Ezekiel 6:10
in Ezekiel 6And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
KJV
And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
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This verse in Ezekiel 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd they shall know that I am the Lord,.... As in Eze 6:7; and that I have not said in vain; either within himself, in his own purposes and decrees; so the Targum, "I have not in vain decreed in my word;'' or by the mouth of the prophets: that I would do this evil unto them; in carrying them captive, and dispersing them in other lands; for this is not the evil of sin, but the evil of punishment, or of affliction.
This site's exposition
Yet I will leave a remnant
on Ezekiel 6:8-10
The Lord leaves “a remnant,” some who “escape the sword.” In exile “your survivors will remember Me,” and “they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done.” The recognition formula returns with an added clause: “I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”
This site's exposition
I did not declare in vain
The survivors will know that the LORD did not speak in vain. The calamity came as He had said. John Gill reads calamity here as the harm of punishment, the captivity and scattering, which answers their sin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9, 10) Because I have broken their heart by committing adultery and turning away from me, and their eyes are adulterous, looking after their idols. And they will displease each other with the evils they have done in all their abominations. And they will know that I, the Lord, have not spoken in vain, in order to bring harm upon them. Many things from this chapter have been omitted by the Septuagint, and that part has been changed. I have sworn to their adulterous heart: therefore we have put: I have broken their heart by committing adultery.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And they will know that I am Hashem; not for nothing did I decree by My word to do this evil to them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and stamp Its context implies that it means to stamp one’s foot on the ground to flatten out the mud, and this is a custom of a mourner.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָדְע֖וּ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חִנָּם֙ | chinam | in vain | H2600 → | |
| דִּבַּ֔רְתִּי | dibarti | I spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to them | ||
| הָרָעָ֥ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ פ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וְיָדְע֖וּand they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֑ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חִנָּם֙in vain
chinamH2600 →
דִּבַּ֔רְתִּיI spoke
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֖םto them
lahem
הָרָעָ֥הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃ פ<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 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
Zechariah 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according…
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:17
The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 12:25–28
because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass,…
- Deuteronomy 28:15
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Jeremiah 23:20
The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- Lamentations 2:17
Through
Daniel 9:12You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:9
Because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.
- Ezekiel 5:9
Through
Jeremiah 44:28Those who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Judah, few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah who went to dwell in the land of Egypt will know whose word will…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 44:14
so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to reside in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, where they long to return and live; for…
- Isaiah 10:19
The remaining trees of its forests will be so few that a child could count them.
- Jeremiah 44:14
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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.