Ezekiel 24

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

¹Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, write the name of the day, this same day. The king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.

³Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, ‘The Lord GOD says, “Put the cauldron on the fire. Put it on, and also pour water into it.

⁴Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece: the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones.

⁵Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the cauldron. Make it boil well. Yes, let its bones be boiled within it.”

⁶“‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the bloody city, to the cauldron whose rust is in it, and whose rust hasn’t gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece without casting lots for it.

⁷“‘“For the blood she shed is in the middle of her. She set it on the bare rock. She didn’t pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.

⁸That 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 the Lord GOD says: “Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

¹⁰Heap on the wood. Make the fire hot. Boil the meat well. Make the broth thick, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its bronze may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.

¹²She is weary with toil; yet her great rust, rust by fire, doesn’t leave her.

¹³“‘“In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you won’t be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.

¹⁴“‘“I, the LORD, have spoken it. It will happen, and I will do it. I won’t go back. I won’t spare. I won’t repent. According to your ways and according to your doings, they will judge you,” says the Lord GOD.’”

The Death of Ezekiel's Wife

¹⁵Also the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.

¹⁷Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress on you, and put your sandals on your feet. Don’t cover your lips, and don’t eat mourner’s bread.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. So I did in the morning as I was commanded.

¹⁹The people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things mean to us, that you act like this?”

²⁰Then I said to them, “The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

²¹‘Speak to the house of Israel, “The Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

²²You will do as I have done. You won’t cover your lips or eat mourner’s bread.

²³Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You won’t mourn or weep; but you will pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.

²⁴Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”’”

²⁵“You, son of man, shouldn’t it 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 heart—their sons and their daughters—

²⁶that in that day he who escapes will come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?

²⁷In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak and be no more mute. So you will be a sign to them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Previous Ezekiel 23

Next Ezekiel 25

Ezekiel 24 presents two powerful prophetic signs marking Jerusalem's final siege. First, God commands Ezekiel to tell a parable of a cooking pot representing Jerusalem, whose corruption cannot be cleansed and must be destroyed by fire. Second, God takes Ezekiel's beloved wife suddenly and forbids him to mourn publicly, symbolizing how Israel will lose the temple without traditional mourning rituals. Both signs emphasize that Jerusalem's judgment is final and imminent, occurring on the very day Babylon begins its siege.

Context

This chapter marks the climactic moment of Ezekiel's prophecies against Jerusalem, occurring simultaneously with the actual siege that leads to the temple's destruction described in later chapters.

Key Themes

Outline

1-2
The Date of Jerusalem's Siege God commands Ezekiel to record the exact day Babylon begins besieging Jerusalem
3-5
The Cooking Pot Parable Begins Ezekiel tells a parable about preparing choice meat in a cauldron, representing Jerusalem
6-14
The Pot's Corruption and Judgment The pot's rust symbolizes Jerusalem's incurable sin, requiring complete destruction by fire
15-18
The Death of Ezekiel's Wife God takes Ezekiel's wife suddenly and forbids him to mourn publicly as a prophetic sign
19-27
The Meaning of Silent Grief Ezekiel explains that Israel will similarly lose the temple without traditional mourning rituals

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

24:1–24:14

prophecy parable-telling wrathful

Using the parable of a cooking pot, God announces Jerusalem's final judgment coinciding with Babylon's siege. The city's corruption cannot be cleansed, so it will be completely consumed by divine wrath.

person_contrast

Ezekiel receives this parable on the exact day Babylon begins besieging Jerusalem, making it the only prophetic oracle in Scripture with such precise historical synchronization.

The Death of Ezekiel's Wife

24:15–24:27

prophecy narration solemn

God takes Ezekiel's wife suddenly and commands him not to mourn publicly as a sign to Israel. Just as Ezekiel cannot mourn his beloved wife, Israel will be too devastated to properly mourn when the temple is destroyed.

person_contrast

Ezekiel's silent obedience to God's command not to mourn his wife's death creates the Bible's most emotionally devastating prophetic sign, where personal grief becomes national warning.

Insight Character Study

Ezekiel receives this parable on the exact day Babylon begins besieging Jerusalem, making it the only prophetic oracle in Scripture with such precise historical synchronization.

Insight Character Study

Ezekiel's silent obedience to God's command not to mourn his wife's death creates the Bible's most emotionally devastating prophetic sign, where personal grief becomes national warning.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Ezekiel 24:1 3 references

Lexicals 3

Jeremiah 52:4 Lexical

In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,…

4 shared words

2 Kings 25:1 Lexical

In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,…

4 shared words

Jeremiah 39:1 Lexical

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came ag…

Ezekiel 24

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

The Death of Ezekiel's Wife

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

The Death of Ezekiel's Wife

Insights

Cross-References

Ezekiel 24:1 3 references

Ezekiel 24:3 5 references

Ezekiel 24:6 3 references

Ezekiel 24:7 4 references

Ezekiel 24:8 3 references

Ezekiel 24:9 1 reference

Ezekiel 24:10 1 reference

Ezekiel 24:11 3 references

Ezekiel 24:14 5 references

Ezekiel 24:17 4 references

Ezekiel 24:21 5 references

Ezekiel 24:22 2 references

Ezekiel 24:27 1 reference

Interlinear

Historical Context