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 quivering and anxiety. 19Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord God says 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 of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it. The inhabited cities will be in ruins, and the land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the Lord.”’” 21Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 22“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about 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

• The inhabitedיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• will be in ruinsחָרֵבchârab chârêb · to destroyH2717
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• will be a desolationשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• So you will knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• that I am the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Ezekiel 12:20

• Ezekiel 15:6Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘As 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 will lament and mourn, And she will sit deserted on the ground.
• Isaiah 7:23And it will come about on that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns.
• Isaiah 24:3The earth will be completely laid waste and completely 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, And 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 an inhabitant.
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness.
• Jeremiah 16:9For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
• Jeremiah 19:11and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “To the same extent I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury their dead in Topheth, because there is no other place for burial.
• Jeremiah 24:8‘But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of Egypt.
• Jeremiah 25:9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins.
• Jeremiah 34:22Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”
• Lamentations 5:18Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Jackals prowl in it.
• Daniel 9:17So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for Your sake, Lord, 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