The Meaning of Ezekiel 14:20 Explained

Ezekiel 14:20

KJV: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

YLT: and Noah, Daniel, and Job, in its midst: I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah -- neither son nor daughter do they deliver; they, by their righteousness, deliver their own soul.

Darby: and Noah, Daniel, and Job should be in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter: they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

ASV: though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Though Noah,  Daniel,  and Job,  [were] in it,  [as] I live,  saith  the Lord  GOD,  they shall deliver  neither son  nor  daughter;  they shall [but] deliver  their own souls  by their righteousness. 

What does Ezekiel 14:20 Mean?

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 14

1  God answers idolaters according to their own heart
6  They are exhorted to repent, for fear of judgments, by means of seduced prophets
12  God's irrevocable sentence of famine
15  of wild beasts
17  of the sword
19  and of pestilence
22  A remnant shall be reserved for example of others

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 14:20 mean?

and even [though] Noah Daniel Daniel and Job [were] in it live [as] I says the Lord GOD neither son nor daughter would deliver they by their righteousness They would deliver [only] themselves -
וְנֹ֨חַ [דנאל] (דָּנִיֵּ֣אל‪‬) וְאִיּוֹב֮ בְּתוֹכָהּ֒ חַי־ אָ֗נִי נְאֻם֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה אִם־ בֵּ֥ן אִם־ בַּ֖ת יַצִּ֑ילוּ הֵ֥מָּה בְצִדְקָתָ֖ם יַצִּ֥ילוּ נַפְשָֽׁם פ

וְנֹ֨חַ  and  even  [though]  Noah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נׄחַ  
Sense: son of Lamech, father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth; builder of the ark which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood.
[דנאל]  Daniel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
(דָּנִיֵּ֣אל‪‬)  Daniel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּנִאֵל 
Sense: the 2nd son of David, by Abigail the Carmelitess.
וְאִיּוֹב֮  and  Job  [were] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִיּׄוב  
Sense: a patriarch, the subject of the book of Job.
בְּתוֹכָהּ֒  in  it 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
חַי־  live 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
אָ֗נִי  [as]  I 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
נְאֻם֙  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
אֲדֹנָ֣י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֔ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
אִם־  neither 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
בֵּ֥ן  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אִם־  nor 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
בַּ֖ת  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
יַצִּ֑ילוּ  would  deliver 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
בְצִדְקָתָ֖ם  by  their  righteousness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
יַצִּ֥ילוּ  They  would  deliver 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
נַפְשָֽׁם  [only]  themselves 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation