They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all these things within it,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
Parallel translations
- WEB They will comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; and you will know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- KJV And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
- NKJV And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.
- NASB Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done without reason whatever I did to it,” declares the Lord God.
- NLT When you meet them and see their behavior, you will understand that these things are not being done to Israel without cause. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
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
The survivors' conduct will prove God did nothing 'without cause.' His judgments are always just and never arbitrary.
Overview
The chapter ends by affirming that the exiles, upon witnessing the remnant's behavior, will be reassured of God's righteousness. God acts with cause; His severity is a response to real, demonstrable sin. This concern to justify God's ways prepares the reader to trust His justice even when judgment falls, and ultimately to see that same justice satisfied at the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jer 22:8–9And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- Ezek 8:6–18“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”
- Ezek 9:8–9While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- Rev 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Gen 18:22–33And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
- Prov 26:2Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- Deut 8:2Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.
- Dan 9:7To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.
- Jer 7:17–28Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
- Neh 9:33You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
- Rev 15:4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Dan 9:14Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 14:23 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.