Ezekiel 5:12

“A third part of them shall die with the pestilence, &c.] This, with what follows, explains the division of the hair into the three parts, and what was done with them; and shows that the burning of one third part denotes their being destroyed by the pestilence, mentioned along with burning coals, (<350305>Habakkuk 3:5); and by famine, as follows: and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and though there is no account of the former, yet there is of the latter; and no doubt but the pestilence raged, as well as the famine, at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; signified by the third part of the hair, smitten…”

“Statement in plain terms of what was intended by the symbols (Eze 5:2; see Eze 6:12; Jer 15:2; Jer 21:9). draw out . . . sword after them-- (Lev 26:33). Skeptics object; no such thing happened under Zedekiah, as is here foretold; namely, that a third part of the nation should die by pestilence, a third part by the sword, and a third be scattered unto all winds, and a sword sent after them. But the prophecy is not restricted to Zedekiah's time. It includes all that Israel suffered, or was still to suffer, for their sins, especially those committed at that period (Eze 17:21). It only received its primary fulfilment under Zedekiah: numbers then died by the pestilence and by the sword; and…”

“The judgments Ezekiel 5:12-17 of “famine, pestilence,” and the “sword,” were precisely those which attended the coming siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 15:2 ff). The “drawing out the sword after them” indicates that the anger of God will follow them even to the land of their exile (compare Jeremiah 42:19-22; Leviticus 26:25), and that the horrors of the Babylonian siege are but the beginning of the sorrows of the nation. return to 'Top of Page'”

“third part of: Eze 5:2, Eze 6:12; Jer 15:2, Jer 21:9; Zac 13:7-9 and I will scatter: Eze 5:2, Eze 5:10, Eze 6:8; Jer 9:16; Zac 7:14 and I will draw: This was particularly fulfilled in the destruction of those who retired to Egypt; and has been remarkably verified in the many persecutions and miseries which the Jews have suffered at different times, in the various countries into which they are dispersed. Eze 5:2, Eze 12:14; Lev 26:33; Deu 28:65; Jer 42:16, Jer 42:17, Jer 42:22, Jer 43:10, Jer 43:11, Jer 44:27; Amo 9:4 Ezekiel 5:13”