Ezekiel 24

Ezekiel 24 is the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book is attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter contains Ezekiel's "last oracle against Jerusalem".

Text

The original text of this chapter was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses

In the Hebrew Masoretic tradition, some early manuscripts which contain the text of this chapter are the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Leningrad Codex. Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q75 with extant verses 2–3.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus. There are a number of places in this chapter where the Septuagint text lacks wording present in the Hebrew texts.

Verse 1

Cross reference: ; ;

"The tenth month" : Tevet. The date corresponds to January 5, 587 BCE, based on the analysis by theologian Bernhard Lang, or 588 BCE, in the New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Verse 2

"Son of man" : this phrase is used 93 times to address Ezekiel.
"Set" : translated "started his siege" ; "has laid siege" ; "drew close". The Hebrew verb means "lean", "lay", "rest", "support", in the sense of "to place or lay something upon any thing, so that it may rest upon, and be supported by it" or "to lay hand on any thing, so as to lean upon the hand."

The Parable to the Rebellious House (24:3–14)

The mashal, or the parable to the rebellious house is the oracle revealed to Ezekiel the prophet against the city of Jerusalem the same day the king of Babylon started his siege against it. It is also considered a proverb. The parable is 12 verses long from verse 3 to verse 14.

Hebrew Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of Ezekiel 24:3-14 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the Jewish [Publication Society of America Version|JPS 1917] translation.

Verse	Hebrew text	English translation
3		And utter a parable concerning the rebellious house, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Set on the pot, set it on, And also pour water into it;
4		Gather into it the pieces belonging to it, Even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; Fill it with the choice bones.
5		Take the choice of the flock, And pile also the bones under it; Make it boil well, That the bones thereof may also be seethed in the midst of it.
6		Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose filth is therein, and whose filth is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by 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 might cause fury to come up, that vengeance might be taken, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
9		Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great,
10		heaping on the wood, kindling the fire, that the flesh may be consumed; and preparing the mixture, that the bones also may be burned;
11		then will I set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the bottom thereof may burn, and that the impurity of it may be molten in it, that the filth of it may be consumed
12		It hath wearied itself with toil; yet its great filth goeth not forth out of it, yea, its noisome filth.
13		Because of thy filthy lewdness, because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have satisfied My fury 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.’

Verses 15-27

On the death of his wife, the prophet abstains from all mourning, providing "a sign of the silent stupefaction which the news of the city’s fall will occasion".