Ezekiel 24

The Siege of Jerusalem

1 ¹In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

2 ²"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

3 And ³utter a parable to ⁴the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Set on ⁵the pot, set it on; pour in water also;

4 put in it the pieces of meat, all the good pieces, ⁶the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.

5 Take the choicest one of the flock; pile the logs^[a] under it; boil it well; seethe also its bones in it.

6 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ⁷Woe to the bloody city, to ⁸the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.^[b]

7 For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ⁹the bare rock; ¹⁰she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.

8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.

9 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! ¹¹I also will make the pile great.

10 Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,^[c] and let the bones be burned up.

11 Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ¹²that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed.

12 ¹³She has wearied herself with toil;^[d] its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion!

13 On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ¹⁴you shall not be cleansed anymore till ¹⁵I have satisfied my fury upon you.

14 ¹⁶I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ¹⁷I will not spare; ¹⁸I will not relent; ¹⁹according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD."

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

15 The word of the LORD came to me:

16 ²⁰"Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.

17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ²¹Bind on your turban, and ²²put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ²³nor eat the bread of men."

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ²⁴at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ²⁵as I was commanded.

19 And ²⁶the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?"

20 Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me:

21 'Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: ²⁷Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ²⁸your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

22 And ²⁹you shall do as I have done; ³⁰you shall not cover your lips, ³¹nor eat the bread of men.

23 ³²Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ³³you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.

24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ³⁴a sign; ³⁵according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ³⁶you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'

25 "As for you, ³⁷son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ³⁸their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters,

26 ³⁹on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news.

27 On that day your mouth ⁴⁰will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ⁴¹So you will be a sign to them, and ⁴²they will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

The fate of Jerusalem. (1-14) The extent of the sufferings of the Jews. (15-27)

Verses 1-14 The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.

Verses 15-27 Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.

Cross References

• 1. See Ezekiel 20:1
• 2. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 3. [Ezekiel 17:2; Ezekiel 20:49]
• 4. See Ezekiel 2:5
• 5. Ezekiel 11:3, 7, 11; 2 Kings 4:38
• 6. See 1 Samuel 9:24
• 7. Ezekiel 22:2; [Nahum 3:1]
• 8. [See ver. 3 above]
• 9. Ezekiel 26:4, 14
• 10. [Leviticus 17:13; Deuteronomy 12:16, 24]
• 11. Isaiah 30:33
• 12. Ezekiel 22:15
• 13. [Jeremiah 2:22]
• 14. Isaiah 22:14
• 15. See Ezekiel 5:13
• 16. See Ezekiel 17:24
• 17. See Ezekiel 5:11
• 18. [Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29]
• 19. [Ezekiel 20:43; Ezekiel 23:45]
• 20. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 21. See Leviticus 10:6
• 22. [2 Samuel 15:30; Isaiah 20:2]
• 23. Hosea 9:4; See Jeremiah 16:5-7
• 24. [ver. 16]
• 25. Ezekiel 12:7; Ezekiel 37:7
• 26. See Ezekiel 12:9
• 27. [Jeremiah 7:14]; See Ezekiel 7:21
• 28. Ezekiel 23:47; See 2 Chronicles 36:17
• 29. [ver. 17; Ezekiel 12:11]
• 30. [ver. 17; Ezekiel 12:11]
• 31. [See ver. 17 above]
• 32. [See ver. 22 above]
• 33. See Ezekiel 4:17
• 34. ver. 27; See Ezekiel 4:3
• 35. [See ver. 22 above]
• 36. See Ezekiel 6:7
• 37. See Ezekiel 2:1
• 38. [ver. 21]
• 39. See Ezekiel 33:21, 22
• 40. Ezekiel 29:21; [Ezekiel 3:26, 27]
• 41. ver. 24; See Ezekiel 4:3
• 42. See Ezekiel 6:7

Footnotes

• [a]. Compare verse 10; Hebrew the bones
• [b]. Hebrew no lot has fallen upon it
• [c]. Or empty out the broth
• [d]. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Chapter Summary

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.