Ezekiel 24:2-12

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

3 And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Set on the pot, set it on, pour in water also;

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

5 Take the choicest one of the flock, pile the logs under it; boil its pieces, seethe also its bones in it.

6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, the pot whose rust is in it, whose rust has not gone out of it! Empty it piece by piece, making no choice at all.

7 For the blood she shed is inside it; she placed it on a bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground, to cover it with earth.

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

9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile great.

10 Heap up the logs, kindle the fire; boil the meat well, mix in the spices, let the bones be burned.

11 Stand it empty upon the coals, so that it may become hot, its copper glow, its filth melt in it, its rust be consumed.

12 In vain I have wearied myself; its thick rust does not depart. To the fire with its rust!

Ezekiel 24:2-12 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

• [a]. Compare verse 10: Heb [the bones]
• [b]. Two Mss: Heb [its boilings]
• [c]. Cn: Heb [its bones seethe]
• [d]. Heb [piece, no lot has fallen on it]
• [e]. Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
• [f]. Meaning of Heb uncertain