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:
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.
- BSB And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!
- 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 5:11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
- Deut 32:39–42See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
- 1 Sam 9:15Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
- Ezek 7:4And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
- Isa 22:14And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
- Ezek 7:9And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.
- Isa 5:9In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
- Num 25:7–8And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
- Ezek 9:10And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
- Ezek 24:14I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
- 1 Kgs 18:40And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
- Exod 32:27And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
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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.