Yechezkel 24:3

3 And utter a mashal unto the bais hameri (the rebellious house), and say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem; Set on the siyr (cooking pot), set it on, and also pour mayim into it;

Yechezkel 24:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 24:3

And utter a parable to the rebellious house
The people of the Jews so called, not so much on account of their rebellion against the king of Babylon, which caused him to come against them, as on account of their rebellion against God, and the breach of his laws; see ( Ezekiel 2:3 Ezekiel 2:5-8 ) . The prophet is bid to represent to them, in a figurative and emblematic way, the miseries that were coming upon them for their wickedness, namely, under the parable of a boiling pot: and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God;
speaking in his name, and as coming from him, and clothed with his authority; that the following parable might not be thought to be a fancy and chimera of his own: "set on a pot, set it on"; set a pot on the fire, and do it quickly. This "pot" is the city of Jerusalem, which was to be brought into great distress and ruin; not a cauldron of brass, wherein the inhabitants should be as safe as if they had walls of brass about them, as they vainly boasted, ( Ezekiel 11:3 ) , but a seething pot, such an one as Jeremiah saw, to which, it may be, reference is here had, ( Jeremiah 1:13 ) , in which the people should be destroyed: and also pour water into it;
which, as it is some time a boiling, may denote the length of the siege of the city, which held two years; and of the troubles and miseries attending it; and of the greatness of them, which were as intolerable as boiling water. The Targum is,

``prophesy that armies shall come against this city; and also there shall be given unto it length of time to receive the siege.''

Yechezkel 24:3 In-Context

1 4 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying [i.e., note Fast of Tevet],

2 Ben adam, write thee the shem of the day, even of this very day; Melech Bavel laid his siege against Yerushalayim this very day.

3 And utter a mashal unto the bais hameri (the rebellious house), and say unto them, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem; Set on the siyr (cooking pot), set it on, and also pour mayim into it;

4 Gather the pieces of meat thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice atzmot (bones).

5 Take the choice of the tzon, and arrange also the atzmot at its bottom, and make it boil well, and let them cook the atzmot of it therein.