And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!
Parallel translations
- WEB To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity.
- KJV And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
- NKJV To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
- NASB But to the others He said in my presence, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.
- NLT Then I heard the Lord say to the other men, “Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity!
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 orders the executioners to follow and strike without pity. It shows the severity of judgment on the unmarked, unrepentant.
Overview
The command to show no pity echoes the warning of 8:18, underscoring that judgment is thorough and just. Those who did not grieve over sin share in its consequences. The contrast with the marked remnant highlights that God distinguishes between the penitent and the hardened. This sobering scene magnifies the mercy of being marked, a mercy secured for believers in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ezek 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Deut 32:39–42See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- 1 Sam 9:15Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel,
- Ezek 7:4I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’
- Isa 22:14The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing: “Until your dying day, this sin of yours will never be atoned for,” says the Lord GOD of Hosts.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
- Ezek 7:9I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is I, the LORD, who strikes the blow.
- Isa 5:9I heard the LORD of Hosts declare: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great mansions left unoccupied.
- Num 25:7–8On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
- Ezek 9:10But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.”
- Ezek 24:14I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- 1 Kgs 18:40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Exod 32:27He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
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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 9:5 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.