Bible Strands
Ezekiel 16:42
So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses apostate Jerusalem, declaring the conclusion of His disciplinary actions immediately after describing the execution of those judgments in the prior verse. This statement marks the precise moment the covenant lawsuit shifts from active punishment to the cessation of divine hostility.
The words — The Hebrew verb הֲנִחֹתִי (ha.ni.cho.Ti) literally means "I will give rest to," directly governing חֲמָתִי (cha.ma.T/i), "my rage," to indicate the termination of provoked anger. The phrase וְ/שָׁקַטְתִּי (ve./Sha.ka.Ti) translates to "and I will be at peace," signaling a deliberate, sovereign end to the state of wrath.
The thread — This pattern of divine anger being spent or satisfied appears in Ezekiel 5:13 and Ezekiel 21:17, where Yahweh explicitly states His wrath will be brought to completion rather than lingering. The cessation of hostility here prepares the thematic ground for the subsequent promise of comfort for God's people in Isaiah 40:1.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine judgment has a fixed endpoint and does not operate on infinite retaliation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that God's anger is a responsive, temporary state that concludes once its stated purpose is fulfilled.
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
So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 5:13 And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken.
- Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
- Ezekiel 21:17 I too will strike My hands together, and I will satisfy My wrath.’ I, the LORD, have spoken.”
- Ezekiel 39:29 And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Isaiah 54:9 “For to Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
- Zechariah 6:8 Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.”
- 2 Samuel 21:14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.
- Isaiah 1:24 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.