Ezekiel 24:3
in Ezekiel 24Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Put the pot on the fire; put it on and pour in the water.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:
KJV
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
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This verse in Ezekiel 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A pot - Or, the caldron; with reference to Eze 11:3. The prophet indicates by the figure utter destruction. The caldron is the city, the fire is the surrounding army, the flesh and bones are the inhabitants shut in within the walls.
This site's exposition
Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it
on Ezekiel 24:3-5
The sign is spoken as a parable of a cooking pot, filled with the choice pieces of the flock. Gill reads the choice cuts as Jerusalem's own leading citizens, the best of the flock rather than the culls. Wesley notes the command set on, set it on, doubled for urgency.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 24, Verse 1 onwards) Then in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And utter a parable to the rebellious house,.... The people of the Jews so called, not so much on account of their rebellion against the king of Babylon, which caused him to come against them, as on account of their rebellion against God, and the breach of his laws; see Eze 2:
By the sign of Ezekiel's not mourning for the death of his wife is shown that the calamities coming upon Jerusalem were too great to be lamented, so great that they should sink down under them into a silent despair,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Alluding to the self-confident proverb used among the people, Eze 11:3 (see on Eze 11:3), "This city is the caldron and we be the flesh"; your proverb shall prove awfully true, but in a different sense from what you intend.
Set on a pot - The pot was Jerusalem; the flesh, the inhabitants in general; every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, King Zedekiah and his family; the bones, the soldiers; and the setting on the pot, the commencement of the siege. The prophet was then in Mesopotamia; and he was told particularly to mark the day, etc., that it might be seen how precisely the spirit of prophecy had shown the very day in which the siege took place. Under the same image of a boiling pot, Jeremiah had represented the siege of Jerusalem, Jer 1:13. Ezekiel was a priest; the action of boiling pots was familiar to him, as these things were much in use in the temple service.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמְשֹׁ֤ל | umeshol | and speak a parable | H4911 → | 16 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּ֙רִי֙ | hameri | <the> rebellion | H4805 → | 23 times |
| מָשָׁ֔ל | mashal | a parable | H4912 → | 39 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֖ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| שְׁפֹ֤ת | shefot | put on | H8239 → | |
| הַסִּיר֙ | hasir | the pot | H5518 → | 34 times |
| שְׁפֹ֔ת | shefot | put on | H8239 → | |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| יְצֹ֥ק | yetzok | pour | H3332 → | |
| בּ֖וֹ | bo | in <the> it | ||
| מָֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
וּמְשֹׁ֤לand speak a parable
umesholH4911 →16 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּ֙רִי֙<the> rebellion
hameriH4805 →23 times
מָשָׁ֔לa parable
mashalH4912 →39 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֖רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
שְׁפֹ֤תput on
shefotH8239 →
הַסִּיר֙the pot
hasirH5518 →34 times
שְׁפֹ֔תput on
shefotH8239 →
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
יְצֹ֥קpour
yetzokH3332 →
בּ֖וֹin <the> it
bo
מָֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 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 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
- Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it,…
- Psalms 50:4
He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Through
Ezekiel 2:3“Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 3:25
Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have…
- Jeremiah 3:25
Through
Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:49
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- Ezekiel 20:49
Through
Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
it leads to
- John 16:25
I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
- John 16:25
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
