Ezekiel 7:15-18
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What's striking here is the grim irony: the very places meant for safety become death traps. Those who try to escape the enemy's sword in the open fields are cut down, while those who flee to the city for refuge are consumed by internal decay and starvation. There's no winning; every avenue of escape is blocked by God's judgment.
The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Ezekiel is detailing the complete devastation coming upon Jerusalem and Judah, a finality that leaves no escape. This verse paints a grim picture of inescapable doom: the Chaldean armies' swords are outside the city walls, while famine and plague rage within. Whether one tries to flee into the open fields or stays huddled within the city, death by violence, starvation, or disease is inevitable.
Imagine trying to find safety, only to realize every escape route leads to destruction. That's the stark reality Ezekiel describes.
A No-Win Situation
Ezekiel paints a picture of utter devastation where there's no safe place to run.
There was no escape. Whether you were out in the fields or holed up in the city, destruction was guaranteed. This highlights the comprehensive nature of God's judgment upon sin.
We often think of war as the primary tool of judgment, but God uses more than just armies to bring His sentence.
God's Wider Arsenal
This verse reveals that God's judgment isn't limited to human conflict. He wields famine and pestilence as powerful agents.
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This shows God's sovereignty over all aspects of life and death, using even disease and starvation to execute His righteous will against sin.
Understand the original words
chereb · Hebrew Noun
A weapon of war; symbolically, it often represents the instrument of divine judgment, destruction, or the intervention of God in historical crises.
deber · Hebrew Noun
A destructive disease or plague that is often viewed in Scripture as a manifestation of divine judgment on a nation or people.
ra'ab · Hebrew Noun
A severe, widespread shortage of food; frequently interpreted in the prophetic tradition as a consequence of national sin and a tool of divine discipline.
avon · Hebrew Noun
A Hebrew term referring to moral perversity, guilt, or the consequences of sin. It describes not just the act of wrong-doing but the inward twisting of character and the resulting liability before God.
saq · Hebrew Noun
A coarse, dark cloth, usually made of goats' hair, worn as a sign of mourning, deep repentance, or humiliation before God. Putting on sackcloth symbolizes the stripping away of dignity and the confession of brokenness.
kelimmah · Hebrew Noun
A state of feeling or being in disgrace, confusion, or humiliation. In a biblical context, it often refers to the condition of being stripped of honor due to sin or judgment, reflecting an inward state made visible.
Ezekiel's vivid language in this verse paints a picture of a city under extreme duress, caught between the invading armies outside and the internal horrors of starvation and disease. The prophecy was delivered during the prolonged siege of Jerusalem, highlighting the inescapable devastation that befell the city and its inhabitants.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deports thousands of Jewish captives, including members of the royal family and educated elite, to Babylon after conquering Jerusalem.
597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Jerusalem's population, including the prophet Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin, following a rebellion. The city is not yet destroyed.
589-582 BC— this verse
Siege of Jerusalem
Babylonian forces besiege Jerusalem after Zedekiah, the king appointed by Babylon, rebels. The siege lasts for years, causing immense suffering within the city.
587/586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar's armies breach Jerusalem's walls, destroy the city and Solomon's Temple, and carry off most of the remaining population into exile.
c. 571 BC
Ezekiel's Prophecies Conclude
Ezekiel's prophecies, delivered during the exile, offer judgment and hope to the exiles, often reflecting on the destruction of Jerusalem and the future restoration of Israel.
This passage echoes Ezekiel's lament, describing the suffering within Jerusalem where famine and distress are rampant, mirroring the 'pestilence and famine within' that Ezekiel speaks of.
Deuteronomy 32:25This verse foretells a similar fate for those who stray from God, stating that the sword would bring death and terror from without, and horror from within, a direct parallel to the inescapable destruction described in Ezekiel.
Jeremiah 14:17-18Jeremiah describes the overwhelming devastation of war, famine, and pestilence engulfing the land and cities, emphasizing the inescapable nature of these calamities just as Ezekiel does.
Matthew 24:16-18Jesus references the imminent destruction of Jerusalem, advising those in Judea to flee to the mountains, highlighting the pervasive danger of invasion and the need for escape, much like the 'sword without' and 'famine within' in Ezekiel.
pooleEzekiel 7:15: "The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him."
Without; in the countries. Within; in the besieged city. With the sword of the Chaldean soldier. Shall devour him; shall eat him up; you, O Jews! shall be food for unsatiable pestilence and famine. Heavy tidings to sinful Jerusalem!
clarkeEzekiel 7:15: "The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him."
The sword is without - War through all the country, and pestilence and famine within the city, shall destroy the whole, except a small remnant. He who endeavors to flee from the one shall fall by the other.
What's striking here is the grim irony: the very places meant for safety become death traps. Those who try to escape the enemy's sword in the open fields are cut down, while those who flee to the city for refuge are consumed by internal decay and starvation. There's no winning; every avenue of escape is blocked by God's judgment.
Ezekiel is detailing the complete devastation coming upon Jerusalem and Judah, a finality that leaves no escape. This verse paints a grim picture of inescapable doom: the Chaldean armies' swords are outside the city walls, while famine and plague rage within. Whether one tries to flee into the open fields or stays huddled within the city, death by violence, starvation, or disease is inevitable.
Ezekiel is detailing the complete devastation coming upon Jerusalem and Judah, a finality that leaves no escape. This verse paints a grim picture of inescapable doom: the Chaldean armies' swords are outside the city walls, while famine and plague rage within. Whether one tries to flee into the open fields or stays huddled within the city, death by violence, starvation, or disease is inevitable.
"The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valley…" — What's striking here is the grim irony: the very places meant for safety become death traps. Those who try to escape the enemy's sword in the open fields are cut down, while those who flee to the cit…
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Last reviewed October 2026
