Ezekiel 14:21
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
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).
Open source ↗14:21 Jerusalem was worse off than the hypothetical country of 14:12-20 in two respects. First, Jerusalem did not have Noah, Daniel, and Job; instead, the city was filled with unrighteous people. Second, it would not be hit with one single judgment plague but with all four of these dreadful punishments at once. It is therefore not surprising that all her people and animals would be destroyed.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.
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.”
“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,
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,
Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,
Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast,
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.