Bible Strands
Ezekiel 14:14
then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Ezekiel to the elders of Israel, posing a hypothetical in which the three most righteous men in history are physically present in a guilty land and their righteousness extends no further than themselves.
The words — בְּתוֹכָהּ (be./to.Kha/h), "in the midst of it," is the load-bearing phrase: the three are not outside the land but within it, and that proximity is precisely what the verse denies any saving power.
The thread — Jeremiah 15:1 makes the same point with Moses and Samuel; Ezekiel 14:20 repeats the trio and adds that they cannot even save their sons; Ezekiel 28:3 cites Daniel as a benchmark of wisdom, not of intercessory merit.
Why it lands — Righteousness is not a currency that can be spent on others; the verse forces the reader to stop hiding behind the reputation of the righteous and face their own standing.
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
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go!
- Ezekiel 14:20 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
- Ezekiel 28:3 Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!
- Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
- Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.
- Ezekiel 14:18 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered.
- Genesis 6:8 Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
- Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.
- Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Job 1:5 And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.