Ezekiel 5:12
in Ezekiel 5A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The judgments Eze 5:12-17 of “famine, pestilence,” and the “sword,” were precisely those which attended the coming siege of Jerusalem (Jer 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 Jer 42:19-22; Lev 26:25), and that the horrors of the Babylonian siege are but the beginning of the sorrows of the nation.
This site's exposition
as surely as I live
on Ezekiel 5:11-13
The Lord swears “as surely as I live” and names the cause: “you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations.” The thirds of the hair in Ezekiel 5:2 are explained as plague and famine within, the sword “outside your walls,” and scattering “to every wind.”
This site's exposition
A third of your people will die by plague
This verse explains the three parts of hair in verse 2. A third dies of plague or famine inside, a third falls by the sword outside the walls, and a third is scattered. Albert Barnes reads the sword behind them as God's anger following them even into exile.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13.) A third part of you will die by pestilence and be consumed by famine in your midst, and a third part will fall by the sword all around you. I will scatter your third part to every wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. And I will pour out my fury and make my anger rest upon them, and I will comfort myself. And they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my anger upon them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Commentary on Chapter V 1. Take - Thus foretel the mourning, reproach, and deformity that are coming, for all this is signified by shaving the head and beard. A third part - Described on the tile, chap. iv, 1, a type of what should be done in Jerusalem.
Nay, and Cain's curse (to be fugitives and vagabonds) is not the worst of it neither; their restless life shall be cut off by a bloody death: " I will draw out a sword after them, which shall follow them wherever they go." Evil pursues sinners; and the curse shall come upon them and overtake them.
A third part of them shall die with the pestilence,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But the prophecy is not restricted to Zedekiah's time. It includes all that Israel suffered, or was still to suffer, for their sins, especially those committed at that period (Eze 17:21).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A third part of thee - See the note on Eze 5:1-4 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and I shall cause My fury against them to subside When I avenge Myself against them, My fury will subside, and My spirit will not oppress Me.
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. 7 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁלִשִׁתֵ֞יךְ | shelishiteikh | <the> third [part] of you | H7992 → | 107 times |
| בַּדֶּ֣בֶר | badever | by <the> pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
| יָמ֗וּתוּ | yamutu | they will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וּבָֽרָעָב֙ | uvaraav | and by <the> famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| יִכְל֣וּ | yikhlu | they will come to an end | H3615 → | 208 times |
| בְתוֹכֵ֔ךְ | vetokhekh | in [the] midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔ית | vehashelishit | and <the> third [part] | H7992 → | 107 times |
| בַּחֶ֖רֶב | bacherev | by the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| יִפְּל֣וּ | yipelu | they will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| סְבִיבוֹתָ֑יִךְ | sevivotayikh | around you | H5439 → | 336 times |
| וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית֙ | vehashelishit | and <the> third [part] | H7992 → | 107 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ר֣וּחַ | ruach | wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אֱזָרֶ֔ה | ʾezareh | I will disperse | H2219 → | 39 times |
| וְחֶ֖רֶב | vecherev | and a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| אָרִ֥יק | ʾarik | I will draw | H7324 → | 19 times |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
שְׁלִשִׁתֵ֞יךְ<the> third [part] of you
shelishiteikhH7992 →107 times
בַּדֶּ֣בֶרby <the> pestilence
badeverH1698 →49 times
יָמ֗וּתוּthey will die
yamutuH4191 →839 times
וּבָֽרָעָב֙and by <the> famine
uvaraavH7458 →101 times
יִכְל֣וּthey will come to an end
yikhluH3615 →208 times
בְתוֹכֵ֔ךְin [the] midst of you
vetokhekhH8432 →418 times
וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔יתand <the> third [part]
vehashelishitH7992 →107 times
בַּחֶ֖רֶבby the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
יִפְּל֣וּthey will fall
yipeluH5307 →435 times
סְבִיבוֹתָ֑יִךְaround you
sevivotayikhH5439 →336 times
וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית֙and <the> third [part]
vehashelishitH7992 →107 times
לְכָל־to every
lekholH3605 →5413 times
ר֣וּחַwind
ruachH7307 →378 times
אֱזָרֶ֔הI will disperse
ʾezarehH2219 →39 times
וְחֶ֖רֶבand a sword
vecherevH2719 →413 times
אָרִ֥יקI will draw
ʾarikH7324 →19 times
אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃after them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 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
Jeremiah 15:2If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:2
When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 43:11
He will come and strike down the land of Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.
- Zechariah 11:9
Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”
- Revelation 6:3–8
And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
- Ezekiel 5:2
Through
Ezekiel 5:2When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:33
Through
Jeremiah 21:9Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:2
“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a…
- Jeremiah 45:5
But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life…
- Jeremiah 39:18
For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the…
- Jeremiah 38:2
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.