Ezekiel's Wife Dies

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 (A)“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. (B)Bind on your turban, and (C)put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, (D)nor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and (E)at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did (F)as I was commanded.

19 And (G)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: (H)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and (I)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And (J)you shall do as I have done; (K)you shall not cover your lips, (L)nor eat the bread of men. 23 (M)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but (N)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you (O)a sign; (P)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then (Q)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

25 “As for you, (R)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them (S)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, 26 (T)on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth (U)will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. (V)So you will be a sign to them, and (W)they will know that I am the Lord.”

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15 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 16 “Son of man,[c] look! I am taking from you what is pleasing to your eyes with a plague,[d] but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not run down. 17 Sigh in silence for the dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your upper lip,[e] and the bread of mourners[f] you shall not eat.” 18 And I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and I did in the morning just as[g] I was commanded. 19 And the people said to me, “Will you not make known to us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” 20 And I said to them that the word of Yahweh came[h] to me, saying,[i] 21 “Say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I will be profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength and the delight of your eyes and the object of your own[j] affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword, 22 and you shall do just as[k] I did: You shall not cover your upper lip,[l] and you shall not eat the bread of mourners.[m] 23 And your turban must be on your heads, and your sandals must be on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan to one another.[n] 24 And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; everything that he did[o] you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

25 “And you, son of man,[p] will it not be that on the day when I take from them[q] their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their inner self,[r] their sons and daughters— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you with the news.[s] 27 On that day your mouth shall be opened at the arrival of the fugitive,[t] and you shall speak, and you shall not be silent any longer, and you shall be to them as a sign, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 24:15 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 24:15 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 24:16 Literally “to say”
  4. Ezekiel 24:16 Or “blow”
  5. Ezekiel 24:17 Or “your mustache” (NASB)
  6. Ezekiel 24:17 Literally “men”
  7. Ezekiel 24:18 Literally “as that”
  8. Ezekiel 24:20 Literally “was”
  9. Ezekiel 24:20 Literally “to say”
  10. Ezekiel 24:21 Or “souls’,” or “selves’”
  11. Ezekiel 24:22 Literally “as that”
  12. Ezekiel 24:22 Or “mustache”
  13. Ezekiel 24:22 Literally “men”
  14. Ezekiel 24:23 Literally “a man to his brother”
  15. Ezekiel 24:24 Literally “like all that he did”
  16. Ezekiel 24:25 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  17. Ezekiel 24:25 Literally “on the day of to take me from them”
  18. Ezekiel 24:25 Or “soul”
  19. Ezekiel 24:26 Literally “with a message for ears”
  20. Ezekiel 24:27 Literally “with the fugitive”; or “to the one who has escaped” (NRSV; cf. NASB)