God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 5:12
12One-third of you will die in plagues and be devoured in famines. Another third will die in battles against those around you. I will scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will pursue them with a sword.
Ezekiel 5:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
- New International Version (NIV)A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Context of Ezekiel 5:12
10That is why parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter whoever is left to the wind. 11“As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, because you have dishonored my holy worship place with all your disgusting and detestable things, I will have you killed. I will not have compassion for you or feel sorry for you. One-third of you will die in plagues and be devoured in famines. Another third will die in battles against those around you. I will scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will pursue them with a sword. 13“I will unleash my anger. I will use my fury against you, and I will get revenge. When my fury is unleashed against you, you will know that I, the Lord, spoke to you while I was angry. 14I will turn you into a wasteland and an object of ridicule among the nations around you and in the presence of everyone who passes by you.
Read all of Ezekiel 5Ezekiel 5:12 word by word
שְׁלִשִׁתֵ֞יךְ בַּדֶּ֣בֶר יָמ֗וּתוּ וּבָֽרָעָב֙ יִכְל֣וּ בְתוֹכֵ֔ךְ וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔ית בַּחֶ֖רֶב יִפְּל֣וּ סְבִיבוֹתָ֑יִךְ וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית֙ לְכָל־ר֣וּחַ אֱזָרֶ֔ה וְחֶ֖רֶב אָרִ֥יק אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- A third partשְׁלִישִׁיshelîyshîy · thirdH7992
- of thee shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- with the pestilenceדֶּ֫בֶרdeber · pestilenceH1698
- and with famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- shall they be consumedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- shall fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: killH5307
- by the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
- thee; and I will scatterזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
- into all the windsרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
- and I will draw outרִיקrûq · to emptyH7324
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
Cross-references for Ezekiel 5:12
- Ezekiel 5:2When the blockade is over, burn one-third of your hair in a fire in the middle of the city. Take another third, and cut it up with a blade around the city. Then scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will draw a sword and go after it.
- Ezekiel 6:12Plagues will kill those who are far away. Those who are near will die in wars, and anyone who is left and has escaped will die in famines. This is how I will unleash my anger.
- Jeremiah 15:2When they ask you where they should go, say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: Those who are destined to die will die. Those who are destined to die in wars will die in wars. Those who are destined to die in famines will die in famines. Those who are destined to die in captivity will die in captivity.’
- Jeremiah 21:9Those who live in this city will die in the war, famine, or plague. Those of you who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. You will escape with your lives.
- Zechariah 13:7“Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend,” declares the Lord of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
- Ezekiel 6:8“ ‘But I will let some people live. Some people will escape the battle among the nations and be scattered throughout the countries.
- Jeremiah 9:16I will scatter them among nations that they and their ancestors haven’t heard of. I will send armies after them until I’ve wiped them out.
- Zechariah 7:14I used a windstorm to scatter them among all the nations, nations they hadn’t even heard of. They left behind a land so ruined that no one is able to travel through it. They have turned a pleasant land into a wasteland.”
- Ezekiel 12:14I will scatter in every direction all those who are around him—his staff and all his troops. I will pursue them with my sword.
- Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations. War will follow you. Your country will be in ruins. Your cities will be deserted.
- Deuteronomy 28:65Among those nations you will find no peace, no place to call your own. There the Lord will give you an unsettled mind, failing eyesight, and despair.
- Jeremiah 42:16Then the wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt. The famines you dread will follow you to Egypt, and you will die there.
- Jeremiah 43:10Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will set his throne over these stones that I buried, and I will spread his royal canopy above them.
- Jeremiah 44:27I am going to watch over them. I am going to watch over them to bring disasters, not blessings. In Egypt the people from Judah will die in wars and famines until everyone is gone.
- Amos 9:4Even if they go into exile ahead of their enemies, I will command a sword to kill them. I will keep my eyes on them so that I can bring disaster on them and not help them.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 5:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12A third part of thee - See the note on Ezekiel 5:1-4; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The judgments Ezekiel 5:12-17 of “famine, pestilence,” and the “sword,” were precisely those which attended the coming siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:2 ff). The “drawing out the sword after them” indicates that the anger of God will follow them even to the land of their exile (compare Jeremiah 42:19-22; Leviticus 26:25), and that the horrors of the Babylonian siege are but the beginning of the sorrows of the nation.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-17Verses 5-17 The sentence passed upon Jerusalem is very dreadful, the manner of expression makes it still more so. Who is able to stand in God's sight when he is angry? Those who live and die impenitent, will perish for ever unpitied; there is a day coming when the Lord will not spare. Let not persons or churches, who change the Lord's statutes, expect to escape the doom of Jerusalem. Let us endeavour to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-13The covenant (the binding promise relationship) between God and his people forms the foundation of Ezekiel’s messages. When Ezekiel listed the charges against the Israelites, he used the same language as the covenant made at Mount Sinai. That covenant was later renewed in the book of Deuteronomy. The people refused to obey God’s decrees and regulations (his laws and commands). They also worshiped detestable idols (false gods that God hates). These idols…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Statement in plain terms of what was intended by the symbols (Eze 5:2; see Eze 6:12; Jr 15:2; 21:9). draw out ... sword after them--(Le 26:33). Skeptics object; no such thing happened under Zedekiah, as is here foretold; namely, that a third part of the nation should die by pestilence, a third part by the sword, and a third be scattered unto all winds, and a sword sent after them. But the prophecy is not restricted to Zedekiah's time. It includes all…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 5:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 5
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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