Ezekiel 5:3

3 Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes.

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 The Lord said, "Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts.

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.