Ezekiel 33:28
in Ezekiel 33I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.
KJV
For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe foregoing verses spoke conviction to the Jews who remained in the land of Israel, who were monuments of sparing mercy and yet returned not to the Lord; in these verses those are reproved who were now in captivity in Babylon, under divine rebukes, and yet were not reformed by them. They are not indeed charged with the same gross enormities that the others are charged with.
This site's exposition
those in the ruins will fall by the sword
on Ezekiel 33:27-29
The sentence answers the claim of verse 24: the sword for “those in the ruins”, wild animals for the open field, and plague. Verse 28 extends the desolation to the land. Henry marks verse 29, “Then they will know that I am the LORD”, as the formula closing the unit.
This site's exposition
the pride of her strength will
The same phrase stood over Egypt at 30:18. Judah's pride receives the sentence the nations received. The desolate mountains of Israel are promised new life and new people in 36:8-11.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After Jerusalem was captured and the temple destroyed, the poor of the land, of whom Jeremiah writes, were left alone in Jerusalem to cultivate vineyards and fields and to dwell in the ruins of the burned city. And although they should have repented for the reasons for their captivity, they deceived themselves with empty hope, saying: Our father Abraham was one, and yet he possessed this land as an inheritance, not because he himself possessed it, but because his descendants received the land of promise. If, therefore, he alone was multiplied into so many peoples, we who are left behind in the land of Judea, and dwell in desolate and ruined cities, will certainly be multiplied much more, so that we may possess more than he possessed alone.
(Verse 23 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, those who dwell in these ruined places in the land of Israel speak, saying: Abraham was one, and he possessed the land; but we are many, the land has been given to us as a possession. Therefore, you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You who eat with blood and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood, shall you inherit the land?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For I will lay the land most desolate,....
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֤י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שְׁמָמָ֣ה | shemamah | a desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
| וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה | umeshamah | and a waste | H4923 → | 7 times |
| וְנִשְׁבַּ֖ת | venishbat | and it will cease | H7673 → | 71 times |
| גְּא֣וֹן | geon | [the] pride of | H1347 → | 49 times |
| עֻזָּ֑הּ | ʾuzah | strength its | H5797 → | 92 times |
| וְשָֽׁמְמ֛וּ | veshamemu | and they will be desolate | H8074 → | 86 times |
| הָרֵ֥י | harei | [the] mountains of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ין | meein | from not | H369 → | 789 times |
| עוֹבֵֽר׃ | over | [one who] passes by | H5674 → | 556 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֤יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
שְׁמָמָ֣הa desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 times
וּמְשַׁמָּ֔הand a waste
umeshamahH4923 →7 times
וְנִשְׁבַּ֖תand it will cease
venishbatH7673 →71 times
גְּא֣וֹן[the] pride of
geonH1347 →49 times
עֻזָּ֑הּstrength its
ʾuzahH5797 →92 times
וְשָֽׁמְמ֛וּand they will be desolate
veshamemuH8074 →86 times
הָרֵ֥י[the] mountains of
hareiH2022 →546 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאֵ֥יןfrom not
meeinH369 →789 times
עוֹבֵֽר׃[one who] passes by
overH5674 →556 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
Micah 7:13Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:11
And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 3:10–11
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Jeremiah 25:11
Through
Ezekiel 6:14I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
- Isaiah 5:25
Through
Ezekiel 24:21Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:47
The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
- Psalms 27:4
One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the…
- Jeremiah 7:14
therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.
- Ezekiel 23:25
And I will set My jealous rage against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They…
- Ezekiel 23:47
Through
Jeremiah 44:22So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:18
to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
- Jeremiah 25:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, Ezekiel and the Book of His Prophecy.
