Ezekiel 24:17

Ezekiel 24:17 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

Context of Ezekiel 24:17

15Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16“Son of man, listen carefully, I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] with a single stroke. Yet you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not flow. Sigh and groan in silence; do not mourn for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of [mourners furnished by other] men.” 18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I was commanded. 19The people said to me, “These things that you are doing—tell us, what do they mean for us?”

Ezekiel 24:17 word by word

הֵאָנֵ֣ק׀ דֹּ֗ם מֵתִים֙ אֵ֣בֶל לֹֽא־תַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה פְאֵֽרְךָ֙ חֲב֣וֹשׁ עָלֶ֔יךָ וּנְעָלֶ֖יךָ תָּשִׂ֣ים בְּרַגְלֶ֑יךָ וְלֹ֤א תַעְטֶה֙ עַל־שָׂפָ֔ם וְלֶ֥חֶם אֲנָשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forbearדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: silentH1826
• to cryאָנַק'ânaq · to groanH602
• makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• no mourningאֵ֫בֶל'êbel · mourningH60
• for the deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• bindחָבַשׁchâbash · to saddle/tieH2280
• the tire of thine headפְּאֵרpe'êr · headdressH6287
• upon thee, and put onשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• thy shoesנַ֫עַלna‛al na‛ălâh · sandalH5275
• upon thy feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
• and coverעָטָה‛âţâh · to enwrapH5844
• lipsשָׂפָםώâphâm · mustacheH8222
• and eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• not the breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
• of menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582

Cross-references for Ezekiel 24:17

• Psalms 37:7Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him; Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
• Psalms 39:9I am mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who has done it.
• Psalms 46:10“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
• Amos 8:3In that day, the songs of the palace shall turn to wailing,” says the Lord God. “There will be many dead bodies; in [sacred] silence they will throw them everywhere.”
• Habakkuk 2:20But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth hush and be silent before Him.”
• Jeremiah 16:4“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.”
• Ezekiel 24:23Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will rot away in your sins and you will groan to one another.
• Leviticus 10:6Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about.
• Leviticus 21:10‘But he who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the [sacred] garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes [in mourning],
• 2 Samuel 15:30And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot [in despair]. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
• Ezekiel 24:22You will do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your mustache nor eat the bread of [mourning brought to you by other] men.
• Leviticus 13:45“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered (disheveled), and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
• Micah 3:7The seers shall be ashamed And the diviners discredited and embarrassed; Indeed, they shall all cover their mouths [in shame] Because there is no answer from God.
• Hosea 9:4They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners’ bread [eaten at funerals]; All who eat it will be [ceremonially] unclean, For their bread will be for themselves; It will not enter the house of the Lord [to be consecrated].
• Jeremiah 16:7People will not offer food to the mourners, to comfort anyone [as they grieve] for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 24:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Make no mourning - As a priest, he could make no public mourning, Leviticus 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. Eat not the bread…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-27Verses 16-27 The death of Ezekiel‘s wife took place in the evening of the same day that he delivered the foregoing prophecy. This event was to signify to the people that the Lord would take from them all that was most dear to them; and - owing to the extraordinary nature of the times - quiet lamentation for the dead, according to the usual forms of mourning, would be impossible. Ezekiel 24:17 The priest in general was to mourn for his dead (Leviticus 21:1…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-27Verses 15-27 Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17Nowhere do we see a prophet so deeply involved in his message as in this event. God took the life of Ezekiel’s wife. Yet Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn her openly, even though she was very precious to him. Ezekiel was a priest (Ezekiel 1:3). Priests had strict rules about mourning. When people mourned, they often tore their clothes and left their hair uncombed. These public signs of grief made a person ceremonially unclean (not fit for worship). Priests…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Forbear to cry--or, "Lament in silence"; not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expression of it [Grotius]. no mourning--typical of the universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would preclude mourning, such as is usual where calamity is but partial. "The dead" is purposely put in the plural, as referring ultimately to the dead who should perish at the taking of Jerusalem; though the singular might have been expected, as Ezekiel's wife was the…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 24:17

• Bereavement
• Dress
• Ezekiel
• Instruction
• Minister, Christian
• Mourning
• Shoe
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Tire

In the dictionaries

• Bonnet
• Pine
• Profane
• Set
• Tell
• Tire
• Tires
• Cry, Crying
• Decease, in the Old Testament and Apocyphra
• Ezekiel

Commentaries on Ezekiel 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings