Bible Strands
Ezekiel 15:8
Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through Ezekiel to the exiled community, pronouncing judgment immediately after warning that He will set His face against them and consume them with fire.
The words — The Hebrew וְנָתַתִּי שְׁמָמָה (ve./na.ta.Ti she.ma.Mah) literally means "and I will make a desolation," while מָעֲלוּ (Ma.'a.lu) translates to "they have acted unfaithfully," directly linking the land's ruin to covenant betrayal.
The thread — This pattern of divine desolation for covenant unfaithfulness echoes Ezekiel 6:14, 2 Chronicles 36:14, and Isaiah 6:11.
Why it lands — The text states that the Lord GOD will make the land desolate because the people acted unfaithfully, framing national ruin as the direct consequence of covenant violation rather than arbitrary punishment.
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
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 6:14 I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
- 2 Chronicles 36:14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, following all the abominations of the nations, and they defiled the house of the LORD, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 6:11 Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- Isaiah 24:3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word.
- Jeremiah 25:10 Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
- Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
- Ezekiel 17:20 I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.
- Ezekiel 33:29 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’
- Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.