Ezekiel 24:18
in Ezekiel 24So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
KJV
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
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This verse in Ezekiel 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAt even my wife died - The prophet’s wife was a type of the city, which was to him exceedingly dear. The death of his wife represented the destruction of the city by the Chaldeans; see Eze 24:21, where the temple is represented to be the desire of his eyes, as his wife was, Eze 24:16.
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
in the evening my wife died
The whole sign happens within one day. Clarke saw the prophet's wife as a figure of the city and its temple, dear to him as they were to the people. Ezekiel obeyed the next morning without any public mourning.
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 Awakening2 voices
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
So I spake unto the people in the morning,....
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֲדַבֵּ֤ר | vaadaber | and I spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּבֹּ֔קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַתָּ֥מָת | vatamot | and she died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אִשְׁתִּ֖י | ʾishti | wife my | H802 → | 781 times |
| בָּעָ֑רֶב | baarev | in the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| וָאַ֥עַשׂ | vaaas | and I did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בַּבֹּ֖קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צֻוֵּֽיתִי׃ | tzuveiti | I had been commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
וָאֲדַבֵּ֤רand I spoke
vaadaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בַּבֹּ֔קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַתָּ֥מָתand she died
vatamotH4191 →839 times
אִשְׁתִּ֖יwife my
ʾishtiH802 →781 times
בָּעָ֑רֶבin the evening
baarevH6153 →134 times
וָאַ֥עַשׂand I did
vaaasH6213 →2628 times
בַּבֹּ֖קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צֻוֵּֽיתִי׃I had been commanded
tzuveitiH6680 →494 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.