Ezekiel 24:17

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. FORBEAR TO CRY - or, 'Lament in silence;' literally, 'sigh (or groan), be silent:' thus God forbids not sorrow, but the loud expression of it (Grotius). MAKE NO MOURNING FOR THE DEAD - 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 immediate subject referred to: "make no mourning," such as is usual "for the dead, and such as shall be hereafter in Jerusalem," (Jeremi...

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 afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God....

Verse Ezekiel 24:17. _MAKE NO MOURNING_] As a _priest_, he could make no public mourning, Leviticus 21:1, c. _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 OF MEN._] לחם אנשים _lechem anashim_, "the bread of miserable men," i.e., _mourners_; probably, the funeral banquet....

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 ff); but Ezekiel was to be an exception to the rule. The “tire” was the priest’s mitre. EAT NOT THE BREAD OF MEN - Food supplied for the comfort of the mourners. Eze

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 24:1 IN THE NINTH YEAR. We pass from the date of Ezekiel 20:1 to B.C. 590, and the very day is identified with that on which the army of Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:1; 2 Kings 25:1). To the prophet's vision all that was passing there was as plain as though he saw it with his own eyes. The siege lasted for about two years. The punishments threatened in Ezekiel 23:1, had at last come near. We may probably infer that a considerable interval of silence had follo

FORBEAR TO CRY,.... Groan or howl, or make any doleful noise: or, "be silent" x: which the Talmudists y interpret of not greeting any person: MAKE NO MOURNING FOR THE DEAD; use none of those rites and ceremonies commonly observed for deceased relations and friends, particularly and especially for a wife; who is one of the seven persons for whom mourning is to be made, according to the Jewish canons z; and which the ties of nature, nearness of relation, and especially mutual and cordial affection, where that has taken place, require; and though a wife is not expressly mentioned among those, for whom a priest might defile himself by attending their funerals, yet must be included among those akin to him, if not solely designed, as Jarchi thinks; whose note on Leviticus 21:2, is, there are none his kin but his wife; so that Ezekiel, though a priest, was not exempted from th

Ezekiel 24:1. The exact date is given by the prophet. It was the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year. What happened also on that date we find recorded in 2 Kings 25:1: “And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came, he and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.” How did Ezekiel know about all this? It was the Lord who gave him this information and led him to record the date. This is the statement of the second verse: “Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day, the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.” What does higher criticism have to say to this? We quote a recent commentator: “These verses

BIND, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 10:6; Leviticus 13:45; Leviticus 21:10). cover not thy lips. Compare Micah 3:7. THE BREAD OF MEN: i.e. the bread or food brought to the house of mourners. Compare Jeremiah 16:5; Hosea 9:4, MEN. Hebrew, plural of _'enosh_. App-14....

_Forbear to cry_ SIGH IN SILENCE; lit. sigh, be silent. _mourning_for _the dead_ Another order was to be expected; two accus. must be assumed. _the tire of thine head_ The "tire" is not necessarily the priestly tiara, but the ordinary headdress (Ezekiel 24:23), which would probably be white. Putting off the shoes was a sign of calamity, 2 Samuel 15:31, and also covering the lower part of the face up to the upper lip. Micah 3:7; Leviticus 13:45. _the bread of men_ Jeremiah 16:7, "Neither shall men break bread

FORBEAR, &C.— _Groan silently; make no funeral mourning._ This translation is agreeable to the famous saying of the poet, _Curae leves loquuntur, graviores silent.*_ * Light cares are talkative; heavier cares are silent. Instead of the bread of men, Houbigant, in agreement with several of the versions, and many commentators, reads the _bread of mourners._ See Jeremiah 16:7....