Ezekiel 14:20

20 and [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job [were] in the midst of her, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "surely not [a] son, surely not [a] daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save {themselves}."

Ezekiel 14:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 14:20

Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, [were] in it
Who are again mentioned by name, as in ( Ezekiel 14:14 ) ; and are the three men referred to in ( Ezekiel 14:16 Ezekiel 14:18 ) ; [as] I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor
daughter;
not so much as an only son, or an only daughter, no, not even a single child: the plural number is used before, as in ( Ezekiel 14:16 Ezekiel 14:18 ) ; here the singular, to show how resolutely determined the Lord was upon the destruction of the land; that even the prayers of the best of men among them should not prevail with him to save a single person, no, not a single infant: they shall [but] deliver their own souls by their righteousness;
(See Gill on Ezekiel 14:14).

Ezekiel 14:20 In-Context

18 And [if] these three men [were] in the midst of it, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "they will not save sons and daughters, but {they alone} will be saved.

19 And if I [were to] send a plague to that land, and I pour out my rage on it with blood to cut it off, [both] human and animal,

20 and [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job [were] in the midst of her, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "surely not [a] son, surely not [a] daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save {themselves}."

21 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "How much more when I send my four punishments--the evil sword, and famine, and [a] fierce animal, and a plague--to Jerusalem to cut it off, [both] human and animal!

22 But look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters {who will be brought out}. Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of [it] that I brought over it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "live I"
• [b]. Literally "declaration of"
• [c]. Literally "their souls"