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.’ ”
• 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.” ’ ”
• New Living Translation (NLT)The cities will be destroyed and the farmland made desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Context of Ezekiel 12:20

18"Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord." 21And the word of the Lord came to me: 22"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, 'The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing'?

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 vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 3:26And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.
• Isaiah 7:23In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns.
• Isaiah 24:3The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; 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 gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
• Jeremiah 16:9For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
• Jeremiah 19:11and shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury.
• Jeremiah 24:8"But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
• Jeremiah 25:9behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.
• Jeremiah 34:22Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant."
• Lamentations 5:18for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it.
• Daniel 9:17Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

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