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I will bring on you the sword of war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign Lord.
Ezekiel 11:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you,” says the Lord Yahweh.
  • KJV Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.
  • BSB You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD.
  • NKJV You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God.
  • NASB You have feared a sword; so I will bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God declares.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God declares that the sword they feared He will bring upon them. It announces that their dreaded judgment will indeed come.

Overview

Their fear of the sword will be realized precisely because they refused to repent. God's word ensures that the judgment they dreaded is now decreed. There is no escaping the consequences of persistent rebellion. Yet the same God who brings the sword in justice offers refuge from wrath to all who turn to Him through Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Prov 10:24What the wicked fear, will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
  • Job 3:25For the thing which I fear comes on me, That which I am afraid of comes to me.
  • Isa 24:17–18Fear, the pit, and the snare, are on you who inhabitant the earth.
  • Isa 66:4I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they didn’t listen; but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”
  • Jer 42:14–16saying, “No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:”’
  • Amos 9:1–4I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
  • Jer 44:12–13I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they will all be consumed. They will fall in the land of Egypt. They will be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They will die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine. They will be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.
  • Jer 38:19–23Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”
  • Isa 30:16–17but you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”; therefore you will flee; and, “We will ride on the swift”; therefore those who pursue you will be swift.
  • John 11:48If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
  • Job 20:24He shall flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow shall strike him through.
  • 1 Th 2:15–16who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 11:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.

How Ezekiel 11:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.