon others. Some have thought it strange that Daniel, a contemporary, and still young, should have been classed with the two ancient worthies. But the account of him Daniel 2:0 shows, that by this time Daniel was a very remarkable man (compare Ezekiel 28:3), and the introduction of the name of a contemporary gives force and life to the illustration. There is in the order in which the names occur a kind of climax. Noah did not rescue the guilty world, but did carry forth with him his wife, sons, and sons’ wives. Daniel raised only a few, but he did raise three of his countrymen with him to honor. To Job was spared neither son nor daughter.

Ezekiel 14:22, Ezekiel 14:23

Ye shall be comforted ... - By a truer estimate of the dispensations of the Almighty. This visitation will be recognized as inevitable and just.