This verse repeats the information in the last part of the previous verse, but adds a little more detail.

He that is far off shall die of pestilence refers to those who will die of disease. They will be far from the land of Israel in exile. And he that is near shall fall by the sword refers to those who will be killed in war. They will be living in and around the land of Israel. And he that is left and is preserved shall die of famine refers to those who will starve to death since they escape death in the other two ways. Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew by using the generic masculine singular to refer to people in general. Most translators will need to use inclusive terms here. A good rendering that does this is “Those who are living in distant countries are the ones who will die of disease. Those who live in and around Israel are the ones who will be killed in battle. Those who survive are the ones who will starve to death.”

Some translations have a totally different interpretation of the Hebrew word rendered preserved. King James Version, for example, renders he that … is preserved as “he that … is besieged” (similarly Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This rendering makes good sense in the context because people who were trapped inside a besieged city often starved to death. But it gives an unusual sense to the Hebrew word here and is not recommended.

Thus will I spend my fury upon them: See the comments on 5.13. By punishing the people in these three ways, God will bring an end to his anger. One possible translation here is “I will go on till my anger against them is finished.”

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 .