Ezekiel 24

The Boiling Pot and the Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, {saying},

2 "Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, {this very day}. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day!

3 And {deliver a proverb} to {the rebellious house}, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Place the pot! Place [it] and also pour water into it.

4 Gather its pieces to it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder, fill it [with] choice bones;

5 take the choicest of the flock, and also pile the bones under it; {boil it vigorously}; indeed, its bones boiled in the midst of it." '"

6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe [to] the city of bloodguilt! A pot that [has] its rust in it; {its rust did not go out from it}. Bring it out {piece by piece}; {one is as good as another}.

7 For her blood was in the midst of her; {she put it on a bare rock}; she [did] not pour it on the ground to cover it [with] dust.

8 To stir up rage, to avenge myself [through] vengeance, I placed its blood on [the] barrenness of a rock, {so that it may not be covered}."

9 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe [to] the city of bloodguilt! I, even I, will make the pile of wood great!

10 Pile up the logs; kindle the fire; finish [cooking] the meat, and mix [in] the spices, and let the bones be burned.

11 And {make it stand} empty upon its burning coals so that it may become hot, and its copper may become molten and be melted in the midst of it, [so that] its uncleanness and its rust be consumed.

12 [Through] effort she has caused weariness; {its thick rust} went not [out of] it. Its rust! Into [the] fire [with] its rust!

13 In your uncleanness [is] obscene conduct, because I cleansed you, but you were not clean from your uncleanness; you will not be clean again until {I fully vent my rage} on you.

14 I, Yahweh, I have spoken. [It is] coming, and I did [it]; I will not disregard, and I will not take pity, and I will not reconsider. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

15 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

16 "Son of man, look! I [am] taking from you what is pleasing to your eyes with a plague, but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not run down.

17 Sigh in silence [for the] dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your [upper] lip, and the bread of {mourners} you shall not eat."

18 And I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and I did in the morning {just as} I was commanded.

19 And the people said to me, "Will you not make known to us what these [things] that you are doing [mean] for us?"

20 And I said to them that the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

21 "Say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [will be] profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength [and] the delight of your eyes and the object of your own affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword,

22 and you shall do {just as} I did: You shall not cover your [upper] lip, and you shall not eat [the] bread of {mourners}.

23 And your turban [must be] on your heads, and your sandals [must be] on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan {to one another}.

24 And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; {everything that he did} you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.

25 "And you, son of man, [will it] not [be that] on the day {when I take from them} their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their inner self, their sons and daughters--

26 on that day a survivor will come to you {with the news}.

27 On that day your mouth shall be opened {at the arrival of the fugitive}, and you shall speak, and you shall not be silent [any] longer, and you shall be to them as a sign, and they will know that I am Yahweh."

Ezekiel 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

The fate of Jerusalem. (1-14) The extent of the sufferings of the Jews. (15-27)

Verses 1-14 The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.

Verses 15-27 Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "was"
• [b]. Literally "to say"
• [c]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [d]. Literally "exactly the day the this"
• [e]. Literally "quote a proverb"; "proverb a proverb"
• [f]. Literally "the house of rebellion"
• [g]. Or possibly "logs"; the difference is one letter in Hebrew
• [h]. Literally "boil its boiling"
• [i]. Or "also"
• [j]. Literally "rust her not went forth from her"
• [k]. Literally "according to its pieces"
• [l]. Literally "no lot has fallen on it"
• [m]. Literally "on barrenness of [a] rock she put it"
• [n]. Or "earth" or "dirt"
• [o]. Literally "so [as] not to be covered"
• [p]. Or "charred"
• [q]. Literally "cause it to stand"
• [r]. Literally "her"
• [s]. Literally "the abundance of its rust"
• [t]. Literally "until causing rest I to my rage"
• [u]. Or "I will judge"
• [v]. Literally "declaration of"
• [w]. Literally "was"
• [x]. Literally "to say"
• [y]. Literally "to say"
• [z]. Or "blow"
• [aa]. Or "your mustache" (NASB)
• [ab]. Literally "men"
• [ac]. Literally "as that"
• [ad]. Literally "was"
• [ae]. Literally "to say"
• [af]. Or "souls'," or "selves'"
• [ag]. Literally "as that"
• [ah]. Or "mustache"
• [ai]. Literally "men"
• [aj]. Literally "a man to his brother"
• [ak]. Literally "like all that he did"
• [al]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [am]. Literally "on the day of to take me from them"
• [an]. Or "soul"
• [ao]. Literally "with a message for ears"
• [ap]. Literally "with the fugitive"; or "to the one who has escaped" (NRSV; cf. NASB)

Chapter Summary

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.