Yehezkiel 5:2-4

5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair ¹  from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. ²  5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, ³  and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.

Yehezkiel 5:12

5:12 A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. ⁴  A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, ⁵  and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.

Zakharia 14:2

14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem ⁶  to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away. ⁷ 

[5:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ² sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).

[5:4]  ³ tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[5:12]  ⁴ sn The judgment of plague and famine comes from the covenant curse (Lev 26:25-26). As in v. 10, the city of Jerusalem is figuratively addressed here.

[5:12]  ⁵ sn Judgment by plague, famine, and sword occurs in Jer 21:9; 27:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 7:15.

[14:2]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[14:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so NRSV); NAB “not be removed.”