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".[1]
The original text of this chapter was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 27 verses.
In the Hebrew Masoretic tradition, some early manuscripts which contain the text of this chapter are the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Leningrad Codex (1008-1009). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 4Q75 (4QEzek; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 2–3.[2] [3] [4]
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 (B;
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Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month,
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (NKJV)[5] Cross reference: 2 2 Kings; 2 Jeremiah; 2 Jeremiah
"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." (KJV)[8]
The mashal,[9] 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.
The following table shows the Hebrew text[10] [11] of Ezekiel 24:3-14[12] with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew text | English translation (JPS 1917) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.’ |
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".
"Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do;
and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God." (NKJV)[13]