And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.
Parallel translations
- WEB He knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, with its fullness, because of the noise of his roaring.
- BSB He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.
- NKJV He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring.
- NASB ‘He destroyed their palaces And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.
- NLT He demolished fortresses and destroyed their towns and cities. Their farms were desolated, and their crops were destroyed. The land and its people trembled in fear when they heard him roar.
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 lion-king lays waste cities and terrifies the land with his roaring. His reign brings desolation rather than security.
Overview
The king's roaring fills the land with dread, and his violence leaves palaces and cities in ruin. What should have been a shepherd-king's protection has become a source of terror and destruction. The verse underscores how corrupt leadership ravages the very people it was meant to guard, deepening the lament over Judah's failed monarchy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ezek 30:12And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
- Amos 6:8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
- Prov 28:15–16As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
- Ezek 12:19And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
- Ezek 22:25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
- Prov 19:12The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
- Mic 1:2Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple.
- Prov 28:3A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
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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 19:7 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
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