Ezekiel 24:1-14

Parable of the Boiling Pot

1 And the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying,
2 "Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has 1laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
3 "Speak a 2parable to the 3rebellious house and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Put on the 4pot, put it on and also pour water in it;
4 5Put in it the pieces, Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; Fill it with choice bones.
5 "Take the 6choicest of the flock, And also pile wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also seethe its bones in it."
6 'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the 7bloody city, To the pot in which there is rust And whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, Without making a choice.
7 "For her blood is in her midst; She placed it on the bare rock; She did not 8pour it on the ground To cover it with dust.
8 "That it may 9cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, That it may not be covered."
9 'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "10Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10 "Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, Boil the flesh well And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned.
11 "Then 11set it empty on its coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may glow And its 12filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust consumed.
12 "She has 13wearied Me with toil, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; Let her rust be in the fire!
13 "In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are 14not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again Until I have 15spent My wrath on you.
14 "I, the LORD, have spoken; it is 16coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not 17pity and I will not be sorry; 18according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you," declares the Lord GOD.' "

Ezekiel 24:1-14 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.

Cross References 18

  • 1. 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 39:1; Jeremiah 52:4
  • 2. Psalms 78:2; Ezekiel 17:2; Ezekiel 20:49
  • 3. Isaiah 1:2; Isaiah 30:1, 9; Ezek 2:3, 6, 8
  • 4. Jeremiah 1:13, 14; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; Ezekiel 24:6
  • 5. Micah 3:2, 3
  • 6. Jeremiah 39:6; Jeremiah 52:10, 24-27
  • 7. 2 Kings 24:3, 4; Ezek 22:2, 3, 27; Micah 7:2; Nahum 3:1
  • 8. Leviticus 17:13; Deuteronomy 12:16
  • 9. Isaiah 26:21
  • 10. Ezekiel 24:6; Habakkuk 2:12
  • 11. Jeremiah 21:10; Malachi 4:1
  • 12. Ezekiel 22:15; Ezekiel 23:27
  • 13. Jeremiah 9:5
  • 14. Jeremiah 6:28-30; Ezekiel 22:24
  • 15. Ezekiel 5:13; Ezekiel 8:18
  • 16. Psalms 33:9; Isaiah 55:11
  • 17. Jeremiah 13:14; Ezekiel 9:10
  • 18. Isaiah 3:11; Ezekiel 18:30; Ezekiel 36:19

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Lit "leaned on"
  • [b]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
  • [c]. Lit "Gather her pieces"
  • [d]. Lit "bones"
  • [e]. Lit "it"
  • [f]. Lit "No lot has fallen on it"
  • [g]. Lit "Complete"
  • [h]. Lit "become hot"
  • [i]. Lit "caused to rest"
  • [j]. So with several ancient mss and versions; M.T. "they"
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