Ezekiel 14:13
in Ezekiel 14“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast;
KJV
Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
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This verse in Ezekiel 14
Commentary
13 notes on this verseIt is not easy for God to pardon idolaters.… Ezekiel also denounces this wrath of God on those who sin against God. He says, "And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'son of man, when a land shall sin against me so as to transgress grievously, I will stretch forth my hand on it, and I will break the staff of the bread thereof; and I will send famine on it and destroy man and beast out of it.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 14:12-14
A new oracle states a case: “even if these three men” were in it, Noah, Daniel and Job, “their righteousness could deliver only themselves.” Gill takes Daniel as Ezekiel’s contemporary in Babylon, named again at 14:20 and 28:3. Not even proven righteousness averts a judgment on a whole land.
This site's exposition
cut off its supply of food
The Hebrew speaks of breaking the staff of bread, a curse from Leviticus 26:26 that Ezekiel used against Jerusalem at 4:16. Famine cuts off both man and beast. Henry notes that the LORD needs no sword to do it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Do you think it is true that the word applies not to the inhabitants of the earth but to the earth itself?
Thanks to the churches which reach to the limits of the world, the entire earth cries out with joy toward the God of Israel, and it is capable of good acts in its borders.
Even though it is a punishment of the mother to be sent into exile, to be deprived of her children or at least to see her children bound for another province, in the same sort of way our mother the earth is chastised for her sins by God when people and beast are removed from her.
As the experts in medical art put it, in order to perform certain healings in the body, it is necessary to inflict not only a cut but also a burn.
Those who are not healed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he baptizes with fire, because they are not able to be purified by the purification of the Holy Spirit.
5 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting treacherously, I will stretch out my hand (some versions add 'upon it') and break its staff of bread, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast. And if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver their own souls by their righteousness, declares the Lord of hosts.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The denying and withholding of common mercies is itself judgment enough, there needs no more to make a people miserable. God needs not bring the staff of oppression, it is but breaking the staff of bread and the work is soon done; he cuts off man and beast by cutting off the provisions which nature makes for both in the annual products of the earth.
): When the land sins against me, when vice and wickedness become epidemical, when the land sins by trespassing grievously, when the sinners have become very numerous and their sins very heinous, when gross impieties and immoralities universally prevail, then will I stretch forth my hand upon it, for the punishment of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
By trespassing grievously - Having been frequently warned, and having refused to leave their sin, and so filled up the measure of their iniquity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Noah, Daniel, and Job Because each of these three saw three worlds: Noah saw the world built up, destroyed, and rebuilt; and Danielthe Temple. Or himself: first a prince over all the princes, eventually cast into a lions’ den, and [ultimately] restored to his greatness.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֶ֚רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֶחֱטָא־ | techeta'- | it will sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לִי֙ | li | to me | ||
| לִמְעָל־ | limol- | by acting unfaithfully | H4603 → | 36 times |
| מַ֔עַל | maal | unfaithfulness | H4604 → | 28 times |
| וְנָטִ֤יתִי | venatiti | and I will stretch out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| יָדִי֙ | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עָלֶ֔יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְשָׁבַ֥רְתִּי | veshavarti | and I will break | H7665 → | 147 times |
| לָ֖הּ | lah | of it | ||
| מַטֵּה־ | mateh- | staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| לָ֑חֶם | lachem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּי־ | vehishlachti- | and I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| בָ֣הּ | vah | on it | ||
| רָעָ֔ב | raav | famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י | vehikhrati | and I will cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נָּה | mimenah | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אָדָ֥ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| וּבְהֵמָֽה׃ | uvehemah | and animal[s] | H929 → | 190 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֶ֚רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תֶחֱטָא־it will sin
techeta'-H2398 →238 times
לִי֙to me
li
לִמְעָל־by acting unfaithfully
limol-H4603 →36 times
מַ֔עַלunfaithfulness
maalH4604 →28 times
וְנָטִ֤יתִיand I will stretch out
venatitiH5186 →214 times
יָדִי֙hand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
עָלֶ֔יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
וְשָׁבַ֥רְתִּיand I will break
veshavartiH7665 →147 times
לָ֖הּof it
lah
מַטֵּה־staff of
mateh-H4294 →252 times
לָ֑חֶםbread
lachemH3899 →298 times
וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּי־and I will send
vehishlachti-H7971 →845 times
בָ֣הּon it
vah
רָעָ֔בfamine
raavH7458 →101 times
וְהִכְרַתִּ֥יand I will cut off
vehikhratiH3772 →288 times
מִמֶּ֖נָּהfrom it
mimenahH4480 →1188 times
אָדָ֥םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וּבְהֵמָֽה׃and animal[s]
uvehemahH929 →190 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 4:16Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:16
When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:26
When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Ezekiel 5:16
Through
Ezekiel 14:21For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:27
Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be…
- Ezekiel 5:17
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
- Ezekiel 33:27
Through
Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
it leads to
- Micah 6:14
You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.
- Psalms 105:16
He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- Micah 6:14
Through
Jeremiah 32:43And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:15
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
- Jeremiah 32:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Cyprian, Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom 5:4; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 4:1; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 4:3 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 5:1.