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Ezekiel 14:17

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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,

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Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentaryv. 17

Hearing the word, and prayer, are two great ordinances of God, in which we are to give honour to him and may hope to find favour and acceptance with him; and yet in this chapter, to our great surprise, we find some waiting upon God in the one and some in the other and yet not meeting with success as they expected. I. The elders of Israel come to hear the word, and enquire of the prophet, but, because they are not duly qualified, they meet with a rebuke instead of acceptance (Eze 14:1-5) and are called upon to repent of their sins and reform their lives, else it is at their peril to enquire of God (Eze 14:6-11). II. Noah, Daniel, and Job, are supposed to pray for this people, and yet, because the decree has gone forth, and the destruction of them is determined by a variety of judgments, their prayers shall not be answered (Eze 14:12-21). And yet it is promised, in the close, that a remnant shall escape (Eze 14:22, Eze 14:23).

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Original language

The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).

Strong's Concordancev. 17

בּוֹא (bôwʼ, H935) — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) חֶרֶב (chereb, H2719) — drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or… אֶרֶץ (ʼerets, H776) — the earth (at large, or partitively a land) אָמַר (ʼâmar, H559) — to say (used with great latitude) עָבַר (ʻâbar, H5674) — to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive,… כָּרַת (kârath, H3772) — to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to… אָדָם (ʼâdâm, H120) — ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.) בְּהֵמָה (bᵉhêmâh, H929) — properly, a dumb beast; especially any large quadruped or animal (often collective)

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Cross-references

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Leviticus 26:25rank 6

And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Zephaniah 1:3rank 5

“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 5:12rank 5

A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.

Ezekiel 14:13rank 4

“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,

Jeremiah 47:6rank 4

‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’

Ezekiel 25:13rank 4

therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

Jeremiah 25:9rank 2

behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

Ezekiel 5:17rank 2

I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Jeremiah 33:12rank 2

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: In this desolate place, without man or beast, and in all its cities, there will once more be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.

Ezekiel 29:8rank 2

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.

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