Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness: The first clause of this verse is the final condition of the long conditional sentence in verses 13-14. In some ways the conditional clauses in verse 13 just set the background for the focus of the conditional sentence in this verse. Revised Standard Version inserts even if (literally “and”) at this point to highlight that the real message of the whole conditional sentence is in this verse (also Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, New King James Version , Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). According to this verse, even if the three righteous men mentioned here were living in the land, their righteousness would not save anyone but themselves. This statement depends on the (false) idea that the presence of some really good people will outweigh the sins of many bad people, so that God will not punish everyone. This idea can be seen in the story of Abraham arguing with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 18.16-33. It is also evident in Jer 15.1, where God would not have mercy on the people of Judah even if Moses and Samuel were to pray for them.
Noah and Job were both Biblical characters of great antiquity who were well known for their goodness. Daniel was not the young man who was in exile with Ezekiel, but an ancient Near Eastern hero called “Danel” (so Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible), who was famous for his righteous life and wisdom.
Lives is a better rendering than “souls” (King James Version) for the Hebrew word nefesh (see the comments on 3.19). In the Old Testament the Hebrew term for righteousness refers to the way people treated others in society and obeyed God’s will as found in the Law of Moses. It should not be confused with the New Testament term that Paul uses in Romans. Contemporary English Version renders it as “faithfulness,” Good News Translation and New Century Version as “goodness,” New Jerusalem Bible as “uprightness,” New American Bible as “virtue,” and Jerusalem Bible as “integrity.” “Obedience” is also acceptable. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness may be rendered “the only lives they could save would be their own. I would save them because of their goodness.”
Says the Lord GOD: See verse 11.
A model that simplifies the complicated conditional sentence in verses 13 and 14 is:
• 13 “Now, mortal man, suppose all the people who live in a certain country sin and break their relationship with me, then I decide to punish them. I will punish them by sending famine and causing them to starve from lack of food, so that all the people and all the animals will die. 14 If I decide to punish them like that, will anybody be saved? You know those three good men, Noah, Danel and Job, they obeyed me well. Because of that, if they lived in that land, they would be saved [or, I would save them]. But they would not be able to save anyone else.
An alternative to the last part of this model is:
• I tell you that even if those good men Noah, Danel and Job lived there, I would save them because of their goodness, but they are the only ones I would save.
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .