And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- BSB Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- NKJV Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”
- NASB So I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ ” declares the Lord God.
- NLT And I will make the land desolate because my people have been unfaithful to me. 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
God will make the land desolate because of the people's unfaithfulness ('trespass'). Covenant betrayal brings ruin.
Overview
The oracle ends by naming the cause: a 'trespass,' a term for treacherous covenant breach, often involving idolatry. The land's desolation is the just consequence of spiritual infidelity. This sets the stage for chapter 16, which exposes that unfaithfulness in vivid, extended detail.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 6:14So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
- 2 Chr 36:14–16Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
- Ezek 17:20And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
- Isa 24:3–12The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
- Isa 6:11Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
- Zeph 1:18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
- Ezek 33:29Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
- Ezek 14:13–21Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
- Jer 25:10–11Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 15:8 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.