The Divided Hair
Study note
Shaving one's head was an extreme act of mourning in Israelite culture, and for a priest like Ezekiel, it was even more shocking since priests were forbidden to shave their heads. Dividing the hair into three parts and destroying each part differently was a powerful visual prophecy about the three fates awaiting the people of Jerusalem: death by plague, death by sword, and scattering among the nations.
1 "Now, son of man, grab a sharp sword and use it like a barber's blade to shave off all the hair from your head and face. Then weigh the hair on a scale and split it into three equal piles." 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 "When your model siege is finished, take the first pile and burn it in a fire right inside the city model. Take the second pile and chop it with your sword all around the city. Throw the third pile up into the wind, because I will chase those people with a drawn sword." 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 "Save just a few strands and tuck them into the edge of your clothing for safekeeping." Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
4 "Then take some of even those remaining strands and throw them into a fire. From that fire, flames will spread to engulf the entire nation of Israel." 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.
Jerusalem's Sin Is Worse Than the Nations
Study note
God placed Jerusalem at the center of the nations, giving her special privileges and his laws. But instead of being a light to the world, Jerusalem became even more wicked than the pagan nations around her. Because she received so much and still rebelled, her punishment would be unlike anything that had come before or would come after. The description includes the horrifying prediction of parents and children turning on each other during the siege famine.
5 The Lord God says this: "This represents Jerusalem. I gave her a place of honor at the center of the world, with nations surrounding her on every side." 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 "Yet she has defied my laws and broken my commands worse than any of those surrounding nations. Her people threw aside everything I told them and refused to live by my standards." 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 So the Lord God declares: "You have been more out of control than the nations around you. You did not follow my rules, obey my laws, or even meet the standards of the people around you." 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 The Lord God says: "Because of all that, I am personally coming against you. I will punish you where every nation can see it happen." 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 "Your disgusting actions will push me to do something I have never done before. I will never do it again." 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 "Things will get so desperate that parents in your city will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. After that, I will scatter whoever remains in every direction." 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 "I swear on my own life," says the Lord God. "You brought vile idols into my sanctuary. So I will cut you down. I will show no pity or mercy." 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.
The Three Punishments
Study note
God spells out exactly what the three parts of hair represent. One third of the people would die from disease and famine inside the city. One third would die by the sword in battle around the city. And one third would be scattered across the earth, with enemies still chasing them. God would also send wild animals and other disasters. These warnings were fulfilled when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.
12 "A third of your people will die from sickness and starvation inside the city. A third will be cut down by enemy swords outside the walls. And I will scatter the remaining third to the winds, sending swords to chase them down." 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 "Only after all that will my anger finally be spent. Once I have fully unleashed my fury on them, I will be satisfied. They will realize that I, the Lord, meant every word when my righteous anger runs its course." 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 "I will turn you into a pile of rubble. I will make you a joke among the nations around you, before anyone passing by." 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 "Every nation nearby will mock you and point at you in horror. You will become a cautionary tale. This will happen when I bring my furious judgment crashing down on you. I, the Lord, have made this promise." 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 "I will aim the deadly arrows of famine at you -- arrows designed to destroy. The famine will only get worse and worse as I choke off every source of food." 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 "On top of famine, I will unleash wild animals that will kill your children. Plagues and violence will sweep through your streets, and enemy armies will attack you. I, the Lord, have said it." 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.