Ezekiel 24:5

5 Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it."

Ezekiel 24:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 24:5

Take the choice of the flock
King, princes, nobles, magistrates, priests and rulers of the people: and burn also the bones under it:
or, "put a pile of bones under it" {u}; the bones of them that are slain in it; denoting the great slaughter of them; or the bones of the innocent that had been murdered in it; which were the cause of these judgments coming upon them; and caused the wrath of God to burn the more hotly against them; or the bones of the wicked: and make it boil well;
the pot; that the water may be very hot and boiling; denoting the severity of the judgments of God in the city, to the destruction of many by sword, famine, and pestilence: and let them seethe the bones of it therein;
that the strongest among them may be weakened and destroyed by the length and severity of the siege, and the judgments attending it. The Targum is,

``bring near the kings of the people, and even join auxiliaries with them; hasten the time of it yea, let her slain be cast in the midst of her.''

FOOTNOTES:

F21 (hytxt Mymueh rwd) "pyram ossium sub ipsa", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Starckius. (rwd) "rogus, strues materiae combustibililis rotunda", Stockius, p. 223.

Ezekiel 24:5 In-Context

3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it.
4 Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice cuts;
5 Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it."
6 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.
7 For her blood is in her midst; She set it on top of a rock; She did not pour it on the ground, To cover it with dust.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.