Ezekiel 6:7

6:7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹ 

Ezekiel 6:10

6:10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.’ ² 

Ezekiel 13:14

13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ³  and you will know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 13:23

13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you ⁴  will know that I am the Lord.’”

Ezekiel 15:7

15:7 I will set ⁵  my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, ⁶  the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.

Isaiah 26:11

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ⁷ 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ⁸ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ⁹ 

¹ sn The phrase you will know that I am the Lord concludes over sixty oracles in the book of Ezekiel and indicates the ultimate goal of God’s action. The phrase is often used in the book of Exodus as well (Exod 7:5; 14:4, 18). By Ezekiel’s day the people had forgotten that the Lord (Yahweh) was their covenant God and had turned to other gods. They had to be reminded that Yahweh alone deserved to be worshiped because only he possessed the power to meet their needs. Through judgment and eventually deliverance, Israel would be reminded that Yahweh alone held their destiny in his hands.

² tn Heb “not in vain did I speak to do to them this catastrophe.” The wording of the last half of v. 10 parallels God’s declaration after the sin of the golden calf (Exod 32:14).

³ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

⁴ tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.

⁵ tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.

⁶ sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597 b.c. (Ezek 1:2; 2 Kgs 24:10-16).

⁷ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

⁸ tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

⁹ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”