Ezekiel 14:19-20
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When God speaks of pouring out His fury "in blood" during a pestilence, it's not a literal description of the disease itself. Instead, "blood" here signifies the totality of death and destruction, an intense outpouring of God's judgment that cuts life short prematurely, impacting both people and animals.
“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezekiel is speaking to elders of Israel who are seeking guidance from him, but in reality, they are seeking to consult idols. God has just declared that He will not be consulted by prophets who lead His people astray, and He’s about to outline His severe judgments. This verse presents another one of God's potential responses to persistent sin: unleashing devastating pestilence and wrath, expressed through widespread death affecting both people and animals.
When plagues sweep through a land, it's easy to feel like it's just bad luck or nature taking its course. But what if there's more to it?
God's Sovereign Hand
The prophet Ezekiel is clear: devastating plagues aren't random events. They can be sent by God as a direct expression of His wrath against sin.
The phrase 'pour out my wrath upon it with blood' sounds intense. What exactly does 'blood' signify here beyond the literal?
More Than Literal Slaughter
In this context, 'blood' is used powerfully to signify the totality of death and destruction. It's not necessarily about bloodshed by swords, but the widespread, grim reality of death itself.
Ask a follow-up
God's judgment affects not just people, but all living things. Why is this comprehensive scope significant?
The Interconnectedness of Life
God's judgments, when they fall, are not selective. They have the power to utterly devastate an entire land, impacting every living creature.
Understand the original words
deber · Hebrew Noun
A severe, infectious epidemic or plague, often interpreted in the Old Testament as a manifestation of God's judgment against a nation's idolatry and sin.
chemah · Hebrew Noun
The intense, holy displeasure of God against sin and unrighteousness. It is the necessary reaction of a perfectly holy God toward evil, expressed here through punitive action.
Noah, Daniy'el, and Iyyob · Hebrew Proper Noun
Noah (the righteous man saved from the flood), Daniel (the wise and faithful captive in Babylon), and Job (the man of integrity who suffered greatly). Collectively, they represent the epitome of human righteousness.
tsedaqah · Hebrew Noun
Right standing or conformity to God's standard of moral integrity and obedience. In the context of the Bible, it is both a gift of God and a lifestyle of faithfulness that keeps one from the common ruin of the wicked.
Ezekiel is writing during the Babylonian exile, a period marked by repeated devastation and loss for Judah. The mention of pestilence as a divine judgment for sin, alongside war and famine, would have resonated deeply with a people who had already witnessed or were experiencing the catastrophic effects of these calamities.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Conquest and Deportations
The Neo-Assyrian Empire, under rulers like Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II, conquered large parts of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, deporting thousands of its citizens to Assyria. This established a pattern of brutal conquest and displacement in the region.
701 BC
Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
The Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah, conquering many cities and besieging Jerusalem. While Jerusalem was not destroyed, the surrounding territory was devastated, and the kingdom was left weakened and tributary.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon defeated the Egyptian and Assyrian forces at Carchemish and then advanced into Judah, deporting some of the royal family and educated elite, including Daniel, to Babylon.
597 BC— this verse
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a revolt by King Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem again, this time deporting King Jehoiachin, much of the remaining nobility, and skilled craftsmen to Babylon. Ezekiel was among this group.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
After another revolt, Nebuchadnezzar finally destroyed Jerusalem, including the Temple, and deported the majority of the remaining population to Babylon, leaving only a small group of farmers.
This passage directly parallels God sending pestilence as a judgment for breaking covenant, showing this is a recurring theme in God's dealings with His people.
Jeremiah 24:10Jeremiah also speaks of sword, famine, and pestilence as divine punishments to cut off a people, reinforcing the concept of these as God's instruments of wrath.
Revelation 6:8The terrifying image of a pale horse and its rider, Death, followed by Hades, is named 'Pestilence', showing this plague as a powerful, divinely unleashed force of destruction throughout Scripture.
2 Samuel 24:13-15This account shows David choosing pestilence over famine or war after he sinned, highlighting it as a severe judgment from God that affects both man and beast, just as described in Ezekiel.
cambridgeEzekiel 14:19: "Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:"
19 . my fury upon it in blood ] The term “blood” is almost a synonym for “death;” cf. Psalm 30:9 , “What profit is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit?” Ch. Ezekiel 5:7 . On the Babylonian idea of “four” plagues, cf. Del. Parad . p. 146. Ezekiel 14:21-23 . Application to Jerusalem.
pulpitEzekiel 14:19: "Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:"
Verse 19. - Pestilence is joined with blood, as in Ezekiel 5:17; Ezekiel 38:22, as indicating its death-bearing character.
When God speaks of pouring out His fury "in blood" during a pestilence, it's not a literal description of the disease itself. Instead, "blood" here signifies the totality of death and destruction, an intense outpouring of God's judgment that cuts life short prematurely, impacting both people and animals.
Ezekiel is speaking to elders of Israel who are seeking guidance from him, but in reality, they are seeking to consult idols. God has just declared that He will not be consulted by prophets who lead His people astray, and He’s about to outline His severe judgments. This verse presents another one of God's potential responses to persistent sin: unleashing devastating pestilence and wrath, expressed through widespread death affecting both people and animals.
Ezekiel is speaking to elders of Israel who are seeking guidance from him, but in reality, they are seeking to consult idols. God has just declared that He will not be consulted by prophets who lead His people astray, and He’s about to outline His severe judgments. This verse presents another one of God's potential responses to persistent sin: unleashing devastating pestilence and wrath, expressed through widespread death affecting both people and animals.
"“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter.…" — When God speaks of pouring out His fury "in blood" during a pestilence, it's not a literal description of the disease itself. Instead, "blood" here signifies the totality of death and destruction, an…
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Last reviewed October 2026
