Ezekiel 14:18

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.

Traditional

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

Literal

…even if these three men were in the midst of it—as I live, a declaration of the Lord YHWH—they could not deliver the sons and daughters, but they themselves alone would be delivered.

Latin

…et tres viri isti fuerint in medio ejus: vivo ego, dicit Dominus Deus, non liberabunt filios neque filias, sed ipsi soli liberabuntur.

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.

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.