1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth (day) of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, write the name of the day, (even) of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day. 3 Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it: 4 gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 5 Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile (of wood) for the bones under (the caldron); make it boil well; yes, let its bones be boiled in its midst. 6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it. 7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it on the bare rock; she didn't pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust. 8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered. 9 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. 10 Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its brass may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed. 12 She has wearied (herself) with toil; yet her great rust doesn't go forth out of her; her rust doesn't (go forth) by fire. 13 In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren't cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest. 14 I, Yahweh, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to your ways, and according to your doings, shall they judge you, says the Lord Yahweh. 15 Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind your headdress on you, and put your shoes on your feet, and don't cover your lips, and don't eat men's bread. 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19 The people said to me, Won't you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so? 20 Then I said to them, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 You shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 Your tires shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh. 25 You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters, 26 that in that day he who escapes shall come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears? 27 In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you shall speak, and be no more mute: so you will be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
In Ezek. 24, Ezekiel is commissioned to announce to his fellow-exiles that the destruction of Jerusalem, so long foretold, was now in course of execution, that the siege had actually begun. This he is to declare:
(1) by a parable - of the boiling pot,
(2) by a symbolic act - the abstaining from the usual outward mourning for his wife's death.
The prophet now informs those of the captivity of the very day on which Nebuchadnezzar was to lay siege to Jerusalem, (compare Jeremiah 52:4), and describes the fate of that city and its inhabitants by a very apt similitude, Ezekiel 24:1-14. As another sign of the greatness of those calamities the prophet is forbidden to mourn for his wife, of whom he is to be deprived; intimating thereby that the sufferings of the Jews should be so astonishing as to surpass all expressions of grief; and that private sorrow however affectionate and tender the object, ought to be absorbed in the public calamities, Ezekiel 24:15-18. The prophet, having farther expressed his prediction in plain terms, intimates that he was to speak to them no more till they should have the news of these prophecies having been fulfilled, Ezekiel 24:19-27.
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, Ezekiel 24:1, the parable of the boiling pot, Ezekiel 24:3, the explanation and application of it to the city of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 24:6, the prophet is told of the death of his wife, and bid not to mourn on that account, which accordingly came to pass, Ezekiel 24:15, 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, Ezekiel 24:19, 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, Ezekiel 24:25.
(Ezekiel 24:1-14) The fate of Jerusalem.
(Ezekiel 24:15-27) The extent of the sufferings of the Jews.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.