Ezekiel 5:4

4 Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel."

Ezekiel 5:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 5:4

Then take of them again
Of that small number preserved: and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire:
this was fulfilled in Gedaliah and the Jews that were with him, over whom the king of Babylon had made him governor, who were slain by Ishmael, ( Jeremiah 41:1-7 ) ; [for] thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel;
from this barbarous murder of Gedaliah and his men, judgment came upon all the house of Israel; a war commenced between Ishmael and Johanan the son of Kareah; and afterwards Nebuzaradan carried captive great numbers of them that were left in the land. The Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "from these shall a fire come forth" which Jarchi interprets of these intimations given the prophet, from whence judgments should come upon all the house of Israel. It may be understood of those that were left in the land, and of such who returned from the captivity; for whose sins, and those of their posterity, the wrath of God came forth upon all the house of Israel, to the utter destruction of their nation, city, and temple, by Titus Vespasian.

Ezekiel 5:4 In-Context

2 Burn up a third of it in the city when the siege is over. Take another third and chop it up with your sword as you move around outside the city. Scatter the remaining third to the winds, and I will pursue it with my sword.
3 Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes.
4 Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel."
5 The Sovereign Lord said, "Look at Jerusalem. I put her at the center of the world, with other countries all around her.
6 But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.