Ezekiel 24
1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
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.
15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
25 Also, thou 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 minds, their sons and their daughters,
26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Ezekiel 24.
What historical setting lies behind Ezekiel 24?
The chapter synchronizes Ezekiel with the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem.
How does Ezekiel 24’s cooking-pot allegory + personal sign-act shape the chapter?
Public metaphor and the death of Ezekiel’s wife are placed side by side as signs of impending loss.
How should Ezekiel’s wife’s death be read as a sign-act?
The text explicitly makes Ezekiel’s constrained mourning a public sign. The passage raises difficult ethical and literary questions that should not be softened into a simple object lesson.
Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
History & Daily Life1
- Siege of Jerusalem and the Fall of JudahEncyclopaedia Britannica
Historical overview of the Babylonian campaigns, Jerusalem’s sieges, deportations, and the final collapse of the kingdom of Judah. It provides chronological context for Ezekiel 24’s precisely dated announcement that the Babylonian king had begun the siege of Jerusalem.
Language & Literature1
- Ezekiel 24 Hebrew Text and Boiling-Pot SignSTEP Bible, Tyndale House
Interactive Hebrew tool for studying the chapter’s dated siege notice, boiling-pot imagery, choice meat, bones, corrosion or rust, blood placed on bare rock, bereavement, forbidden mourning rites, sanctuary loss, and Ezekiel’s enforced silence. It helps readers follow the relationship between the public parable and the prophet’s private loss.
Artifacts & Manuscripts1
- Babylonian Chronicle of Nebuchadnezzar’s Western CampaignsLivius
Browser-readable translation of the Babylonian Chronicle describing Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier capture of Jerusalem in 597 BCE. Although it does not preserve the later siege announced in Ezekiel 24, it documents Babylon’s established campaign pattern and the political circumstances that brought Ezekiel and other Judeans into exile.
Public Discussion
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