Yehezkiel 4:1-13

Ominous Object Lessons

4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick ¹  and set it in front of you. Inscribe ²  a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp ³  against it! Post soldiers outside it ⁴  and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan ⁵  and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign ⁶  for the house of Israel.

4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity ⁷  of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days ⁸  for you – 390 days. ⁹  So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ¹⁰ 

4:6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days ¹¹  – I have assigned one day for each year. 4:7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 4:8 Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege. ¹² 

4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, ¹³  put them in a single container, and make food ¹⁴  from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days ¹⁵  – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces ¹⁶  a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed ¹⁷  times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; ¹⁸  you must drink it at fixed times. 4:12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.” ¹⁹  4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations ²⁰  where I will banish them.”

Yehezkiel 5:1-4

5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. ²¹  Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. ²²  Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off. 5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair ²³  from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. ²⁴  5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, ²⁵  and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.

Yehezkiel 7:23

7:23 (Make the chain, ²⁶  because the land is full of murder ²⁷  and the city is full of violence.)

Yehezkiel 12:3-7

12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ²⁸  although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. ²⁹  You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground ³⁰  because I have made you an object lesson ³¹  to the house of Israel.”

12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ³²  on my shoulder while they watched.

Yehezkiel 21:6-7

21:6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart ³³  and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 21:7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone ³⁴  will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.’ ³⁵  Pay attention – it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord.”

Yehezkiel 24:1-24

The Boiling Pot

24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month ³⁶ : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege ³⁷  to Jerusalem ³⁸  this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house ³⁹  and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Set on the pot, ⁴⁰  set it on,

pour water in it too;

24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,

every good piece,

the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice bones.

24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,

heap up bones under it;

boil rapidly,

and boil its bones in it.

24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Woe to the city of bloodshed,

the pot whose rot ⁴¹  is in it,

whose rot has not been removed ⁴²  from it!

Empty it piece by piece.

No lot has fallen on it. ⁴³ 

24:7 For her blood was in it;

she poured it on an exposed rock;

she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.

24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,

I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.

24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Woe to the city of bloodshed!

I will also make the pile high.

24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;

cook the meat well, mix in the spices,

let the bones be charred.

24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, ⁴⁴ 

until it becomes hot and its copper glows,

until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot ⁴⁵  is consumed.

24:12 It has tried my patience; ⁴⁶ 

yet its thick rot is not removed ⁴⁷  from it.

Subject its rot to the fire! ⁴⁸ 

24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. ⁴⁹ 

I tried to cleanse you, ⁵⁰  but you are not clean.

You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness ⁵¹ 

until I have exhausted my anger on you.

24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment ⁵²  is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! ⁵³  I will judge you ⁵⁴  according to your conduct ⁵⁵  and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ⁵⁶  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁵⁷  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁵⁸  Bind on your turban ⁵⁹  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁶⁰  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁶¹ 

24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning ⁶²  I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”

24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, ⁶³  the object in which your eyes delight, ⁶⁴  and your life’s passion. ⁶⁵  Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die ⁶⁶  by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. ⁶⁷  24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot ⁶⁸  for your iniquities ⁶⁹  and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’

[4:1]  ¹ sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.

[4:1]  ² tn Or perhaps “draw.”

[4:2]  ³ tn Or “a barricade.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “set camps against it.”

[4:3]  ⁵ tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).

[4:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “I have assigned for you that the years of their iniquity be the number of days.” Num 14:33-34 is an example of the reverse, where the days were converted into years, the number of days spying out the land becoming the number of years of the wilderness wanderings.

[4:5]  ⁹ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:5]  sn The significance of the number 390 is not clear. The best explanation is that “days” are used figuratively for years and the number refers to the years of the sinfulness of Israel during the period of the First Temple. Some understand the number to refer to the length of the division of the northern and southern kingdoms down to the fall of Jerusalem (931-586 b.c.), but this adds up to only 345 years.

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.

[4:6]  ¹¹ sn The number 40 may refer in general to the period of Judah’s exile using the number of years Israel was punished in the wilderness. In this case, however, one would need to translate, “you will bear the punishment of the house of Judah.”

[4:8]  ¹² sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.

[4:9]  ¹³ sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “bread.”

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:10]  ¹⁶ sn Eight ounces (Heb “twenty shekels”). The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of grain about 230 grams here (8 ounces).

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from time to time.”

[4:11]  ¹⁸ sn A pint and a half [Heb “one-sixth of a hin”]. One-sixth of a hin was a quantity of liquid equal to about 1.3 pints or 0.6 liters.

[4:12]  ¹⁹ sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.

[4:13]  ²⁰ sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).

[5:1]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[5:1]  ²² tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”

[5:3]  ²³ tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ²⁴ sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).

[5:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ²⁶ tc The Hebrew word “the chain” occurs only here in the OT. The reading of the LXX (“and they will make carnage”) seems to imply a Hebrew text of ַהבַּתּוֹק (habbattoq, “disorder, slaughter”) instead of הָרַתּוֹק (haratoq, “the chain”). The LXX is also translating the verb as a third person plural future and taking this as the end of the preceding verse. As M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 1:154) notes, this may refer to a chain for a train of exiles but “the context does not speak of exile but of the city’s fall. The versions guess desperately and we can do little better.”

[7:23]  ²⁷ tn Heb “judgment for blood,” i.e., indictment or accountability for bloodshed. The word for “judgment” does not appear in the similar phrase in 9:9.

[12:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.

[12:6]  ²⁹ tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.

[12:6]  ³⁰ tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[12:6]  ³¹ sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.

[12:7]  ³² tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.

[21:6]  ³³ tn Heb “breaking loins.”

[21:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “every spirit will be dim.”

[21:7]  ³⁵ sn This expression depicts in a very vivid way how they will be overcome with fear. See the note on the same phrase in 7:17.

[24:1]  ³⁶ tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588 b.c.

[24:2]  ³⁷ tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”

[24:2]  ³⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:3]  ³⁹ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[24:3]  ⁴⁰ sn See Ezek 11:3-12.

[24:6]  ⁴¹ tn Or “rust.”

[24:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “has not gone out.”

[24:6]  ⁴³ tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.

[24:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”

[24:11]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).

[24:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.

[24:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “does not go out.”

[24:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.

[24:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”

[24:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.

[24:13]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”

[24:14]  ⁵² tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:14]  ⁵³ tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”

[24:14]  ⁵⁴ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss and the major ancient versions read a first person verb here. Most Hebrew mss read have an indefinite subject, “they will judge you,” which could be translated, “you will be judged.”

[24:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “ways.”

[24:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “a strike.”

[24:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

[24:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

[24:17]  ⁵⁹ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ⁶⁰ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).

[24:18]  ⁶² tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.

[24:21]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”

[24:21]  ⁶⁴ sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.

[24:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”

[24:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “fall.”

[24:22]  ⁶⁷ tn See v. 17.

[24:23]  ⁶⁸ tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.

[24:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “in your punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.