Keraia
Ezekiel 14

Ezekiel 14:15

Four Dire Judgments · Ezekiel 14:12–23
Read Ezekiel 14

Translations

Modern
Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,
Traditional
If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
Literal
Or if I cause a wild beast to pass through the land and make it barren and it becomes a desolation, with no one passing through before the face of the beast,
Latin
Quod si et bestias pessimas induxero super terram ut vastem eam, et fuerit invia, eo quod non sit pertransiens propter bestias:

Original

Hebrew
English
Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,

Notes

Ezekiel 14:12–20

  • Israel had not been treated unfairly. God did not judge Israel without reason. If any nation sinned against the Lord in this way, that nation would face the same result.

    However, this passage clearly speaks about Israel. The words used to describe their sin also describe breaking the covenant (the binding promises between God and his people). Israel had broken this covenant. Because of that, the nation would rightly experience the covenant curses (the punishments promised for disobedience) listed in Leviticus 26. The people had agreed to these terms when the covenant was first made.

  • The covenant curses appear here in four test cases. Each case shows one of the judgments listed in Leviticus 26:

    1. Famine (a severe lack of food), as described in Ezekiel 14:13–14 and Leviticus 26:26.

    2. Wild animals attacking the land, as described in Ezekiel 14:15–16 and Leviticus 26:22.

    3. War, as described in Ezekiel 14:17–18 and Leviticus 26:25.

    4. Disease, as described in Ezekiel 14:19–20 and Leviticus 26:25.

    These examples show that Israel’s suffering was not random. It was the direct result of breaking the covenant with the Lord.

Theme notes and profiles

Noah God’s Covenant with Noah

Events

Glossary

Beast Daniel (Person) Ezekiel, Book of Job (Person) Noah

Topics

Animals: Sent in Judgment