Ezekiel 24:17
in Ezekiel 24Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseMake no mourning - As a priest, he could make no public mourning, Lev 21:1, etc. Bind the tire of thine head - This seems to refer to the high priest’s bonnet; or perhaps, one worn by the ordinary priests: it might have been a black veil to cover the head. Put on thy shoes upon thy feet - Walking barefoot was a sign of grief. Cover not thy lips - Mourners covered the under part of the face, from the nose to the bottom of the chin.
This site's exposition
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 24:15-18
The Lord tells the prophet he takes away the desire of thine eyes, and forbids him to mourn her. Keil reads the bare notice, and at even my wife died, as deliberately unadorned. Henry reads the loss, calling it the costliest sign any prophet was ever asked to perform.
This site's exposition
Groan quietly
Mourners in Israel went bareheaded and barefoot, covered the upper lip, and ate a mourning meal. Wesley listed each custom that Ezekiel was told to set aside. Silent groaning was all the grief allowed him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 15 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a plague, and you shall not mourn or weep, neither shall your tears flow. Sigh in silence, you shall not mourn for the dead. Your turban shall be on your head, and your sandals shall be on your feet; you shall not cover your lips nor eat the bread of mourners. Therefore, I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Bind the tire - Adorn thy head, as thou wast used to do; go not bare-headed as a mourner. Thy shoes - ln great mournings the Jews went bare-footed. Cover not thy lips - It was a custom among them to cover the upper lip.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord G OD ; 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;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v6-7
Forbear to cry,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
JEROME explains, "Thou shalt retain the hair which is usually cut in mourning." The fillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laid aside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2Sa 15:30).
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵאָנֵ֣ק׀ | heanek | groaning | H602 → | 4 times |
| דֹּ֗ם | dom | be silent | H1826 → | |
| מֵתִים֙ | metim | dead [people] | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֵ֣בֶל | ʾevel | mourning | H60 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה | taaseh | you must do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| פְאֵֽרְךָ֙ | feerekha | turban your | H6287 → | 7 times |
| חֲב֣וֹשׁ | chavoosh | bind | H2280 → | 33 times |
| עָלֶ֔יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וּנְעָלֶ֖יךָ | unealeikha | and sandals your | H5275 → | |
| תָּשִׂ֣ים | tasim | you will put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| בְּרַגְלֶ֑יךָ | beragleikha | on feet your | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעְטֶה֙ | ta'teh | you must cover | H5844 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָׂפָ֔ם | safam | a moustache | H8222 → | |
| וְלֶ֥חֶם | velechem | and food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֖ים | ʾanashim | people | H582 → | 566 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכֵֽל׃ | tokhel | you must eat | H398 → | 810 times |
הֵאָנֵ֣ק׀groaning
heanekH602 →4 times
דֹּ֗םbe silent
domH1826 →
מֵתִים֙dead [people]
metimH4191 →839 times
אֵ֣בֶלmourning
ʾevelH60 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַֽעֲשֶׂ֔הyou must do
taasehH6213 →2628 times
פְאֵֽרְךָ֙turban your
feerekhaH6287 →7 times
חֲב֣וֹשׁbind
chavooshH2280 →33 times
עָלֶ֔יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
וּנְעָלֶ֖יךָand sandals your
unealeikhaH5275 →
תָּשִׂ֣יםyou will put
tasimH7760 →584 times
בְּרַגְלֶ֑יךָon feet your
beragleikhaH7272 →247 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעְטֶה֙you must cover
ta'tehH5844 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שָׂפָ֔םa moustache
safamH8222 →
וְלֶ֥חֶםand food of
velechemH3899 →298 times
אֲנָשִׁ֖יםpeople
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכֵֽל׃you must eat
tokhelH398 →810 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
Leviticus 21:10The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose…
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:6–7
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be…
- Leviticus 16:32
The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments
- Matthew 26:65
At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
- Leviticus 10:6–7
Through
2 Samuel 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up,…
it leads to
- Esther 6:12
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
- Luke 19:41
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- Esther 6:12
Through
Hosea 9:4They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 26:14
I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God;…
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- Deuteronomy 26:14
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.