Ezekiel 5:3

3 And you shall take from these a small number, and bind them in the skirts of your robe.

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 you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair.

2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed; and a third part you shall take and strike with the sword round about the city; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.

3 And you shall take from these a small number, and bind them in the skirts of your robe.

4 And of these again you shall take some, and cast them into the fire, and burn them in the fire; from there a fire will come forth into all the house of Israel.

5 Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries round about her.