New Living Translation
Ezekiel 5:12
12A 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.
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
10Parents will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter to the winds the few who survive. 11“As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will cut you off completely. I will show you no pity at all because you have defiled my Temple with your vile images and detestable sins. 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. 13Then at last my anger will be spent, and I will be satisfied. And when my fury against them has subsided, all Israel will know that I, the Lord, have spoken to them in my jealous anger. 14“So I will turn you into a ruin, a mockery in the eyes of the surrounding nations and to 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 5:2Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After acting out the siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and chop it with a sword. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will scatter my people with the sword.
- Ezekiel 6:12Disease will strike down those who are far away in exile. War will destroy those who are nearby. And anyone who survives will be killed by famine. So at last I will spend my fury on them.
- Jeremiah 15:2And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
- Jeremiah 21:9Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life!
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.
- Ezekiel 6:8“But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world.
- Jeremiah 9:16I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.”
- Zechariah 7:14As with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the distant nations, where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. They turned their pleasant land into a desert.”
- Ezekiel 12:14I will scatter his servants and warriors to the four winds and send the sword after them.
- Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins.
- Deuteronomy 28:65There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.
- Jeremiah 42:16the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.
- Jeremiah 43:10Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.
- Jeremiah 44:27For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.
- Amos 9:4Even if their enemies drive them into exile, I will command the sword to kill them there. I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to 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
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