^{20:45 (21:1)}⁶⁹ The word of the Lord came to me: ^20:46“Son of man, turn toward⁷⁰ the south,⁷¹ and speak out against the south.⁷² Prophesy against the open scrub⁷³ land of the Negev, ^20:47and say to the scrub land of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here,⁷⁴ I am about to start a fire in you,⁷⁵ and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it. ^20:48And everyone⁷⁶ will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.’ ”

^20:49Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’ ”

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Footnotes

69 Beginning with 20:45, the verse numbers through 21:32 in the English Bible differ by five from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (), with 20:45 = 21:1 , 20:46 = 21:2 , 21:1 = 21:6 etc., through 21:32 = 21:37 . Beginning with 22:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
70 Heb “set your face toward.” This expression occurs as well in Ezek 6:2; 13:17.
71 Or “the way toward the south,” or “the way toward Teman.” Teman is in the south and may be a location or the direction.
72 Or “toward Darom.” Darom may mean the south or a region just north of southern city of Beer Sheba. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (), 2:.
73 The Hebrew term can also mean “forest,” but a meaning of uncultivated wasteland fits the Negev region far better. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (), 2:.
74 The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
75 Fire also appears as a form of judgment in Ezek 15:4–7; 19:12, 14.
76 Heb “all flesh.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of parables?’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland. Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it. Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’ ”

Then I said, “Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just telling parables?’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, face the south and preach against it. Prophesy against the forest land in the Negev, and say to the forest there, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it. Then all humanity will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it. It will not be extinguished.’ ”

Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just composing parables?’ ”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev. Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north. And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’ ”

Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘He only talks in riddles!’ ”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the way of the south, and preach to the south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev. And you must say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!” ’ ” Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, ‘Is he not posing a parable?’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

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