3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
4 Gather the pieces thereof 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 burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
3 And utter H4911 a parable H4912 unto the rebellious H4805 house, H1004 and say H559 unto them, Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Set on H8239 a pot, H5518 set it on, H8239 and also pour H3332 water H4325 into it:
4 Gather H622 the pieces H5409 thereof into it, even every good H2896 piece, H5409 the thigh, H3409 and the shoulder; H3802 fill H4390 it with the choice H4005 bones. H6106
5 Take H3947 the choice H4005 of the flock, H6629 and burn H1754 also the bones H6106 under it, and make it boil H7570 well, H7571 and let them seethe H1310 the bones H6106 of it therein. H8432
6 Wherefore thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Woe H188 to the bloody H1818 city, H5892 to the pot H5518 whose scum H2457 is therein, and whose scum H2457 is not gone out H3318 of it! bring it out H3318 piece H5409 by piece; H5409 let no lot H1486 fall H5307 upon it.
7 For her blood H1818 is in the midst H8432 of her; she set H7760 it upon the top H6706 of a rock; H5553 she poured H8210 it not upon the ground, H776 to cover H3680 it with dust; H6083
8 That it might cause fury H2534 to come up H5927 to take H5358 vengeance; H5359 I have set H5414 her blood H1818 upon the top H6706 of a rock, H5553 that it should not be covered. H3680
9 Therefore thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Woe H188 to the bloody H1818 city! H5892 I will even make the pile H4071 for fire great. H1431
10 Heap H7235 on wood, H6086 kindle H1814 the fire, H784 consume H8552 the flesh, H1320 and spice H7543 it well, H4841 and let the bones H6106 be burned. H2787
11 Then set H5975 it empty H7386 upon the coals H1513 thereof, that the brass H5178 of it may be hot, H3179 and may burn, H2787 and that the filthiness H2932 of it may be molten H5413 in it, H8432 that the scum H2457 of it may be consumed. H8552
12 She hath wearied H3811 herself with lies, H8383 and her great H7227 scum H2457 went not forth H3318 out of her: her scum H2457 shall be in the fire. H784
13 In thy filthiness H2932 is lewdness: H2154 because I have purged H2891 thee, and thou wast not purged, H2891 thou shalt not be purged H2891 from thy filthiness H2932 any more, till I have caused my fury H2534 to rest H5117 upon thee.
14 I the LORD H3068 have spoken H1696 it: it shall come to pass, H935 and I will do H6213 it; I will not go back, H6544 neither will I spare, H2347 neither will I repent; H5162 according to thy ways, H1870 and according to thy doings, H5949 shall they judge H8199 thee, saith H5002 the Lord H136 GOD. H3069
3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:
4 gather the pieces thereof 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; yea, let the bones thereof be boiled in the midst of it.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: 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 upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.
8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: 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 upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed.
12 She hath wearied `herself' with toil; yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust `goeth not forth' by fire.
13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed thee and thou wast not cleansed, thou shalt not be cleansed from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my wrath toward thee to rest.
14 I, Jehovah, have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
3 and use unto the rebellious house a simile, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: To set on the pot, to set `it' on, and also to pour into it water,
4 To gather its pieces unto it, every good piece, Thigh and shoulder, the choice of the bones to fill in.
5 The choice of the flock to take, And also to pile of the bones under it, Boil it thoroughly, yea, cook its bones in its midst.
6 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Wo `to' the city of blood, A pot whose scum `is' in it, And its scum hath not come out of it, By piece of it, by piece of it bring it out, Not fallen on it hath a lot.
7 For her blood in her midst hath been, On a clear place of a rock she hath set it, She hath not poured it on the earth, To cover it over with dust.
8 To cause fury to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on a clear place of a rock -- not to be covered.
9 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Wo `to' the city of blood, yea, I -- I make great the pile.
10 Make abundant the wood, Kindle the fire, consume the flesh, And make the compound, And let the bones be burnt.
11 And cause it to stand on its coals empty, So that its brass is hot and burning, Melted hath been in its midst its uncleanness, Consumed is its scum.
12 `With' sorrows she hath wearied herself, And the abundance of her scum goeth not out of her, In the fire `is' her scum.
13 In thine uncleanness `is' wickedness, Because I have cleansed thee, And thou hast not been cleansed, From thine uncleanness thou art not cleansed again, Till I have caused My fury to rest on thee.
14 I, Jehovah, hath spoken, It hath come, and I have done `it', I do not free, nor do I spare, nor do I repent, According to thy ways, and according to thine acts, they have judged thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'
3 And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it.
4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones:
5 take the choice of the flock; and also [put] a pile of wood under it, for the bones; make it boil well, and let the bones of it seethe therein.
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it:
7 for her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.
8 That it might cause fury to come up to execute vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10 Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil thoroughly the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed.
12 She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire.
13 In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.
14 I Jehovah have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, nor will I repent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
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 the pieces of it 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 the bones of it be boiled in the midst of it.
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 the coals of it, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it 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.
3 And make a comparison for this uncontrolled people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Put on the cooking-pot, put it on the fire and put water in it:
4 And get the bits together, the fat tail, every good part, the leg and the top part of it: make it full of the best bones.
5 Take the best of the flock, put much wood under it: see that its bits are boiling well; let the bones be cooked inside it.
6 For this is what the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood, the cooking-pot which is unclean inside, which has never been made clean! take out its bits; its fate is still to come on it.
7 For her blood is in her; she has put it on the open rock not draining it on to the earth so that it might be covered with dust;
8 In order that it might make wrath come up to give punishment, she has put her blood on the open rock, so that it may not be covered.
9 For this cause the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood! and I will make great the burning mass.
10 Put on much wood, heating up the fire, boiling the flesh well, and making the soup thick, and let the bones be burned.
11 And I will put her on the coals so that she may be heated and her brass burned, so that what is unclean in her may become soft and her waste be completely taken away.
12 I have made myself tired to no purpose: still all the waste which is in her has not come out, it has an evil smell.
13 As for your unclean purpose: because I have been attempting to make you clean, but you have not been made clean from it, you will not be made clean till I have let loose my passion on you in full measure.
14 I the Lord have said the word and I will do it; I will not go back or have mercy, and my purpose will not be changed; in the measure of your ways and of your evil doings you will be judged, says the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 24
Commentary on Ezekiel 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 24
Eze 24:1-27. Vision of the Boiling Caldron, and of the Death of Ezekiel's Wife.
1, 2. Ezekiel proves his divine mission by announcing the very day, ("this same day") of the beginning of the investment of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; "the ninth year," namely, of Jehoiachin's captivity, "the tenth day of the tenth month"; though he was three hundred miles away from Jerusalem among the captives at the Chebar (2Ki 25:1; Jer 39:1).
2. set himself—laid siege; "lay against."
3. pot—caldron. Alluding to the self-confident proverb used among the people, Eze 11:3 (see on Eze 11:3), "This city is the caldron and we be the flesh"; your proverb shall prove awfully true, but in a different sense from what you intend. So far from the city proving an iron, caldron-like defense from the fire, it shall be as a caldron set on the fire, and the people as so many pieces of meat subjected to boiling heat. See Jer 1:13.
4. pieces thereof—those which properly belong to it, as its own.
every good piece … choice bones—that is, the most distinguished of the people. The "choice bones" in the pot have flesh adhering to them. The bones under the pot (Eze 24:5) are those having no flesh and used as fuel, answering to the poorest who suffer first, and are put out of pain sooner than the rich who endure what answers to the slower process of boiling.
5. burn … bones—rather, "pile the bones." Literally, "Let there be a round pile of the bones."
therein—literally, "in the midst of it."
6. scum—not ordinary, but poisonous scum, that is, the people's all-pervading wickedness.
bring it out piece by piece—"it," the contents of the pot; its flesh, that is, "I will destroy the people of the city, not all at the same time, but by a series of successive attacks." Not as Fairbairn, "on its every piece let it (the poisonous scum) go forth."
let no lot fall upon it—that is, no lot, such as is sometimes cast, to decide who are to be destroyed and who saved (2Sa 8:2; Joe 3:3; Ob 11; Na 3:10). In former carryings away of captives, lots were cast to settle who were to go, and who to stay, but now all alike are to be cast out without distinction of rank, age, or sex.
7. upon the top of a rock—or, "the dry, bare, exposed rock," so as to be conspicuous to all. Blood poured on a rock is not so soon absorbed as blood poured on the earth. The law ordered the blood even of a beast or fowl to be "covered with the dust" (Le 17:13); but Jerusalem was so shameless as to be at no pains to cover up the blood of innocent men slain in her. Blood, as the consummation of all sin, presupposes every other form of guilt.
8. That it might cause—God purposely let her so shamelessly pour the blood on the bare rock, "that it might" the more loudly and openly cry for vengeance from on high; and that the connection between the guilt and the punishment might be the more palpable. The blood of Abel, though the ground received it, still cries to heaven for vengeance (Ge 4:10, 11); much more blood shamelessly exposed on the bare rock.
set her blood—She shall be paid back in kind (Mt 7:2). She openly shed blood, and her blood shall openly be shed.
9. the pile for fire—the hostile materials for the city's destruction.
10. spice it well—that the meat may be the more palatable, that is, I will make the foe delight in its destruction as much as one delights in well-seasoned, savory meat. Grotius, needlessly departing from the obvious sense, translates, "Let it be boiled down to a compound."
11. set it empty … that … brass … may burn, … that … scum … may be consumed—Even the consumption of the contents is not enough; the caldron itself which is infected by the poisonous scum must be destroyed, that is, the city itself must be destroyed, not merely the inhabitants, just as the very house infected with leprosy was to be destroyed (Le 14:34-45).
12. herself—rather, "she hath wearied Me out with lies"; or rather, "with vain labors" on My part to purify her without being obliged to have recourse to judgments (compare Isa 43:24; Mal 2:17) [Maurer]. However, English Version gives a good sense (compare Isa 47:13; 57:10).
13. lewdness—determined, deliberate wickedness; from a Hebrew root, "to purpose."
I have purged thee—that is, I have left nothing untried which would tend towards purging thee, by sending prophets to invite thee to repentance, by giving thee the law with all its promises, privileges, and threats.
thou shalt not be purged … any more—that is, by My gracious interpositions; thou shalt be left to thine own course to take its fatal consequences.
14. go back—desist; relax [Fairbairn].
15. Second part of the vision; announcement of the death of Ezekiel's wife, and prohibition of the usual signs of mourning.
16. desire of … eyes—his wife: representing the sanctuary (Eze 24:21) in which the Jews so much gloried. The energy and subordination of Ezekiel's whole life to his prophetic office is strikingly displayed in this narrative of his wife's death. It is the only memorable event of his personal history which he records, and this only in reference to his soul-absorbing work. His natural tenderness is shown by that graphic touch, "the desire of thine eyes." What amazing subjection, then, of his individual feeling to his prophetic duty is manifested in the simple statement (Eze 24:18), "So I spake … in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded."
stroke—a sudden visitation. The suddenness of it enhances the self-control of Ezekiel in so entirely merging individual feeling, which must have been especially acute under such trying circumstances, in the higher claims of duty to God.
17. Forbear to cry—or, "Lament in silence"; not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expression of it [Grotius].
no mourning—typical of the universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would preclude mourning, such as is usual where calamity is but partial. "The dead" is purposely put in the plural, as referring ultimately to the dead who should perish at the taking of Jerusalem; though the singular might have been expected, as Ezekiel's wife was the immediate subject referred to: "make no mourning," such as is usual, "for the dead, and such as shall be hereafter in Jerusalem" (Jer 16:5-7).
tire of thine head—thy headdress [Fairbairn]. Jerome explains, "Thou shalt retain the hair which is usually cut in mourning." The fillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laid aside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2Sa 15:30). The reason was, the priests had their headdress of fine twined linen given them for ornament, and as a badge of office. The high priest, as having on his head the holy anointing oil, was forbidden in any case to lay aside his headdress. But the priests might do so in the case of the death of the nearest relatives (Le 21:2, 3, 10). They then put on inferior attire, sprinkling also on their heads dust and ashes (compare Le 10:6, 7).
shoes upon thy feet—whereas mourners went "barefoot" (2Sa 15:30).
cover not … lips—rather, the "upper lip," with the moustache (Le 13:45; Mic 3:7).
bread of men—the bread usually brought to mourners by friends in token of sympathy. So the "cup of consolation" brought (Jer 16:7). "Of men" means such as is usually furnished by men. So Isa 8:1, "a man's pen"; Re 21:17, "the measure of a man."
19. what these things are to us—The people perceive that Ezekiel's strange conduct has a symbolical meaning as to themselves; they ask, "What is that meaning?"
21. excellency of your strength—(compare Am 6:8). The object of your pride and confidence (Jer 7:4, 10, 14).
desire of … eyes—(Ps 27:4). The antitype to Ezekiel's wife (Eze 24:16).
pitieth—loveth, as pity is akin to love: "yearned over."
Profane—an appropriate word. They had profaned the temple with idolatry; God, in just retribution, will profane it with the Chaldean sword, that is, lay it in the dust, as Ezekiel's wife.
sons … daughters … left—the children left behind in Judea, when the parents were carried away.
22. (Jer 16:6, 7). So general shall be the calamity, that all ordinary usages of mourning shall be suspended.
23. ye shall not mourn … but … pine away for your iniquities—The Jews' not mourning was to be not the result of insensibility, any more than Ezekiel's not mourning for his wife was not from want of feeling. They could not in their exile manifest publicly their lamentation, but they would privately "mourn one to another." Their "iniquities" would then be their chief sorrow ("pining away"), as feeling that these were the cause of their sufferings (compare Le 26:39; La 3:39). The fullest fulfilment is still future (Zec 12:10-14).
24. sign—a typical representative in his own person of what was to befall them (Isa 20:3).
when this cometh—alluding probably to their taunt, as if God's word spoken by His prophets would never come to pass. "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now" (Jer 17:15). When the prophecy is fulfilled, "ye shall know (to your cost) that I am the Lord," who thereby show My power and fulfil My word spoken by My prophet (Joh 13:19; 14:29).
25, 26. "The day" referred to in these verses is the day of the overthrow of the temple, when the fugitive "escapes." But "that day," in Eze 24:27, is the day on which the fugitive brings the sad news to Ezekiel, at the Chebar. In the interval the prophet suspended his prophecies as to the Jews, as was foretold. Afterwards his mouth was "opened," and no more "dumb" (Eze 3:26, 27; compare Eze 24:27; 33:21, 22).