Ezekiel 24:10

10 Pile on the logs and kindle the fire! Cook the meat well and mix in the spices![a][b] Let the bones be burned!

Ezekiel 24:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 24:10

Heap on wood, kindle the fire
This is said either to the prophet, to do this in an emblematic way; or to the Chaldean army, to prepare for the siege, encompass the city, begin their attacks, and throw in their stones out of their slings and engines, and arrows from their bows: consume the flesh;
not entirely, since it is afterwards to be spiced; but thoroughly boil it; denoting the severe sufferings the inhabitants should undergo before their utter ruin: spice it well;
pepper them off; batter their walls, beat down their houses, distress them by all manner of ways and means; signifying that this would be grateful to the Lord, as his justice would be glorified in the destruction of this people; and as the plunder of them would be like a spiced and sweet morsel to the enemy; whose appetites would hereby be sharpened and become keen, and to whom the sacking and plundering the city would be as agreeable as well seasoned meat to a hungry man: and let the bones be burnt;
either under it, or rather in it; even the strongest and most powerful among the people destroyed, who should hold out the longest in the siege. The Targum of the whole is,

``multiply kings; gather an army; order the auxiliaries, and prepare against her warriors, and let her mighty ones be confounded.''

Ezekiel 24:10 In-Context

8 In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.
9 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I Myself will make the pile of kindling large.
10 Pile on the logs and kindle the fire! Cook the meat well and mix in the spices! Let the bones be burned!
11 Set the empty pot on its coals so that it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt inside it; its rust will be consumed.
12 It has frustrated every effort; its thick rust will not come off. Into the fire with its rust!

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Some Hb mss read well; remove the broth; LXX reads fire so that the meat may be cooked and the broth may be reduced
  • [b]. Or and stir the broth
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