Ezekiel 7:23–27, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ezekiel 7:23–27
Violence, Failed Counsel, and Collapsing Leadership Close the Oracle
Make a chain: the land is full of bloody crimes
Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. He will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses. He will make the pomp of the strong to cease, and their holy places shall be defiled.
Destruction cometh; they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour upon rumour. Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
King, prince, and people of the land tremble
The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. He will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will he judge them; and they shall know that he is the LORD.
Leadership failure does not authorize lawlessness, collective punishment, or claiming every institutional crisis fulfills Ezekiel. Bloody crimes are a charge against that city, not a slogan for later crowds.
How this should shape us
When counsel fails, do not fill the gap with vigilantes or with a claim that this verse has arrived again. Seek just speech. Do not treat every collapse of offices as a fulfilled chain.
Teach it back
Explain Ezekiel 7:23–27 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Ezekiel 7:23–27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 7:23–27
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and passage studies: signs, temple judgment, and departing glory; applied to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Parts 1-2 study guides: temple vision, judgment, responsibility, and presence; applied to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 7:23–27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 7:23–27
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies
Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and passage studies: signs, temple judgment, and departing glory; applied to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Parts 1-2 study guides: temple vision, judgment, responsibility, and presence; applied to Ezekiel 7:23–27
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗