Ezekiel5

Ezekiel is commanded to perform a symbolic act involving shaving his hair, dividing it, and subjecting it to fire, sword, and scattering, representing God's impending judgment on Jerusalem. The Lord declares that Jerusalem, having rebelled against His laws more than the surrounding nations, will face severe and unprecedented punishments. These judgments include death by pestilence, famine, and sword, with a remnant scattered among the nations. Ultimately, Jerusalem will become a reproach and astonishment to the surrounding peoples.
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The Symbolic Act of Shaving and Dividing Hair

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. ​

Jerusalem's Unique Status and Condemnation

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;

God Declares Unprecedented Judgment

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. ​

The Fulfillment of Divine Wrath

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. ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 5

Verse 1

The prophet is instructed to shave his hair and beard, an act symbolizing profound humiliation, mourning, and the defilement of the consecrated priestly status. The razor represents the destructive force of Babylon.

Verse 2

The hair is divided into three equal parts, foreshadowing the three ways the inhabitants of Jerusalem will perish: one-third dying within the city (by fire/siege), one-third killed outside the city (by the sword), and one-third scattered into exile (in the wind).

Verse 4

The small remnant saved in the skirt represents the few survivors taken into exile. The subsequent instruction to burn even these few hairs shows that the exile itself is a painful purging and judgmental fire for the nation.

Verse 5

Jerusalem had a unique covenant status, placed 'in the midst of the nations' to be a spiritual center and a witness to God’s law. This central position heightens her guilt, as her visibility made her failure a greater offense.

Verse 6

The charge is that Jerusalem sinned more grievously than the pagan nations around her. Israel’s possession of the divine law and covenant knowledge made their refusal to obey a greater wickedness than the idolatry of the uninformed nations.

Verse 8

The declaration 'I, even I, am against thee' is a formal statement of God acting as the divine judge and adversary. The judgment will be executed publicly, in the sight of the nations, demonstrating God’s sovereignty.

Verse 9

The judgment is described using hyperbole as 'unprecedented.' This emphasizes the exceptional horror and severity of the destruction of the Holy City and the Temple, necessitated by the extent of their 'abominations.'

Verse 10

Cannibalism was the ultimate curse for covenant disobedience (Deut. 28:53) and represents the total breakdown of societal order and the extremity of the famine brought by the siege.

Verse 11

The defilement of the sanctuary (the Temple) was the breaking point. The presence of idols and detestable practices within the holy place necessitated God’s withdrawal of presence and the subsequent destruction of the city.

Verse 12

This verse confirms the literal application of the symbolic distribution of the hair from verse 2. The three primary methods of destruction—pestilence/famine, sword, and scattering/exile—are divinely decreed and precise.

Verse 13

God’s statement that he will be 'comforted' (or satisfied) is an anthropomorphism indicating that divine justice requires a full response to sin. The execution of judgment fulfills the demands of his holiness and zeal.

Verse 15

Jerusalem’s destruction will serve as a terrifying object lesson ('reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment') to the nations, demonstrating God’s unwavering commitment to justice, even toward his own covenant people.

Verse 16

The 'evil arrows of famine' refers to the devastating effects of starvation during the siege, which God controls and uses as a weapon against the city. 'Breaking the staff of bread' is a metaphor for cutting off the food supply.

Verse 17

God lists four covenant curses (Lev. 26:22): famine, evil beasts (which would prey on the weak or the remnant), pestilence, and the sword. These judgments work in concert to complete the devastation.

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