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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 5

Ezekiel 5: the shaved hair divided in thirds and the sentence on Jerusalem

General context

The prophet is told to take a sharp knife and "a barber’s razor," shave his head and beard, weigh the hair in balances and divide it. A third is to be burned "in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled," a third struck with a knife, and a third scattered in the wind with a sword drawn after it. A few hairs are to be bound in his skirts, and some of those cast again into the fire, "for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel." The Lord God then explains: "This is Jerusalem," set "in the midst of the nations," and she has changed his judgments into wickedness "more than the nations." Because of this the Lord is "against thee" and will execute judgments "in the sight of the nations," doing what he has not done before: fathers will eat sons and sons fathers, and the remnant will be scattered "into all the winds." Because they defiled his sanctuary with "detestable things," his eye will not spare. The three thirds are decoded: pestilence and famine, the sword, and scattering with a sword behind. His fury will rest and he "will be comforted," and they will know the Lord has spoken "in my zeal." Jerusalem will be a waste and "a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment" to the nations, with famine, evil beasts, pestilence, blood and sword sent against her, closed twice with "I the Lord have spoken it."

Cited passages: Ezekiel 5:1, Ezekiel 5:2, Ezekiel 5:3, Ezekiel 5:4, Ezekiel 5:5, Ezekiel 5:6, Ezekiel 5:8, Ezekiel 5:9, Ezekiel 5:10, Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 5:12, Ezekiel 5:13, Ezekiel 5:15, Ezekiel 5:17

Ezekiel 5 (KJV)

1And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

2Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

3Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

4Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

5Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

6And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

7Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

8Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

9And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

10Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

14Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

15So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.

16When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

17So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The sign is commanded, not narrated as done; the chapter never says the prophet shaved. The timing clause, "when the days of the siege are fulfilled," ties the burning to the siege sign of chapter 4, and "the city" here is identified by the Lord's own gloss, "This is Jerusalem." The interpretation in verse 12 follows the three thirds of verse 2 in the same order, pestilence and famine for the burned third, sword for the struck third, scattering for the wind-blown third; the few hairs in the skirts and the second burning in verses 3 and 4 receive no matching explanation in verse 12, and the text does not say what group they stand for beyond "a fire" into the house of Israel. The charge is comparative: Jerusalem did worse "than the nations," and verse 7 adds that they did not even keep "the judgments of the nations that are round about you." The cannibalism of fathers and sons is stated by the Lord as a coming judgment, not reported as an event. The text says the Lord "will be comforted" when his fury is accomplished, and states this as his own word. The chapter gives no date, no name of a besieging power, and no description of the sanctuary's defilement beyond "detestable things" and "abominations."

Cited passages: Ezekiel 5:2, Ezekiel 5:5, Ezekiel 5:12, Ezekiel 5:4, Ezekiel 5:7, Ezekiel 5:10, Ezekiel 5:13, Ezekiel 5:11

Literary context

The chapter moves from an act to its meaning. Verses 1 to 4 give the sign in the prophet's body, hair weighed and divided like a ration; verses 5 to 17 give the oracle, and the phrase "Therefore thus saith the Lord God" is repeated to stack the reasons and consequences. The thirds structure both halves: three portions of hair, then three fates in verse 12 in the same order. The oath "as I live, saith the Lord God" and the refusal "neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity" appear here for the first time in the book and recur in later chapters. The word "nations" is repeated in almost every verse of the oracle's first part, so that Jerusalem's position "in the midst of the nations" is both her privilege and the audience for her punishment, "in the sight of the nations." The closing verses pile up nouns, "a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment," "famine and evil beasts," "pestilence and blood," and the formula "I the Lord have spoken it" is used twice as a seal. The prophet does not speak at all in this chapter.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 5:7, Ezekiel 5:8, Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 5:6, Ezekiel 5:14, Ezekiel 5:15, Ezekiel 5:16

Key moments

  1. The razor and the balances (Ezekiel 5:1). The prophet is told to shave his head and beard and weigh the hair.
  2. Three thirds of hair (Ezekiel 5:2). A third is burned, a third struck with a knife, a third scattered to the wind.
  3. This is Jerusalem (Ezekiel 5:5). The Lord God identifies the city set in the midst of the nations.
  4. Fathers and sons (Ezekiel 5:10). The Lord says fathers will eat sons and sons fathers within the city.
  5. The thirds explained (Ezekiel 5:12). Pestilence and famine, the sword, and scattering are matched to the hair.
  6. A reproach to the nations (Ezekiel 5:15). Jerusalem will be a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment to those around her.

For reflection

The Lord says Jerusalem will become "an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations." What does it mean for a city's punishment to be described as a lesson for onlookers rather than only as a penalty for itself?

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