Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 12:16

"But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the nations whither they come; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." — Ezekiel 12:16 (ASV)

May declare all their abominations. — This they were to do, so that the false impression that God was unable to protect His people might be removed from the minds of the heathen, and that the truth that He was punishing them for their sins might be made known. They should do it both by word of mouth and also by their conduct . The word “few” is literally, as shown in the margin, men of number, i.e., men who can easily be numbered or counted; and in the very similar expression in the original for “declare,” there is a play upon the word, something like our “count” and “recount.”

They shall know, may grammatically refer either to the heathen, or to the Israelites in their dispersion; but the latter is so constantly the refrain of these prophecies (see Ezekiel 12:20, e.g.), that it is also to be understood here.