Ezekiel 5:3

3 And thou hast taken thence a few in number -- and hast bound them in thy skirts;

Ezekiel 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 5:3

Thou shall also take thereof a few in number
These are they that were left in the land of Judea by Nebuzaradan, for vinedressers and husbandmen, and such as returned out of Egypt into the land of Judah, ( Jeremiah 44:28 ) ( 52:16 ) ; and bind them in thy skirts;
in the pockets of them; signifying both the very small number of them, and their preservation. Jarchi and Kimchi interpret these of those that were carried captive to Babylon, and lived there, and were preserved, and returned again.

Ezekiel 5:3 In-Context

1 `And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused [it] to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them.
2 A third part with fire thou dost burn in the midst of the city, at the fulness of the days of the siege; and thou hast taken the third part, thou dost smite with a weapon round about it; and the third part thou dost scatter to the wind, and a weapon I draw out after them.
3 And thou hast taken thence a few in number -- and hast bound them in thy skirts;
4 and of them thou dost take again, and hast cast them unto the midst of the fire, and hast burned them in the fire -- out of it cometh forth a fire unto all the house of Israel.
5 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this [is] Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations I have set her, And round about her [are] the lands.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.