The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jeremiah 14; 15 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied.
(1) Can God cast out a people who are holy unto Himself?
(2) Is it just to punish them with utter desolation?
The prophet answers:
(1) That when a people is so corrupt as to call down national judgment, individual piety shall save none but the individuals themselves.
(2) The corrupt condition of the people shall be made so manifest, that none will question the justice of God in dealing thus severely with them.
Ezekiel 14:12
Or, "When a land" - the case is first put in a general form, and then ism brought with increased force home to Jerusalem - "sinneth against me by trespassing grievously," and I stretch out "mine hand upon it," and break the staff of bread "thereof," and send famine "upon it and" cut off "man and beast: though these three men" etc.