So I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their own way on their heads,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- KJV Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
- BSB So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
- NKJV Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.
- NLT So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. 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
Because no one stood in the gap, God pours out His indignation and brings their own ways back upon their heads. Their sin recoils as deserved judgment.
Overview
With no intercessor, the Lord consumes the people in the fire of His wrath, repaying their conduct upon themselves. Judgment here is just retribution: their own ways return on their heads. The verse closes the chapter by affirming the righteousness of God's wrath against persistent, unrepented sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 7:8–9Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.
- Ezek 16:43“‘“Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring your way on your head,” says the Lord Yahweh: “and you shall not commit this lewdness with all your abominations.
- Ezek 9:10As for me also, my eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way on their head.”
- Rom 2:8–9but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath and indignation,
- Ezek 7:3Now is the end on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.
- Ezek 11:21But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
- Ezek 22:21–22Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the middle of it.
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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 22:31 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.