Ezekiel 14:16

Translations

Modern

…then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

Traditional

Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

Literal

…even if these three men were in its midst—as I live, a declaration of the Lord YHWH—neither the sons or daughters they could deliver! They alone would be delivered, and the land would become a desolation.

Latin

…tres viri isti si fuerint in ea, vivo ego, dicit Dominus Deus, quia nec filios nec filias liberabunt, sed ipsi soli liberabuntur, terra autem desolabitur.

Original

Hebrew

English

…then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

Notes

Ezekiel 14:12–20

Israel had not been treated unfairly. God did not judge Israel without reason. If any nation sinned against the Lord in this way, that nation would face the same result.
However, this passage clearly speaks about Israel. The words used to describe their sin also describe breaking the covenant (the binding promises between God and his people). Israel had broken this covenant. Because of that, the nation would rightly experience the covenant curses (the punishments promised for disobedience) listed in Leviticus 26. The people had agreed to these terms when the covenant was first made.
The covenant curses appear here in four test cases. Each case shows one of the judgments listed in Leviticus 26:
1. Famine (a severe lack of food), as described in Ezekiel 14:13–14 and Leviticus 26:26.
2. Wild animals attacking the land, as described in Ezekiel 14:15–16 and Leviticus 26:22.
3. War, as described in Ezekiel 14:17–18 and Leviticus 26:25.
4. Disease, as described in Ezekiel 14:19–20 and Leviticus 26:25.
These examples show that Israel’s suffering was not random. It was the direct result of breaking the covenant with the Lord.

Theme notes and profiles

Noah God’s Covenant with Noah

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Genesis 19:29
So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that destroyed the cities where he had lived.
Ezekiel 18:20
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
Genesis 18:23–33
Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Acts 27:24
…and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
Ezekiel 14:20
…then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
Numbers 14:28–29
So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.
Ezekiel 14:14
…then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:18
…then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered.
Job 22:20
‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’
Matthew 18:19–20
Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

People

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Glossary

Daniel (Person) Ezekiel, Book of Job (Person) Noah

Topics

Intercession: Intercessional Influence of the Righteous

Ezekiel 14:16

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