Ezekiel 24

1 And the word of the Lord was made to me, in the ninth year, and in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month (on the tenth day of the month), and he said,

2 Thou, son of man, write to thee the name of this day, in which the king of Babylon is confirmed (in his attack) against Jerusalem today.

3 And thou shalt say by a proverb a parable to the house (of Israel), (the) stirrer to wrath, and thou shalt speak to them, The Lord God saith these things, Set thou a brazen pot, set thou (it) soothly, and put thou water into it. (And thou shalt speak by a parable to the house of Israel, the stirrer, or provoker, to anger, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, Take thou a bronze pot, yea, take thou it, and put thou water into it.)

4 Take thou a beast full fat (Take thou a very fat beast); gather thou together the gobbets thereof into it, each good part, and the hip, and the shoulder, chosen things and full of bones.

5 Also dress thou heaps of bones under it; and the seething thereof boiled out, and the bones thereof were sodden in the midst thereof (and its bones were boiled in its midst).

6 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloods, to the pot whose rust is therein, and the rust thereof went not out of it; cast thou out it by parts, and by his parts; (and the) lot fell not on it. (And so the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot whose rust is in it, and its rust went not out of it; throw thou it out by its parts, and by its parts; and the lot did not fall on it.)

7 For why the blood thereof is in the midst thereof; he shed it out on a full clear stone, he shed not it out on (the) earth, that it may be covered with dust, (For its blood is in its midst; he poured it out on a very clean, or on a very bright, stone, he did not pour it out on the ground, so that it might be covered with dust,)

8 that I should bring in mine indignation, and avenge by vengeance; I gave the blood thereof on a full clear stone, that it should not be covered (I spilt its blood on a very clean, or on a very bright, stone, so that it would not be covered up, or hidden).

9 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Woe to the city of bloods (Woe to this city of bloodshed, or this city of murder), whose burning I shall make great;

10 gather thou together [the] bones, which I shall kindle with fire; (the) fleshes shall be wasted, and all the setting together shall be sodden (and it shall all be boiled away), and (the) bones shall fail.

11 Also set thou it void on coals, that the metal thereof wax hot, and be melted, and that the filth thereof be welled together in the midst thereof, and the rust thereof be wasted.

12 It was sweated by much travail (It was sweated over with much travail, or with much labour), and the over-great rust thereof went not out thereof, neither by fire.

13 Thine uncleanness is abominable; for I would cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filths; but neither thou shalt be cleansed before, till I make mine indignation to rest in thee (and thou shalt not be cleansed, until I make my indignation to rest upon thee).

14 I the Lord spake; it shall come, and I shall make (it), I shall not pass, neither I shall spare, neither I shall be pleased; by thy ways and by thy findings, I shall deem thee, saith the Lord. (I the Lord spoke; it shall come, and I shall make it, I shall not pass by, or over, neither shall I spare thee, nor shall I repent, and not do it; by thy ways and by thy doings, I shall judge thee, saith the Lord.)

15 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

16 Thou, son of man, lo! I take away from thee the desirable thing of thine eyes in vengeance, and thou shalt not wail, neither weep, neither thy tears shall flow down. (Thou, son of man, lo! with vengeance I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes, and of thy heart, but thou shalt not wail, nor weep, nor shall thy tears flow down.)

17 Wail thou (while) being still, thou shalt not make mourning of dead men; thy crown be bound about thine head, and thy shoes shall be in the feet, neither thou shalt cover the mouth with a cloth, neither thou shalt eat the meats of mourners. (Wail thou, but silently, thou shalt not make mourning for the dead; let thy crown, or thy covering, be put upon thy head, and thy shoes shall be upon thy feet, but thou shalt not cover thy mouth with a cloth, nor shalt thou eat the food of mourners.)

18 Therefore I spake to the people in the morrowtide, and my wife was dead in the eventide; and I did in the morrowtide, as he had commanded to me.

19 And the people said to me, Why showest thou not to us what these things signify, which thou doest?

20 And I said to them, The word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

21 Speak thou to the house of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall defoul my saintuary, the pride of your empire, and the desirable thing of your eyes, and on which your soul dreadeth; and your sons and your daughters, which ye left, shall fall by sword. (Speak thou to the house of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall defile my sanctuary, the pride of your empire, and the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul, or your heart, delighteth in; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye left behind, shall fall by the sword.)

22 And ye shall do, as I did; ye shall not cover (your) mouths with (a) cloth, and ye shall not eat the meat of wailers (and ye shall not eat the food of mourners).

23 Ye shall have crowns in your heads, and shoes in the feet; ye shall not wail, neither ye shall weep, but ye shall fail in wretchedness, for your wickednesses; and each man shall wail to his brother. (Ye shall have crowns, or coverings, upon your heads, and shoes upon your feet; and ye shall not wail, nor shall ye weep, but ye shall fail in wretchedness, for your wickednesses; and each person shall wail to another.)

24 And Ezekiel shall be to you into a sign of thing to coming; by all things which he did, ye shall do, when this thing shall come; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God. (And Ezekiel shall be for you a sign of things to come; and when this thing shall come, ye shall do all that he hath done; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God.)

25 And thou, son of man, lo! in the day in which I shall take away from them the strength of them, and the joy of dignity, and the desire of their eyes, on which the souls of them rest, cast away the sons and the daughters of them; (And thou, son of man, lo! on the day when I shall take away from them their strength, or their fortress, and their pride and joy, and the desire of their eyes, on which their souls, or their hearts, rest, I shall also take away their sons and their daughters;)

26 in that day when a man fleeing shall come to thee, to tell to thee; (on that day when those who flee, or those who escape, shall come to thee, and shall tell thee their news;)

27 in that day soothly thou shalt open thy mouth with him that fled; and thou shalt speak, and shalt no more be still; and thou shalt be to them into a sign of thing to coming, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (on that day thou shalt open thy mouth with them who fled; and thou shalt speak, and shalt no more be silent; and thou shalt be to them a sign of what is to come, and ye shall 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.

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.