Ezekiel 11:3
in Ezekiel 11They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are the flesh.
KJV
Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
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This verse in Ezekiel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It is not near - In contradiction to Eze 7:2. Let us build houses - “To build houses” implies a sense of security. Jeremiah bade the exiles “build houses” in a foreign land because they would not soon quit it Jer 29:5; Jer 35:7. These false counselors promised to their countrymen a sure and permanent abode in the city which God had doomed to destruction. No need, they said, to go far for safety; you are perfectly safe at home.
This site's exposition
five and twenty men
on Ezekiel 11:1-4
The Spirit carries the prophet to the east gate and shows him twenty five men gathered at its door, named leaders among them Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, princes of the people rather than strangers off the street. Their counsel is given in the very next verse's own words, that Jerusalem is a safe caldron and they the meat inside it, a boast that the coming siege will only cook the flesh already gathered rather than touch the city's leaders. Henry notes the irony that these men sit at the gate where the glory itself will soon depart, plotting safety in the shadow of the throne's exit. The Lord orders Ezekiel to prophesy against them by name, the charge repeated twice for weight, before a single word of judgment is spoken.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2 onwards) And behold, at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and in their midst I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the princes of the people. And he said to me, Son of man, these men devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city, saying, 'The houses have been recently built. This is the pot, but we are the meat.' Therefore, prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Which say it is not near, let us build houses,....
A message of comfort to those who were carried captives into Babylon and were there in the depth of despondency, thinking they should never rise. And, as the former are assured that God has judgments in store for them notwithstanding their present security, so the later are assured that God has mercy in store for them notwithstanding their present distress,
Now, if the destruction is not near, they conclude, Let us build houses; let us count upon a continuance, for this city is the caldron and we are the flesh.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It is not near--namely, the destruction of the city; therefore "let us build houses," as if there was no fear. But the Hebrew opposes English Version, which would require the infinitive absolute.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
It is not near - That is, the threatened invasion. This city is the caldron, and we be the flesh - See the vision of the seething pot, Jer 1:13. These infidels seem to say: “We will run all risks, we will abide in the city. Though it be the caldron, and we the flesh, yet we will share its fate: if it perish, we will perish with it.” Or they may allude to the above prediction of Jeremiah, in order to ridicule it: “We were to have been boiled long ago: but the fulfillment of that prediction is not near yet.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָאֹ֣מְרִ֔ים | haomerim | who say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְקָר֖וֹב | vekarov | [is] in [the] near [future] | H7138 → | 77 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | to build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| בָּתִּ֑ים | batim | houses | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַסִּ֔יר | hasir | [is] the pot | H5518 → | 34 times |
| וַאֲנַ֖חְנוּ | vaanachnu | and we | H587 → | 120 times |
| הַבָּשָֽׂר׃ | habasar | [are] the meat | H1320 → | 270 times |
הָאֹ֣מְרִ֔יםwho say
haomerimH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְקָר֖וֹב[is] in [the] near [future]
vekarovH7138 →77 times
בְּנ֣וֹתto build
benotH1129 →376 times
בָּתִּ֑יםhouses
batimH1004 →2046 times
הִ֣יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
הַסִּ֔יר[is] the pot
hasirH5518 →34 times
וַאֲנַ֖חְנוּand we
vaanachnuH587 →120 times
הַבָּשָֽׂר׃[are] the meat
habasarH1320 →270 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 5:19to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:22
“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 17:15
Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”
- Ezekiel 12:22
Through
Amos 6:5You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:12
At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
- Amos 5:23
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
- Amos 8:3
“In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
- Isaiah 5:12
Through
Ezekiel 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
- Ezekiel 18:2–3
Through
Ezekiel 12:27“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
it leads to
- Daniel 10:14
Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”
- 2 Peter 3:4
“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
- Daniel 10:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.