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 trembling and drink your water with anxious shaking. 19Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord God says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will become dreadful. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 21Again the word of the Lord came to me: 22“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, which goes, ‘The days keep passing by, 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, this is what the Lord God says, “Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 3:26Then her gates will lament and mourn; deserted, she will sit on the ground.
• Isaiah 7:23And on that day every place where there were a thousand vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers.
• Isaiah 24:3The earth will be stripped completely bare and will be totally plundered, for the Lord has spoken this message.
• Isaiah 64:10Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
• Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to make your land a waste. Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled my plot of land. They have turned my desirable plot into a desolate wasteland.
• Jeremiah 16:9For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.
• Jeremiah 19:11and you are to proclaim to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.
• Jeremiah 24:8“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the Lord says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.
• Jeremiah 25:9I am going to send for all the families of the north’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘and send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror and scorn, and ruins forever.
• Jeremiah 34:22I am about to give the command — this is the Lord’s declaration — and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it. I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”
• Lamentations 5:18because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate and has jackals prowling in it.
• Daniel 9:17Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake.

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