Ezekiel 12:20
WEB
The cities that are inhabited will be laid waste, and the land will be a desolation. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”’”
BSB
The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
KJV
And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Matthew Henry
Hebrew interlinear
H5892
n-m — city, waking, encampment, post
Derivation: or (in the plural) עָר; or עָיַר; (Judges 10:4), from 5782
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)
KJV: Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.
n.f — city
עִיר 1092 n.f. city, town
1. city, town, abode of men
2. of fortress in a city
3. appar. fortified place, of any size
n.[m.] — excitement
עִיר n.[m.] excitement;—of terror; of rage
H3427
v — sit, dwell, remain, settle, marry
Derivation: a primitive root;
properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
KJV: (make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, × fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, × marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(-tle), (down-) sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.
vb — sit
יָשַׁב 1090 vb. sit, remain, dwell
Qal
1.
a. sit
b. sit, sit down
c. sit down
d. sit = be set (as a jewel)
2.
a. remain, stay, tarry
b. with special emphasis of qualifying phr.
3. dwell, have one’s abode
4. of a land or city, sit, abide, seated in its place, fig. for be inhabited
Niph. be inhabited, of land
Pi. and they shall set their encampments in thee
Hiph.
1. cause to sit
2. cause to abide
3.
a. cause to dwell
b. cause cities to be inhabited
4. marry (prop. give a dwelling to)
Hoph. and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land
H2717
v — parch, desolate, destroy, kill
Derivation: or חֲרֵב; a primitive root;
to parch (through drought) i.e. (by analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill
KJV: decay, (be) desolate, destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, × surely, (lay, lie, make) waste.
be waste
[חָרֵב] be waste, desolate
Qal be waste, desolate
Niph. as adj., desolate city
Hiph. lay waste, make desolate
Hoph. she is laid waste
vb — be dry
[חָרֵב] vb. be dry, dried up
Qal be dry, dried up
Pu. of fresh bow-strings
Hiph. of י׳ drying up rivers
vb — attack
[חָרַב] vb. (Aram. and rare) attack, smite down
Qal attack
Niph. the kings have attacked one another, fought together
Hoph. 2 K 3:23
H776
n-f — earth, land
Derivation: from an unused root probably meaning to be firm;
the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
KJV: × common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.
n. f — earth
אֶ֫רֶץ n. f. & (seld.) m. earth, land
1.
a. earth, whole earth (opp. to a part)
b. earth, opp. to heaven, sky
c. earth = inhabitants of earth
2. land =
a. country, territory
b. district, region
c. trial territory
d. piece of ground
e. specif. land of Canaan, or Israel
f. = inhabitants of land
g. used even of Shᵉʼôl
3.
a. ground, surface of ground
b. soil, as productive
4. אֶרֶץ in phrases
a. people of the land
b. in measurements of distance
c. the country of the plain, level or plain country
d. land of the living
e. end(s) of the earth
5. pl. אֲרָצוֹת is almost wholly late; it denotes lands, countries, often in contrast to Canaan, lands of the nations, etc.
H8077
n-f — devastation, astonishment
Derivation: or שִׁמָמָה; feminine of 8076;
devastation; figuratively, astonishment
KJV: (laid, × most) desolate(-ion), waste.
n.f — a devastation
שְׁמָמָה 55 n.f. a devastation, waste
devastation
שִׁמָמָה v. foregoing [v.ea.ac]
H1961
v — exist, be, become, come to pass
Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);
to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.
vb — fall out
הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be
Qal
I.
1.
a. Fall out, happen
b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass
2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass
a.
(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
II. Come into being, become
1.
a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
b. sq. prep.
2. become
a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
b. sq. pred. adj.
c. become like
d. sq. pred. לְ pers.
e. sq. לְ pred.
f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.
g. with עַל and לְ
h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)
1. exist, be in existence
2. abide, remain, continue
3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie
4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.
5. periphrastic conjug.
Niph.
1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass
2. be done, finished, gone
H3045
v — know, seeing, observation, care, recognition, instruction, designation, punishment
Derivation: a primitive root;
to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
KJV: acknowledge, acquaintance(-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, (un-) awares, can(-not), certainly, comprehend, consider, × could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be (ig-) norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have (knowledge), (be, make, make to be, make self) known, be learned, lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, × prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have (understanding), × will be, wist, wit, wot.
vb — know
יָדַע 943 vb. know
Qal
1.
a. know, learn to know
b. perceive
c. perceive and see; find out and discern
d. discriminate, distinguish
e. know by experience
f. recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess
g. consider
h. not know = not expect
2. know a person, be acquainted with
3. know a person carnally, of sexual intercourse
4.
a. know how, to do a thing, be able to do it
b. be skilful in
5. abs. have knowledge, be wise
Niph.
1. be made known, be or become known, of things
2. make oneself known of pers.
3. be perceived
4. be instructed
Pi. cause to know
Pu. known
Hiph. make known, declare
Hoph. made known
Hithp. make oneself known
H3588
conj — relative conjunction
Derivation: a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent;
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
KJV: and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.
conj — that
כִּי conj. that, for, when
1. that
2.
a. Of time, when, of the past
b. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usu. represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם
c. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though
3. Because, since
relative conjunction
כִּי אם־
1. each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause:
a. that if
b. for if
2. (About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause—
a. limiting the prec. clause, except
b. the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
c. after an oath, surely
forasmuch as
כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as
H589
p — I
Derivation: contracted from 595;
I
KJV: I, (as for) me, mine, myself, we, × which, × who.
pron — I
אֲנִי, אָ֑נִי pron. 1s. comm. I
H3068
n-pr — Existent, Jeho-vah
Derivation: from 1961;
(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God
KJV: Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.
n.pr.dei — God
יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)
I. יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb
II.
1. יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D
2. the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy
3. יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh
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Verses 17–20
Ezekiel 12:17–20
Here again the prophet is made a sign to them of the desolations that were coming on Judah and Jerusalem. 1. He must himself eat and drink in care and fear, especially when he was in company, Eze 12:17, Eze 12:18. Though he was under no apprehension of danger to himself, but lived in safety and plenty, yet he must eat his bread with quaking (the bread of sorrows, Psa 127:2) and drink his water with trembling and with carefulness, that he might express the calamitous condition of those that should be in Jerusalem during the siege; not that he must dissemble and pretend to be in fear and care when really he was not; but having to foretel this judgment, to show that he firmly believed it himself, and yet was far from desiring it, in the prospect of it he was himself affected with grief and fear. Note, When ministers speak of the ruin coming upon impenitent sinners they must endeavour to speak feelingly, as those that know the terrors of the Lord; and they must be content to endure hardness, so that they may but do good. 2. He must tell them that the inhabitants of Jerusalem should in like manner eat and drink with care and fear, Eze 12:19, Eze 12:20. Both those that have their home in Jerusalem and those of the land of Israel that come to shelter themselves there, shall eat their bread with carefulness and drink their water with astonishment, either because they are afraid it will not hold out, but they shall want shortly, or because they are continually expecting the alarms of the enemy, their life hanging in doubt before them (Deu 28:66), so that what they have they shall have no enjoyment of nor will it do them any good. Note, Care and fear, if they prevail, are enough to embitter all our comforts and are themselves very sore judgments. They shall be reduced to these straits that thus by degrees, and by the hand of those that thus straiten them, both city and country may be laid in ruins; for it is no less than an utter destruction of both that is aimed at in these judgments - that her land may be desolate from all the fulness thereof, may be stripped of all its ornaments and robbed of all its fruits, and then of course the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, for they are served by the field. This universal desolation was coming upon them, and then no wonder that they eat their bread with care and fear. Now we are here told, (1.) How bad the cause of this judgment was; it is because of the violence of all those that dwell therein, their injustice and oppression, and the mischief they did one another, for which God would reckon with them, as well as for the affronts put upon him in his worship. Note, The decay of virtue in a nation brings on a decay of every thing else; and when neighbours devour one another it is just with God to bring enemies upon them to devour them all. (2.) How good the effect of this judgment should be: You shall know that I am the Lord; and if, by these judgments, they learn to know him aright, that will make up the loss of all they are deprived of by these desolations. Those are happy afflictions, how grievous soever to flesh and blood, that help to introduce us into and improve us in an acquaintance with God.
Cross-references: Ezek 12:17 · Ezek 12:18 · Ps 127:2 · Ezek 12:19 · Ezek 12:20 · Deut 28:66