Table of Contents
Ezekiel 5
Ezekiel 5
1 And 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.
2 Thou 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.
3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
4 Then 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.
5 Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
6 And 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.
7 Therefore 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;
8 Therefore 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.
9 And 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.
10 Therefore 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.
11 Wherefore, 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.
12 A 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.
13 Thus 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.
14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
15 So 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.
16 When 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:
17 So 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.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>a sharp sword</b> symbolizing the sword of Nebuchadnezzar. <b>a cobbler’s razor</b> Heb. הַגַלָבִים, the cobblers. It is Greek, and some say that it is parcheminer in Old French, cobbler, saddler. However, Menachem (p. 56) defines תַעַר הַגַלָבִים as, the barber’s razor. No similar word exists in Scripture.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>in the midst of the city</b> that you inscribed on the brick, as the completion of the days of the siege. This is a sign that a third of them will perish in the heat of hunger in its midst, which is like fire, in the same way that it says (Lam. 5:10): “Our skin is parched as by a furnace because of the heat of hunger.” <b>and strike</b> it. <b>with a sword all around it</b> Around that brick, symbolizing those who flee from the city, whom the Chaldeans will overtake and slay in the environs of Jerusalem. <b>and a third you shall scatter to the wind</b> symbolizing the exiles who will go to Egypt, viz. Johanan son of Kareach and his associates, and there I shall unsheathe a sword [in pursuit] after them, for Nebuchadnezzar went and destroyed Egypt, and there they were slain.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>and you shall bind them in your skirts</b> These are the few people who will be exiled to Babylon and will live. An addendum to Rashi reads: <b>and you shall bind them</b> From here is an allusion [to the fact] that whoever cuts his hair should not cast it away, but should hide it, for any act written in these verses has implications of evil.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>And you shall take more of them</b> From those few people. <b>and burn them with fire</b> This represents Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, whom the king of Babylon burnt with fire (Jer.29: 21f.). <b>therefrom a fire will emerge</b> From these allusions that I give you, retribution will emerge to all the house of Israel.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>among the nations I have placed it</b> In the middle of the world.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>But she exchanged My judgments</b> Heb. וַתֶּמֶר, she exchanged My judgments. <b>more than the nations</b> For so it is written concerning Manasseh (II Chron. 33:9): “And Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil more than the nations that the Lord had destroyed from before the children of Israel.” Some interpret this to mean that the nations did not accept His Torah, but they [Israel] did accept it upon themselves, and transgressed it.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>Because you have prepared yourselves</b> Because you have prepared yourselves to be more profligate than the nations. [The word] הֲמָנְכֶם is an expression of (Dan 1:5): “And the king allotted (וַיְמַן) [food] for them.” Menachem, though, interpreted it as an expression of stirring, like (Ps. 46: 7): “Nations have stirred (הָמוּ).” <b>and like the customs of the nations that were around you, you did not do</b> For they did not exchange their gods, although they are not gods, but you exchanged My glory for something that avails not. Our Sages (Sanh. 39b) explained: You did not do as the virtuous ones among them, you did as the corrupt ones among them.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>I too</b> You betrayed Me, and I too, behold I am upon you.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>and I shall cause My fury against them to subside</b> When I avenge Myself against them, My fury will subside, and My spirit will not oppress Me. <b>and I shall be comforted</b> Heb. וְהִנֶחָמְתִּי. And I shall be comforted from the pain that you inflicted upon Me.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>a ruin</b> Heb. לְחָרְבָּה, destroyer in Old French, to make desolate, destroy.</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>and a taunt</b> A disgrace. <b>a chastisement</b> Heb. מוּסָר torments. <b>and an astonishment</b> A wonder.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>and I shall add a famine upon you</b> This is the famine of the penny depleted from the pocket. So I heard. <b>your staff of bread</b> Support of bread.</html>