New International Version
Ezekiel 5:12
12A 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A third of your people will die in the city from disease and famine. A third of them will be slaughtered by the enemy outside the city walls. And I will scatter a third to the winds, chasing them with my sword.
Context of Ezekiel 5:12
10Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. 11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. 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. 13“Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. 14“I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
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 days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.
- Ezekiel 6:12One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath on them.
- Jeremiah 15:2And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “ ‘Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.’
- Jeremiah 21:9Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- Ezekiel 6:8“ ‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.
- Jeremiah 9:16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”
- Zechariah 7:14‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ ”
- Ezekiel 12:14I will scatter to the winds all those around him—his staff and all his troops—and I will pursue them with drawn sword.
- Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
- Deuteronomy 28:65Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.
- Jeremiah 42:16then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.
- Jeremiah 43:10Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them.
- Jeremiah 44:27For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.
- Amos 9:4Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. “I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good.”
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries