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Ezekiel 20:47

in Ezekiel 20

Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

and say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby.

KJV

And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

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This verse in Ezekiel 20

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

I will kindle a fire - I will send war, “and it shall devour every green tree,” the most eminent and substantial of the inhabitants; and every dry tree, the lowest and meanest also. The flaming flame shall not be quenched - The fierce ravages of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans shall not be stopped till the whole land is ruined. All faces from the south to the north shalt be burned - From the one end of the land to the other there shall be nothing but fear, dismay, terror, and confusion, occasioned by the wide-wasting violence of the Chaldeans.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 45 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field. And say to the forest of the south: Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The occasion of the message which we have in this chapter. That sermon which we had ch. xviii. was occasioned by their presumptuous reflections upon God; this was occasioned by their hypocritical enquiries after him. This prophecy is exactly dated, in the seventh year of the captivity, about two years after Ezekiel began to prophesy.
And say to the forest of the south,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

fire--every kind of judgment (Eze 19:12; Jer 21:14). green tree . . . dry--fit and unfit materials for fuel alike; "the righteous and the wicked," as explained in Eze 21:3, 4; Unsparing universality of the judgment! flaming flame--one continued and unextinguished flame.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

32 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙and you will say

    veamartaH559 →5305 times

  • לְיַ֣עַרto [the] forest of

    leyaarH3293 →59 times

  • הַנֶּ֔גֶבthe south

    hanegevH5045 →112 times

  • שְׁמַ֖עhear

    shema'H8085 →1159 times

  • דְּבַר־[the] word of

    devar-H1697 →1440 times

  • יְהוָ֑הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֣רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord

    ʾadonaiH136 →440 times

  • יְהוִ֡הYahweh

    yahwehH3069 →306 times

  • הִנְנִ֣יhere I

    hiniH2005 →316 times

  • מַֽצִּית־[am] about to kindle

    matzit-H3341 →

  • בְּךָ֣׀in you

    bekha

  • אֵ֡שׁa fire

    ʾeshH784 →378 times

  • וְאָכְלָ֣הand it will consume

    veakhelahH398 →810 times

  • בְךָ֣in you

    vekha

  • כָל־every

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • עֵֽץ־tree

    ʾetz-H6086 →328 times

  • לַח֩moist

    lachH3892 →

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • עֵ֨ץtree

    ʾetzH6086 →328 times

  • יָבֵ֤שׁdry

    yaveshH3002 →10 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • תִכְבֶּה֙it will be extinguished

    tikhbehH3518 →24 times

  • לַהֶ֣בֶת[the] flame of

    lahevetH3852 →

  • שַׁלְהֶ֔בֶתflame

    shalhevetH7957 →

  • וְנִצְרְבוּ־and they will be scorched

    venitzrevu-H6866 →

  • בָ֥הּby it

    vah

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • פָּנִ֖יםfaces

    panimH6440 →2123 times

  • מִנֶּ֥גֶבfrom [the] south

    minegevH5045 →112 times

  • צָפֽוֹנָה׃[the] north towards

    tzafonahH6828 →153 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 21:14I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”6 worksEzekiel 21:4Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.5 worksIsaiah 24:1–6Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—3 worksLuke 23:31For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”3 worksEzekiel 17:24Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”3 worksIsaiah 9:18–19For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows of smoke.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 21:10it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.3 worksIsaiah 30:33For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.2 worksEzekiel 19:14Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”2 worksEzekiel 21:3–4and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.2 worksEzekiel 15:6–7Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.2 worksDeuteronomy 32:22For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.2 worksIsaiah 66:24“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”2 worksMark 9:43–49If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.2 worksEzekiel 22:20–21Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.2 worksIsaiah 13:8Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.2 worksEzekiel 21:15So that their hearts may melt and many may stumble, I have appointed at all their gates a sword for slaughter. Yes, it is ready to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.2 worksEzekiel 24:5Take the choicest of the flock and pile the fuel beneath it. Bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 17:24

    Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make…

    it leads to

    • Amos 9:11

      “In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,

    • 1 Corinthians 1:27–28

      But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

  • Through

    Luke 23:31

    For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 4:17–18

      For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

    • John 15:6

      If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

    • Proverbs 11:31

      If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

  • Through

    Jeremiah 21:14

    I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 3:10–11

      Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

    • Proverbs 1:31

      So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

    • Jeremiah 32:19

      the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit…

Where this verse is studied

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezekiel 20 →