Four Dire Judgments

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 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[fn] of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast, 14 then even if these three men— Noah, Daniel, and Job— were in it, vvv their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.

15 

Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless [and] desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts, 16 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, but the land would be desolate.

17 

Or if I bring a sword against that land and say,‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast, 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.

19 

Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast, 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. vvv Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.

21 

For this is what the Lord GOD says:‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments— sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague— in order to cut off from it both man and beast?

22 

Yet , behold, some survivors will be left in it — sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their conduct and actions, you will be comforted regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem — all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all [these things] within it,’ declares the Lord GOD.” 15