Ezekiel 24

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.' "

Death of Ezekiel's Wife Is a Sign

15 And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

16 "Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the ¹⁹desire of your eyes with a ²⁰blow; but you shall not ²¹mourn and you shall not weep, and your ²²tears shall not come.

17 "Groan silently; make ²³no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and ²⁴do not eat the bread of men."

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

19 The people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?"

20 Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me saying,

21 'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the ²⁵desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your ²⁶sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

22 'You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men.

23 'Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You ²⁷will not mourn and you will not weep, but ²⁸you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another.

24 'Thus Ezekiel will be a ²⁹sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.' "

25 'As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their ³⁰stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart's delight, their sons and their daughters,

26 that on that day he who ³¹escapes will come to you with information for your ears?

27 'On that day your ³²mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.' "

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.

Cross References

• 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
• 19. Song of Songs 7:10; Ezekiel 24:18
• 20. Job 23:2
• 21. Jeremiah 16:5; Jeremiah 22:10
• 22. Jeremiah 13:17
• 23. Leviticus 21:10-12
• 24. Jeremiah 16:7; Hosea 9:4
• 25. Psalms 27:4; Psalms 84:1; Ezekiel 24:16
• 26. Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 16:3, 4; Ezekiel 23:25, 47
• 27. Job 27:15; Psalms 78:64
• 28. Leviticus 26:39; Ezekiel 33:10
• 29. Ezekiel 4:3; Luke 11:29, 30
• 30. Psalms 48:2; Psalms 50:2; Ezekiel 24:21
• 31. 1 Samuel 4:12; Job 1:15-19
• 32. Ezekiel 3:26; Ezekiel 33:22

Footnotes

• [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"
• [k]. Lit "a man to his brother"
• [l]. Or "beauty"
• [m]. Lit "the lifting up of their soul"

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.