Ezekiel 5 · Verse 12

Ezekiel 5:12

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.
Ezekiel 5:12, King James Version

Ezekiel 5:12 in other translations

BSBA 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.
WEBA third part of you will die with the pestilence, and they will be consumed with famine within you. A third part will fall by the sword around you. A third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
ASVA 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.
YLTThy third part--by pestilence they die, And by famine are consumed in thy midst, And the third part, by sword they fall round about thee, And the third part, to every wind I scatter, And a sword I draw out after them.
DARBYA third part of thee shall die by the pestilence, and shall be consumed by the famine in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
BBEA third of you will come to death from disease, wasting away among you through need of food; a third will be put to the sword round about you; and a third I will send away to every wind, letting loose a sword after them.
WebsterA 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 around thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

What does Ezekiel 5:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. Statement in plain terms of what was intended by the symbols (Eze 5:2; see Eze 6:12; Jr 15:2; 21:9). draw out ... sword after them--(Le 26:33). Skeptics object; no such thing happened under Zedekiah, as is here foretold; namely, that a third part of the nation should die by pestilence, a third part by the sword, and a third be scattered unto all winds, and a sword sent after them. 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). It only received its primary fulfilment under Zedekiah: numbers then died by the pestilence and by the sword; and numbers were scattered in all quarters and not carried to Babylonia alone, as the objectors assert (compare Ezr 1:4; Es 3:8; Ob 14). pestilence ... and famine--signified by the symbol "fire" (Eze 5:2). Compare Is 13:8; La 5:10; plague and famine burning and withering the countenance, as fire does.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 A third part of thee - See the note on Eze 5:1-4 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 5:5-17

The sentence passed upon Jerusalem is very dreadful, the manner of expression makes it still more so. Who is able to stand in God's sight when he is angry? Those who live and die impenitent, will perish for ever unpitied; there is a day coming when the Lord will not spare. Let not persons or churches, who change the Lord's statutes, expect to escape the doom of Jerusalem. Let us endeavour to adorn the doctrine of…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 5:5-17 →

Ezekiel 5:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

שְׁלִשִׁתֵ֞יךְshe.li.shi.Teikh<the> third [part] of youH7992
בַּדֶּ֣בֶרba.De.verby <the> pestilenceH1698
יָמ֗וּתוּya.Mu.tuthey will dieH4191
וּבָֽרָעָב֙u.va.ra.'Avand by <the> famineH7458
יִכְל֣וּyikh.Luthey will come to an endH3615
בְתוֹכֵ֔ךְve.to.Khekhin [the] midst of youH8432
וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔יתve.Ha.she.li.Shitand <the> third [part]H7992
בַּחֶ֖רֶבba.Che.revby the swordH2719
יִפְּל֣וּyi.pe.Luthey will fallH5307
סְבִיבוֹתָ֑יִךְse.vi.vo.Ta.yikharound youH5439
וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית֙ve.ha.she.li.Shitand <the> third [part]H7992
לְכָל\־le.kholto everyH3605
ר֣וּחַRu.achwindH7307
אֱזָרֶ֔ה'e.za.RehI will disperseH2219
וְחֶ֖רֶבve.Che.revand a swordH2719
אָרִ֥יק'a.RikI will drawH7324
אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם\׃'a.cha.rei.Hemafter themH310

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 5:12

  • Ezekiel 5:2

    Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

  • Jeremiah 15:2

    And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.

  • Jeremiah 43:10-11

    And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.

  • Jeremiah 21:9

    He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.

  • Ezekiel 12:14

    And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

  • Jeremiah 44:27

    Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

  • Ezekiel 5:10

    Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

  • Ezekiel 6:11-12

    Thus saith the Lord God; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 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.

  • Zechariah 7:14

    But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

  • Jeremiah 42:16-17

    Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.

  • Zechariah 13:7-9

    Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

  • Jeremiah 9:16

    I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
third part of.
2; 6:12; Jer 15:2; 21:9; Zec 13:7-9
and I will scatter.
2,10; 6:8; Jer 9:16; Zec 7:14
and I will draw.This was particularly fulfilled in the destruction of those who retired to Egypt; and has been remarkably verified in the many persecutions and miseries which the Jews have suffered at different times, in the various countries into which they are dispersed.
2; 12:14; Le 26:33; De 28:65; Jer 42:16,17,22; 43:10,11; 44:27
Am 9:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 5:11

    Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

  • Ezekiel 5:12

    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.

  • Ezekiel 5:13

    Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

Read all of Ezekiel 5

Ezekiel 5:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Una tercera parte de ti morirá de pestilencia, y de hambre será consumida en medio de ti; y una tercera parte caerá á cuchillo alrededor de ti; y una tercera parte esparciré á todos los vientos, y tras ellos desenvainaré espada.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Un tiers d’entre vous mourra par la peste et sera consumé par la famine au milieu de toi; et un tiers tombera par l’épée autour de toi; et j’en disperserai un tiers à tout vent, et je tirerai l’épée après eux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ein Drittel von dir soll an der Pest sterben und durch Hunger umkommen in deiner Mitte; und ein Drittel soll durchs Schwert fallen rings um dich her; und ein Drittel werde ich in alle Winde zerstreuen, und ich werde das Schwert ziehen hinter ihnen her. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Tertia pars tui peste morietur, et fame consumetur in medio tui, et tertia pars tui in gladio cadet in circuitu tuo: tertiam vero partem tuam in omnem ventum dispergam, et gladium evaginabo post eos.