Ezekiel 12:20

Ezekiel 12:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Context of Ezekiel 12:20

18“Son of man, eat your bread with anxiety, and drink your water with trembling and with fear. 19Then say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped and looted of its fullness because of the violence of all those who live in it. The cities that are inhabited will be in ruins and the land will be deserted; and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.” ’ ” 21Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are long and every vision fails’?

Ezekiel 12:20 word by word

וְהֶעָרִ֤ים הַנּֽוֹשָׁבוֹת֙ תֶּחֱרַ֔בְנָה וְהָאָ֖רֶץ שְׁמָמָ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֑ה וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• that are inhabitedיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• shall be laid wasteחָרֵבchârab chârêb · to destroyH2717
• and the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• shall be desolateשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• and ye shall knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Ezekiel 12:20

• Ezekiel 15:6Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Like the wood of the grapevine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the people of Jerusalem;
• Isaiah 3:26And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead]; And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.
• Isaiah 7:23And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briars and thorns.
• Isaiah 24:3The earth will be completely laid waste and utterly pillaged, for the Lord has spoken this word.
• Isaiah 64:10Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
• Jeremiah 4:7A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant.
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah), They have trampled My field underfoot; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness.
• Jeremiah 16:9For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and the shout of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
• Jeremiah 19:11and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “This is the way I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it cannot be mended. They will bury [corpses] in Topheth until there is no more room left [in that place] to bury [the dead].
• Jeremiah 24:8‘And as for the bad figs, which are so rotten that they cannot be eaten,’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and those who live in the land of Egypt.
• Jeremiah 25:9behold (hear this), I will send for all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant [to enact My plan], and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing [that is, an object of warning and ridicule] and an everlasting desolation.
• Jeremiah 34:22Behold, I am going to command [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon],’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and set it on fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”
• Lamentations 5:18As for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, Foxes and the jackals prowl over it.
• Daniel 9:17Now therefore, our God, listen to (heed) the prayer of Your servant (Daniel) and his supplications, and for Your own sake let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 12:20

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 The prophet must eat and drink in care and fear, with trembling, that he might express the condition of those in Jerusalem during the siege. When ministers speak of the ruin coming upon sinners, they must speak as those that know the terrors of the Lord. Afflictions are happy ones, however grievous to flesh and blood, that improve us in the knowledge of God.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-20Ezekiel trembled and shook while he ate and drank. This was a sign act, a symbolic action that showed God’s message. His shaking showed the fear and anxiety of the people living in Jerusalem and Judah. They would see that destruction was coming and that they could not escape it. Later, the exiles would hear that their homeland had been destroyed. Then they would understand something important. They were not rejected by God. Instead, they were the ones who…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. the cities--left in Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem.Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 12:20

• Instruction
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Carefulness
• Ezekiel
• Zedekiah (2)

Commentaries on Ezekiel 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings