Ezekiel 14:23
in Ezekiel 14They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all these things within it,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
KJV
And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.
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This verse in Ezekiel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseYe shall know that I have not done without cause - There is no part of the conduct of God towards man that is not dictated by the purest principles of justice, equity, and truth. He does nothing but what is right; and whatever is right to be done, that ought to be done. In God’s justice there is no severity; in God’s mercy there is no caprice. He alone doth all things well; for he is the Fountain of justice and mercy.
This site's exposition
My four dire judgments
on Ezekiel 14:21-23
The principle lands on Jerusalem, struck by “My four dire judgments” at once. Yet “some survivors will be left in it,” sons and daughters who come to the exiles. Their conduct will show the exiles “that it was not without cause that I have done all these things.”
This site's exposition
not without cause
The survivors from Jerusalem bring consolation, because their conduct and actions show the exiles why the LORD did all these things. Wesley reads the comfort as seeing God's righteousness. The ruin had its cause.
The record, by era
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 Awakening4 voices
Comfort you - That is, you will be comforted, when you compare their case with your own: when they tell you how righteous God was, in bringing these judgments upon them.
Note, It is a very comfortable sight to see people, when they are under the rod, repenting and humbling themselves, justifying God and accepting the punishment of their iniquity. When we sorrow (as we ought to do) for the afflictions of others, it is a great comfort to us in our sorrow to see them improving their afflictions and making a good use of them.
Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the L ORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v4-5
And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings,....
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִחֲמ֣וּ | venichamu | and they will comfort | H5162 → | 108 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִרְא֥וּ | tiru | you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דַּרְכָּ֖ם | darkam | conduct their | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑ם | alilotam | practices their | H5949 → | 24 times |
| וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם | vida'tem | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֨א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חִנָּ֤ם | chinam | without cause | H2600 → | |
| עָשִׂ֙יתִי֙ | ʾasiti | I have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשִׂ֣יתִי | ʾasiti | I have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בָ֔הּ | vah | in it | ||
| נְאֻ֖ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֥י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהֹוִֽה׃ פ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
וְנִחֲמ֣וּand they will comfort
venichamuH5162 →108 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִרְא֥וּyou will see
tiruH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דַּרְכָּ֖םconduct their
darkamH1870 →707 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֲלִֽילוֹתָ֑םpractices their
alilotamH5949 →24 times
וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗םand you will know
vida'temH3045 →945 times
כִּי֩that
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֨אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
חִנָּ֤םwithout cause
chinamH2600 →
עָשִׂ֙יתִי֙I have done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשִׂ֣יתִיI have done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
בָ֔הּin it
vah
נְאֻ֖ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֥י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהֹוִֽה׃ פYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 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
Daniel 9:14Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:7
To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You…
- Nehemiah 9:33
You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
- Jeremiah 44:27
I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are…
- Psalms 51:14
Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- Daniel 9:7
Through
Nehemiah 9:33You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:6
We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
- Daniel 9:5–14
we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.
- Genesis 18:25
Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the…
- Psalms 106:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.