Bible Strands
Ezekiel 11:8
You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks to the inhabitants of Jerusalem during a siege, immediately after declaring that the city has become a slaughterhouse and that He will remove them.
The words — The verse centers on יְרֵאתֶ֑ם (ye.re.Tem), "you have feared," and חֶרֶב (Che.rev), "sword," which are repeated to establish a direct parallel between the people's dread and the coming execution.
The thread — The motif of anticipated terror becoming actualized appears in Proverbs 10:24, Job 3:25, and Isaiah 24:17.
Why it lands — The text states that God will actively bring the very threat the people dread, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment operates in direct correspondence to human anxiety and misplaced confidence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:24 What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
- Job 3:25 For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me.
- Isaiah 24:17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
- Isaiah 66:4 So I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. But they did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”
- Job 20:24 Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
- Isaiah 30:16 “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
- Jeremiah 38:19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”
- Jeremiah 42:14 and if you say, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram’s horn or hunger for bread,’
- Jeremiah 44:12 And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have resolved to go to the land of Egypt to reside there; they will meet their end. They will all fall by the sword or be consumed by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine; and they will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and reproach.
- Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.