Ezekiel 24:16-26

16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men.
18 -- And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, which thou doest?
20 And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
21 Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul's longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover the beard, neither eat the bread of men;
23 and your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall waste away in your iniquities and moan one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when it cometh, then ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
25 And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereunto they lift up their soul, their sons and their daughters,
26 that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause [thine] ears to hear [it]?

Ezekiel 24:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 24

Is this chapter the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem is prophesied of; the former under the parable of a boiling pot; the latter is represented by the sudden death of Ezekiel's wife. The time of this prophecy was that very day the king of Babylon began the siege of Jerusalem, Eze 24:1,2, the parable of the boiling pot, Eze 24:3-5, the explanation and application of it to the city of Jerusalem, Eze 24:6-14, the prophet is told of the death of his wife, and bid not to mourn on that account, which accordingly came to pass, Eze 24:15-18, upon the people's inquiring what these things meant, he informs them that hereby was signified the profanation of the temple; and that their distress should be so great, that they should not use any set forms of mourning, but pine away and die, Eze 24:19-24, and the chapter is closed with assuring the prophet, that the day these things should come to pass, a messenger should be sent him, to whom he should open his mouth, and be no more dumb, Eze 24:25-27.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Or 'through.'
  • [b]. Or 'portent,' as ch. 12.6,11.
  • [c]. Or 'fortress,' see Isa. 23.14; others 'confidence.'
  • [d]. As 'music,' 1Chron. 15.22.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.