EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ezekiel 24:17
17Cry inside yourself but do not cry aloud. Do not show that you are sad because someone has died. Do not remove the cloth from your head. Keep your shoes on your feet. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food that people eat at funerals.’
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
15The Lord gave me this message: 16‘Son of man, I will suddenly take away from you the one person who makes you happy. But you must not weep. Do not let people see that you are sad. Cry inside yourself but do not cry aloud. Do not show that you are sad because someone has died. Do not remove the cloth from your head. Keep your shoes on your feet. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food that people eat at funerals.’ 18That morning I spoke to the people. In the evening of that day, my wife died. The next morning I did what the Lord had told me to do. 19Then the people said to me, ‘Please tell us why you are doing these things. What are you trying to show us?’
Read all of Ezekiel 24Ezekiel 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 patient as you wait for the Lord to help you. Trust him to bring help. Do not become upset when bad people seem to do well, when their wicked ideas really happen.
- Psalms 39:9I will not say anything more. I will not open my mouth, because it is you who have punished me!
- Psalms 46:10He says, ‘Be still and quiet! Understand that I am God. I rule as king over the nations. All the world will say that I am great.’
- Amos 8:3On the day that I come to punish them, people will not sing in the temple. Instead they will weep loudly. There will be dead bodies everywhere. Be quiet now!’ That is what the Lord God says.
- Habakkuk 2:20But the Lord rules from his holy temple. Everybody on the earth should be quiet in front of him.’
- Jeremiah 16:4Terrible disease will kill them. Nobody will weep for them. Nobody will bury them. Their bodies will lie on the ground like dung. Either war or famine will kill them. Birds and wild animals will come to eat their dead bodies.’
- Ezekiel 24:23You will still wear your cloths on your heads. You will wear your shoes on your feet. You will not cry aloud or weep. You will suffer and you will be weak because of the punishment for your sins. You will cry quietly among yourselves.
- Leviticus 10:6Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Comb your hair. Do not tear your clothes. If you do that, you will die. And the Lord will be angry with all the people. But Israel's people can show that they are sad. They are sad because the Lord has killed Nadab and Abihu with fire.
- Leviticus 21:10They have poured special oil on the leader of the priests' head to show that he is greater than his brothers. He must wear special clothes. He must comb his hair. He must not tear his clothes.
- 2 Samuel 15:30But David continued to go up the Mount of Olives. He was weeping as he went. He had covered his head and he was not wearing any shoes on his feet. All the people with him also covered their heads and they wept as they went up the hill.
- Ezekiel 24:22Then you will do the same things that I have done. You will not cover the lower part of your face. You will not eat special food that people eat at funerals.
- Leviticus 13:45A person with this disease must tear his clothes. He must not comb his hair. He must cover the lower part of his face. He must shout, “I am not clean.”
- Micah 3:7Then you prophets will be ashamed. You who tell what will happen in future times will be confused. You will hide your faces in shame because you have no message from me.’
- Hosea 9:4They will not pour out wine as an offering to the Lord. Their sacrifices will not please him. Instead, their offerings will be like food that people eat at a funeral. Anyone who eats it becomes unclean. They may eat the food to feed themselves, but they cannot offer it to the Lord in his temple.
- Jeremiah 16:7Nobody will take food to comfort families when someone has died. Even if their mother or their father has died, nobody will bring any wine to comfort them.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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