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All flesh shall see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”’”
Ezekiel 20:48 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
  • BSB Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”
  • NKJV All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”
  • NASB And all mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will not go out.” ’ ”
  • NLT And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’”

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

All flesh will see that the Lord has kindled this fire, and it will not be quenched. The judgment will unmistakably reveal God's hand.

Overview

God declares that the coming catastrophe is His own work, not mere chance or human conflict. The visibility 'to all flesh' means the nations will recognize the Lord acting in judgment. The verse drives home that God's judgments serve to make Him known, vindicating His holiness before all people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Jer 40:2–3The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, “Yahweh your God pronounced this evil on this place;
  • Lam 2:16–17All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash the teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly this is the day that we looked for. We have found it. We have seen it.”
  • Jer 7:20Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Behold, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out on this place, on man, and on animal, and on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.”
  • 2 Chr 7:20–22then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
  • Isa 26:11Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see; but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed. Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
  • Deut 29:24–28even all the nations will say, “Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?”

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 20:48YouTube · 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 20:48 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.