Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 24:6
Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum [is] therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
6. Explanation: the caldron is Jerusalem, the bloody city.
whose scum ] rust.
bring it out ] i.e. the caldron as having contents.
let no lot fall ] The contents (the inhabitants) shall be pulled out indiscriminately. The dispersion is alluded to.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Scum – Better, rust (and in Eze 24:11-12).
Bring it out piece by piece – It, the city; bring out the inhabitants, one by one, clear the city of them, whether by death, exile, or captivity.
Let no lot fall upon it – In the captivity of Jehoiakim and in that of Jehoiachin, some were taken, others left. Now all shall be removed.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Let no lot fall upon it.] Pull out the flesh indiscriminately; let no piece be chosen for king or priest; thus showing that all should be involved in one indiscriminate ruin.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All this allegory contains woeful and heavy tidings, misery and desolation to them that are represented by it.
The bloody city; see Eze 22:2,3; Jerusalem, which is this pot.
Whose scum is therein; filthiness, her abominations, all her lewdness, are still within. her; they have not been punished, restrained, or cast out by the execution of just and good laws; but the citizens have with obstinacy, impenitence, and with impudence continued in them.
Whose scum is not gone out of it; the same thing repeated for confirming what was said.
Bring it out piece by piece; let them know it shall be a lingering destruction to them, yet a total, one piece after another, till all be consumed.
Let no lot fall upon it; lots are for saving some, and determining who they shall be; but here shall no such discrimination be made, no sparing any and slaying others by lot, who do not die shall go into captivity.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. scumnot ordinary, butpoisonous scum, that is, the people’s all-pervadingwickedness.
bring it out piece bypiece“it,” the contents of the pot; its flesh, thatis, “I will destroy the people of the city, not all at the sametime, but by a series of successive attacks.” Not as FAIRBAIRN,”on its every piece let it (the poisonous scum) go forth.”
let no lot fall upon itthatis, no lot, such as is sometimes cast, to decide who are to bedestroyed and who saved (2Sa 8:2;Joe 3:3; Oba 1:11;Nah 3:10). In former carryingsaway of captives, lots were cast to settle who were to go, and who tostay, but now all alike are to be cast out without distinction ofrank, age, or sex.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore thus saith the Lord God, woe to the bloody city,…. Here the parable begins to be explained; and shows that by the pot is meant the city of Jerusalem, called the bloody city, because of the blood of the prophets, and of righteous persons, and of innocent babes, that was shed in it; and which was the cause of the judgments of God coming upon her, which would issue in her destruction, and therefore “woe unto her”; see Mt 23:37:
to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it; when a pot boils, a scum arises, and appears upon the top of the water, which the cook usually takes off: this denotes the filthiness and wickedness of the people of the Jews, which would work up and be seen by the judgments of God upon them; yet should not be removed, but continue on them, unrepented of, and unpardoned. It signifies that they would remain hardened in their sins; and that the judgments of God would have no effect upon them to bring them to repentance; and that God would have no mercy on them, or pardon their sins:
bring it out piece by piece: the people that were in Jerusalem, of every class and rank, of every age and sex; suggesting that they should not be all destroyed at once, but some at one time, and some at another; some in one way, and some in another; some by famine, others by the pestilence, and others by the sword; some by sallying out upon the enemy; others by endeavouring to make their escape privately, and fall into their hands:
let no lot fall upon it; to save some, and destroy others, as is often done in war; signifying that all were destined to destruction, some way or another; and none should be spared; they that escaped the pestilence should die by famine; and they that escaped them both should die by the sword; and they that escaped all three should be carried into captivity. The Targum is,
“captivity upon captivity shall go out with her, because repentance was not in her.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) Scum.This word, which occurs five times in these verses (Eze. 24:6; Eze. 24:11-12), is found nowhere else. Interpreters are agreed in the correctness of the old Greek version of it, rust. The thought is, that not only the inhabitants of the city are wicked, but that this wickedness is so great that the city itself (represented by the cauldron) is, as it were, corroded with rust. It is therefore to be utterly destroyed, brought out piece by piece (see 2Ki. 25:10); no lot is to fall upon it to make a discrimination, since nothing is to be spared. All previous judgments had been partial; this is to be complete.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(6-14) These verses contain the application of the parable in two distinct parts (Eze. 24:6-14), but in such wise that the literal and the figurative continually run together. A new feature, that of the rust on the cauldron, is also introduced. A somewhat similar figure may be found in Isa. 4:4, but with the difference that Ezekiel, as usual, goes much more into minute details.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Scum Rather, rust (as also Eze 24:11-12).
Therein Rather, thereon. Usually the rust is removed from a pot before using it, but here it is to remain as the symbol of Jerusalem’s iniquity (Qimchi).
Let no lot fall upon it Qimchi explains that the pieces are so small that not a single limb can be recognized, nor lots cast upon them to assign them any special destination; or that the pot itself is corrupted and eaten with verdigris, and therefore the meat is unclean and no part of it fit to be eaten; or that the inhabitants are to be snatched out of the city indiscriminately; or no lot is to be taken (2Sa 8:2), for all alike must perish. Modern expositors select from these explanations according to taste.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Wherefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the blood-filled city, to the cauldron whose rust is in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it. Bring it out piece by piece. No lot has fallen on it.” ’
But the city was like a copper cauldron (Eze 24:11) which was rusty. And its rust had not been removed from it. It was not fit for its purpose, and the rusty scum would form, the scum which represented the blood-guiltiness of Jerusalem with its violence and its child sacrifices (Eze 22:1-16). Thus the rust affected pieces of flesh must be brought out piece by piece as the city was slowly taken. ‘No lot has fallen on it’. The removal is to be indiscriminate and not by selection. Fate cannot be manoeuvred, they can only helplessly submit to it.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 24:6. Whose scum Whose rust; and so Eze 24:11-12. Schult. and Houbigant. Instead of, Bring it out piece by piece, Houbigant reads, Throw it in piece by piece.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum [is] therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
Ver. 6. Woe to the bloody city, ] i.e., Blood guilty, and full of crimes capital that call for blood.
To the pot whose scum is in it.
Let no lot fall upon it,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 24:6-14
6Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
Woe to the bloody city,
To the pot in which there is rust
And whose rust has not gone out of it!
Take out of it piece after piece,
Without making a choice.
7For her blood is in her midst;
She placed it on the bare rock;
She did not pour it on the ground
To cover it with dust.
8That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
I have put her blood on the bare rock,
That it may not be covered.
9Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
Woe to the bloody city!
I also will make the pile great.
10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,
Boil the flesh well
And mix in the spices,
And let the bones be burned.
11Then set it empty on its coals
So that it may be hot
And its bronze may glow
And its filthiness may be melted in it,
Its rust consumed.
12She has wearied Me with toil,
Yet her great rust has not gone from her;
Let her rust be in the fire!
13In your filthiness is lewdness.
Because I would have cleansed you,
Yet you are not clean,
You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again
Until I have spent My wrath on you.
14I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you, declares the Lord GOD.’
Eze 24:6 Woe This interjection (BDB 17, cf. Eze 24:9) expresses deep emotion often connected to judgment (cf. Eze 16:23; Jer 4:13; Jer 6:4; Jer 10:19; Jer 13:27; Jer 15:10; Hos 7:13).
the bloody city See note at Eze 22:2.
rust This Hebrew word is uncertain ((BDB 316, KB 315). It is found only in this chapter in the OT. The same trilateral root means rust in Arabic. God had tried to cleanse His people over and over again, but their sin was too deep (i.e., Genesis 3).
Without making a choice This VERB (lit. fall, BDB 656, KB 709, Qal PERFECT) was used of casting lots to know YHWH’s will.
1. dividing the Promised Land among the tribes, Num 34:2; Jos 13:6; Jos 23:4; Eze 45:1
2. dividing the duties in the temple, 1Ch 24:31; 1Ch 26:13-14
3. determining who would supply wood for the new sacrificial system, Neh 10:34
4. determining who would live in the rebuilt Jerusalem, Neh 11:1
5. determining the guilty party, Jon 1:7
This phrase seems to imply that death would come indiscriminately to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Eze 24:7 This seems to refer to the openness and flagrant nature (i.e., places it on a bare rock, i.e., in the sight of all) of Israel’s sin. This refers to (1) an allusion to a priestly act of draining the blood from sacrificial animals and putting it on the appropriate places (Leviticus 1-7). The remainder was poured out at the base of the altar of sacrifice or (2) the proper slaughter of wild animals to be consumed (cf. Lev 17:13; Deu 12:16).
To cover it with dust This seems to refer to the blood of their victims (cf. Lev 17:13).
Eze 24:8 As Judah flagrantly sinned for all to see, now YHWH will judge them for all to see (cf. Deu 29:24-28; Jer 16:10; Jer 22:8-9).
Eze 24:9-10 This is a reflection of Eze 24:3-5. The pot of judgment is boiling and Judah is in it!
Eze 24:10-11 have a series of commands related to the boiling pot.
1. heap, BDB 915, KB 1176, Hiphil IMPERATIVE, cf. Eze 24:5 b, 9c
2. kindle, BDB 196, KB 223, Hiphil IMPERATIVE, cf. Eze 24:5 c
3. boil, BDB 1070, KB 1752, Hiphil (John J. Owens, Analytical Keys to the Old Testament, vol. 4, p. 572, calls it a Hiphil IMPERATIVE, but Beall, Banks, Smith, Old Testament Parsing Guide, p. 619, calls it a Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE. Benjamin Davidson, Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 231, gives both options).
4. mix, BDB 955, KB 1289, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (Owens) or INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE (Beall, Banks, Smith) or either (Davidson)
5. set, BDB 763, KB 840, Hiphil IMPERATIVE, Eze 24:11
Eze 24:10 The fully cooked meat will be poured into the fire and completely destroyed.
There is some question about the phrase.
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVand mix in the spices
TEVboil away the broth
LXXand the liquor boiled away
REBpour out all the broth
JPSOAand stew it completely
The MT is reflected in JPSOA (UBS Hebrew OT Text Project gives it a B rating), the emendation in TEV, REB, LXX.
Eze 24:11 The empty pot (cf. Eze 24:11) is set on the hot coals and the remaining scum (or rust) will be completely burned up and removed (i.e., ritual cleansing). Eze 24:12 either (1) describes YHWH’s continual attempts to cleanse His people or (2) even with all of this burning (i.e., Eze 24:10-11), Judah is not yet clean (cf. Eze 24:12-13).
Eze 24:12 She has wearied Me with toil This refers to YHWH’s attempt to bring Judah to repentance. He made a great and continuous effort to bring her back to Himself. This phrase is difficult to understand because (1) the word toil is unusual and found only here in the OT; (2) the VERB has no OBJECT; and (3) the LXX omits it; therefore, some scholars see it as an addition.
Eze 24:13 lewdness This term (BDB 273) describes Judah’s idolatry. It is often associated with inappropriate sexual activity (cf. Eze 16:27; Eze 16:43; Eze 16:58; Eze 22:9; Eze 22:11; Eze 23:21; Eze 23:27; Eze 23:29; Eze 23:35; Eze 23:44; Eze 23:48[twice],49; Eze 24:13).
Until I have spent My wrath on you The VERB (lit. cease activity, BDB 628, KB 679, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) denotes that at some point YHWH’s wrath will be appeased and brought to an end (cf. Eze 5:13; Eze 16:42; Eze 21:17).
Eze 24:14 YHWH’s word (prophetic predictions of judgment) is sure! He has tried again and again to get His people to repent (cf. Eze 24:12-13). Notice the number of I’s in the English translation (6). Therefore, He will not (i.e., Jer 13:14)
1. relent, BDB 828, KB 970, Qal IMPERFECT
2. pity, BDB 299, KB 298, Qal IMPERFECT
3. be sorry, BDB 636, KB 688, Niphal IMPERFECT
He will judge Judah according to her ways and deeds (cf. Eze 7:3; Eze 7:8; Eze 7:27; Eze 18:30; Eze 36:19). This is metaphorical language for YHWH’s refusal to forgive (cf. Eze 8:18)! Only judgment remains! The terms themselves may allude to YHWH’s initial love and care in Eze 16:5.
Eze 24:15 The NASB 1995 Update starts a new paragraph at Eze 24:15.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the bloody city. See note on Eze 22:2.
scum = verdigris. Occurs only in this chapter.
let no lot fall, &c. Signifying that the city was to be destroyed, not lotted out to or by the conquerors.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 24:6-10
Eze 24:6-10
“Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; no lot is fallen upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust. That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.”
“Woe to the bloody city …” (Eze 24:6). The implications of this epithet hurled against Jerusalem by God Himself may be read in the terrible fate of Nineveh, which city God addressed in the very same language (Nah 3:1).
“Whose rust is not gone out of it …” (Eze 24:6) The “rust” here symbolizes the blood-guiltiness of Jerusalem. In the parable, this meant that the ingredients of the caldron were poisoned by the rust, and the mess within fit only to be destroyed.
“Take out of it piece after piece; no lot is fallen upon it …” (Eze 24:5). Sometimes in antiquity, lots were cast to determine a definite portion of a city either to be slaughtered, or to be made captives. “In the captivity of Jehoiachin and Jehoiachim some were taken, others left. But here, there would be none spared. All were doomed. The indiscriminate destruction of the population is indicated.
“Her blood is in the midst of her …” (Eze 24:7). This refers to the shameless murder of her victims. Jerusalem did not even bother to conceal or disguise the murders. The thought in this passage takes account of the fact that the blood of Abel, which the ground received, cried unto God for vengeance. Even the blood of animals was supposed to be covered with dust; but Jerusalem’s brazen murders of men left the blood visible to all, thus constituting an aggravation of the sin of murder.
“I also will make the pile great …” (Eze 24:9). This refers to the pile of fuel on the fire, with the meaning that God will make the destruction of Jerusalem as complete as possible.
“Let the bones be burned …” (Eze 24:10). This means that any residue of the “choice bones” left in the caldron were also to be burned.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Woe: Eze 24:9, Eze 11:6, Eze 11:7, Eze 22:2, Eze 22:6-9, Eze 22:12, Eze 22:27, Eze 23:37-45, 2Ki 21:16, 2Ki 24:4, Mic 7:2, Nah 3:1, Mat 23:35, Rev 11:7, Rev 11:8, Rev 17:6, Rev 18:24
to the pot: Eze 24:11-13, Jer 6:29
bring: Eze 9:5, Eze 9:6, Eze 11:7-9, Eze 11:11, Jos 10:22
let no: Jos 7:16-18, 1Sa 14:40-42, 2Sa 8:2, Joe 3:3, Oba 1:11, Jon 1:7, Nah 3:10
Reciprocal: Deu 23:13 – cover that Isa 59:12 – our transgressions Jer 13:27 – Woe Eze 16:23 – woe Eze 22:3 – sheddeth Eze 22:15 – consume Eze 23:47 – dispatch them Eze 24:3 – Set Eze 24:12 – her great
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 24:6. Bloody city, to the pot. For the explanation of this phrase see the comments on verse 4. Let no lot fall upon it. That is, make no exceptions among the pieces (the men of Jerusalem), for ail of them must be put to the test in order to have the scum” (wickedness) boiled out of them; all must either be killed or taken into captivity in Babylon.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 24:6-8. Wherefore thus saith the Lord Here begins an explication of the preceding symbolical representation; Wo to the bloody city Jerusalem, which is this pot; whose scum is therein Whose filthiness, or wickedness, is not purged out of it. Bring it out piece by piece One piece after another till all be taken. Let nothing be left in it; let it be emptied of every thing. This signified the entire ruin and spoil of the city and the inhabitants of it, all without distinction being either killed or carried into captivity. Let no lot fall upon it There shall be no lot cast to determine who shall be spared and who consumed, or who shall be left and who carried into captivity; for they shall be all either destroyed or carried away. For her blood is in the midst of her The innocent blood which she hath shed. She set it upon the top of a rock Openly and publicly, without fear, or shame, or reluctance; she set it where it might be seen by all, and seen long; she shed blood in a presumptuous manner, and with a high hand; she was impudent and barefaced in her cruelties; she did not seek to cover or excuse them. She poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust As being ashamed of shedding it. These words allude to the command of the law: Lev 17:13, that they should cover the blood of any beast, or other living creature which was slain, with dust; which precept was not only intended to prevent their eating of blood, but also to give men a sort of horror or aversion to bloodshed. Lowth. That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance For such impudent murders as these, which even dared the divine indignation. I have set her blood upon the top of a rock Her punishment shall be as notorious in the sight of the world as her sin was. I will punish it so openly, and in such a manner, as shall not be soon forgotten.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
24:6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot {f} whose scum [is] in it, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out {g} piece by piece; let no {h} lot fall upon it.
(f) Whose iniquities and wicked citizens there yet remain.
(g) Signifying that they should not be destroyed all at once, but little by little.
(h) Spare no estate or condition.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The reasons for Jerusalem’s present judgment 24:6-8
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Ezekiel was then to announce woe on the bloody city (no longer the holy city) of Jerusalem (cf. Nah 3:1), which the pot represented (cf. Eze 11:3; Eze 11:7; Eze 11:11; Jer 1:13-14). The pot had rust (Heb. hel’ah) in it that evidently stood for the blood of the people slain there (cf. Eze 22:1-16). Another view is that the pot was bronze (which does not rust), and the red in it was the blood of the meat. [Note: Block, The Book . . ., pp. 777-78.] Ezekiel was then to draw several pieces of meat out of the pot at random, perhaps signifying God rescuing a remnant from judgment.