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.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks through Ezekiel to the exiled community immediately after declaring the land will become desolate and just before describing the people’s casual discussion of his prophetic message.

The words — The Hebrew verb יָדְעוּ (ya.de.'U) literally means “they will know,” paired with שְׁמָמָה (she.ma.Mah), which denotes “a desolation” or “a desolate waste.”

The thread — This formula “they will know that I am the LORD” following divine action also appears in Ezekiel 6:7 and Exodus 14:18, where judgment or deliverance prompts recognition of Yahweh’s identity.

Why it lands — The text directly links the land’s ruin to the people’s committed abominations and demands that observers recognize Yahweh’s sovereignty through the concrete reality of desolation rather than through abstract theology.

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

וְיָדְע֖וּve./ya.de.'Uand/ they will know כִּֽי־ki-that אֲנִ֣י'a.NiI יְהוָ֑הYah.weh[am] Yahweh בְּתִתִּ֤יbe./ti.T/iwhen/ make/ I אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ha./'A.retzthe/ land שְׁמָמָ֣הshe.ma.Maha desolation וּמְשַׁמָּ֔הu./me.sha.Mahand/ a waste עַ֥ל'alon כָּל־kol-all תּוֹעֲבֹתָ֖םto.'a.vo.Ta/mabominations/ their אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich עָשֽׂוּ׃ ס'a.Suthey have done

King James Version

Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 6:7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
Exodus 14:18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
2 Kings 17:9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities.
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.
Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Psalms 83:17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
Jeremiah 5:1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have diverted these from you; your sins have deprived you of My bounty.
Ezekiel 6:11 This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague.
Ezekiel 7:27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”