TRV
Translation
King James Version
¶ 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.
Complete Jewish Bible
"Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber's razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale, and divide it up.
Berean Standard Bible
“As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.
American Standard Version
And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword; as a barber’s razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
World English Bible Messianic
You, son of man, take a sharp sword; You shall take it as a barber’s razor to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And thou sonne of man, take thee a sharpe knife, or take thee a barbours rasor and cause it to passe vpon thine head, and vpon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and deuide the heare.
Young's Literal Translation
`And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused it to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them.
Study This Verse
Commentary on Ezekiel 5 verses 1–4
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.
We have here the sign by which the utter destruction of Jerusalem is set forth; and here, as before, the prophet is himself the sign, that the people might see how much he affected himself with, and interested himself in, the case of Jerusalem, and how it lay to his heart, even when he foretold the desolations of it. he was so much concerned about it as to take what was done to it as done to himself, so far was he from desiring the woeful day.
I. He must shave off the hair of his head and beard (Eze 5:1), which signified God's utter rejecting and abandoning that people, as a useless worthless generation, such as could well be spared, nay, such as it would be his honour to part with; his judgments, and all the instruments he made use of in cutting them off, were this sharp knife and this razor, that were proper to be made use of, and would do execution. Jerusalem had been the head, but, having degenerated, had become as the hair, which, when it grows thick and long, is but a burden which a man wishes to get clear of, as God of the sinners in Zion. Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries, Isa 1:24. Ezekiel must not cut off that hair only which was superfluous, but cut it all off, denoting the full end that God would make of Jerusalem. The hair that would not be trimmed and kept neat and clean by the admonitions of the prophets must be all shaved off by utter destruction. Those will be ruined that will not be reformed.
II. He must weigh the hair and divide it into three parts. This intimates the very exact directing of God's judgments according to equity (by him men and their actions are weighed in the unerring balance of truth and righteousness) and the proportion which divine justice observes in punishing some by one judgment and others by another; one way or other, they shall all be met with. Some make the shaving of the hair to denote the loss of their liberty and of their honour: it was looked upon as a mark of ignominy, as in the disgrace Hanun put on David's ambassadors. It denotes also the loss of their joy, for they shaved their heads upon occasion of great mourning; I may add the loss of their Nazariteship, for the shaving of the head was a period to that vow (Num 6:18), and Jerusalem was now no longer looked upon as a holy city.
III. He must dispose of the hair so that it might all be destroyed or dispersed, Eze 5:2. 1. One third part must be burnt in the midst of the city, denoting the multitudes that should perish by famine and pestilence, and perhaps many in the conflagration of the city, when the days of the siege were fulfilled. Or the laying of that glorious city in ashes might well be looked upon as a third part of the destruction threatened. 2. Another third part was to be cut in pieces with a knife, representing the many who, during the siege, were slain by the sword, in their sallies out upon the besiegers, and especially when the city was taken by storm, the Chaldeans being then most furious and the Jews most feeble. 3. Another third part was to be scattered in the wind, denoting the carrying away of some into the land of the conqueror and the flight of others into the neighbouring countries for shelter; so that they were hurried, some one way and some another, like loose hairs in the wind. But, lest they should think that this dispersion would be their escape, God adds, I will draw out a sword after them, so that wherever they go evil shall pursue them. Note, God has variety of judgments wherewith to accomplish the destruction of a sinful people and to make an end when he begins.
IV. He must preserve a small quantity of the third sort that were to be scattered in the wind, and bind them in his skirts, as one would bind that which he is very mindful and careful of, Eze 5:3. This signified perhaps that little handful of people which were left under the government of Gedaliah, who, it was hoped, would keep possession of the land when the body of the people was carried into captivity. Thus God would have done well for them if they would have done well for themselves. But these few that were reserved must be taken and cast into the fire, Eze 5:4. When Gedaliah and his friends were slain the people that put themselves under his protection were scattered, some gone into Egypt, others carried off by the Chaldeans, and in short the land totally cleared of them; then this was fulfilled, for out of those combustions a fire came forth into all the house of Israel, who, as fuel upon the fire, kindled and consumed one another. Note, It is ill with a people when those are taken away in wrath that seemed to be marked for monuments of mercy; for then there is no remnant or escaping, none shut up or left.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–4. Public domain.
Copy as
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Ezekiel
(Chapter 5, verses 1 onwards) And you, son of man, take for yourself a sharp sword, like a barber's razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales for weighing and divide them. One third you shall burn in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are completed, one third you shall strike with the sword all around it, and one third you shall scatter to the wind; and I will unsheathe a sword after them. And you shall take from there a small number, and bind them at the top of the cloak, and take them out again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel. For three parts of hair and wool, one of which is burned in the midst of the city, another is cut with a sword around it, the third is scattered to and fro by the wind, of which a small part is taken and bound at the edge of the cloak, and again a little of the third part is thrown into the fire, from which a flame comes out into all the house of Israel. Seventy-four parts have been interpreted. And when they had said: Burn the fourth part with fire in the midst of the city, and cut the fourth part with a sword all around it, and scatter the fourth part to the wind, for there remained another fourth part to them, they added from their own: And take the fourth part and burn it in the midst of the city: as if it is not the same as the first, and something else was said in the first, something different in this one that was added. Finally, even in the following, the Lord Himself explained the riddle of the divided hairs into three parts through the Prophet, saying: The third part of you will die by pestilence, and be consumed by famine in your midst, signifying famine and pestilence as fire; and the third part of you will fall by the sword all around you, describing external killings and wars. But, he says, I will scatter your third part to every wind, showing those who are to be led into captivity. After them, he says he will lay bare or pour out his sword, so that captivity is not the last of their evils; and he will take from those dispersed and captive, and bind to the top of his cloak those who are to return from captivity to Jerusalem, and he will also take some part from them, and consume it with fire and flame, signifying the Macedonians under whom the inhabitants of Judaea, and especially Jerusalem, have suffered greatly. But what he says, from this, that is, the people of the Jews; or, according to the LXX, from her; so that it is understood, from the city of Jerusalem, fire will come forth into every house of Israel: The history of the Maccabees relates that a certain part of the Jews surrendered to Antiochus Epiphanes, and incited him to persecute the people, and many other things that are written in the same history, and in the volumes of Josephus, especially the discord between Hyrcanus and Alexander, on account of which Cneus Pompeius, the consul, took Jerusalem and subjected it to Roman rule; and afterwards, under Titus and Vespasian, the city was captured and the temple destroyed. And after fifty years, under Aelius Hadrianus, the city was burned to the ground and destroyed, to the extent that it also lost its original name. However, in the case of emperors, both the hair on their head and their beard are an indication of beauty and manliness, as if they are shaved, an ugly nakedness is revealed, and the most distant and, so to speak, lifeless part of the body is in the hair and beard: in the same way, Jerusalem and its people are lifeless and separated from the living body of God, being handed over to famine, disease, killing, and the sword, and to captivity and dispersion. From this dispersal, under the form of hair, a part of it is tied at the top of the cloak, so that a small amount may be handed over to fire again, from which an infinite flame, almost completely devastating, emerges into every house of Israel.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Ezekiel 5:1 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Ezekiel 5:1 inaugurates a profoundly symbolic prophetic act, commanded by God to the prophet Ezekiel, designed to vividly illustrate the impending and severe judgment upon Jerusalem. God instructs Ezekiel, addressed as "son of man," to take a sharp knife and a barber's razor to shave his head and beard, then to meticulously weigh and divide the shorn hair. This dramatic, physical demonstration served as an unsettling visual sermon for the exiled Israelites, powerfully communicating the certainty and varied nature of Jerusalem's destruction and the diverse fates awaiting its inhabitants.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Ezekiel 5:1 continues a series of intensely symbolic actions that commenced in Ezekiel 4, forming a cohesive narrative of impending judgment. Prior to this command, Ezekiel had already enacted the siege of Jerusalem by drawing it on a brick (Ezekiel 4:1-3), endured periods of lying on his side to symbolize the years of Israel's and Judah's punishment (Ezekiel 4:4-8), and consumed meager, defiled rations to signify the famine and impurity Jerusalem would experience (Ezekiel 4:9-17). The shaving of the head and beard in chapter 5 is the next, equally unsettling, visual parable, directly preceding God's detailed explanation of the judgment's specifics and severity in the subsequent verses of Ezekiel 5. These cumulative acts were strategically designed to penetrate the exiles' denial and false hope regarding Jerusalem's imminent and inescapable doom.
Historical & Cultural Context: Ezekiel prophesied during the traumatic period of the Babylonian exile (c. 597-571 BC). Many Israelites had already been deported to Babylon, while Jerusalem, though under Babylonian suzerainty, still stood. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, and particularly for Israelite men, the beard and hair were profound symbols of honor, dignity, strength, and even covenant identity. To have them shaven, especially in a public and forced manner, was a sign of deep humiliation, intense mourning, or profound disgrace, often associated with captivity, slavery, or severe divine judgment. For instance, priests were explicitly forbidden from shaving their heads or beards (Leviticus 21:5), and a Nazarite's strength and dedication were intrinsically linked to his unshorn hair (Numbers 6:5). Thus, Ezekiel's act of shaving, particularly with a common "barber's razor," would have immediately conveyed a visceral sense of profound shame, loss of identity, and the stripping away of divine protection, making the impending judgment starkly real and deeply relatable to his audience in Babylon.
Key Themes: The central theme powerfully underscored by this symbolic act is Divine Judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah, a direct consequence of their persistent idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and moral corruption. The shaving of the hair vividly portrays the stripping away of honor, dignity, protection, and the very identity of the people. This act also highlights Symbolic Prophecy, a defining characteristic of Ezekiel's ministry, where God uses the prophet's body and actions as living parables to communicate profound truths that mere words might fail to convey to a hardened and skeptical people. Furthermore, the command to meticulously weigh and divide the hair foreshadows the varied and devastating Consequences of Disobedience, a pervasive theme throughout the book of Ezekiel. The subsequent verses in Ezekiel 5 will explicitly explain how the divided hair represents different fates for Jerusalem's inhabitants: death by plague or famine, death by sword, and scattering among the nations, with only a tiny remnant preserved, as seen in Ezekiel 5:12.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 5:1 is profoundly rich in literary devices, primarily functioning as a Prophetic Sign-Act. This is a quintessential feature of Ezekiel's ministry, where the prophet's physical actions serve as a living parable, embodying and communicating the divine message in a way that transcends mere verbal pronouncements. The entire scene is steeped in vivid Symbolism: the act of shaving the head and beard powerfully symbolizes the humiliation, disgrace, and stripping away of honor, dignity, and divine protection from Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The hair itself functions as a potent Metaphor for the people of Jerusalem, whose collective fate is being depicted. The "barber's razor" is a chilling Symbol of the precise, inescapable, and comprehensive judgment of God, affecting every individual. The "balances" are a clear Symbol of divine justice and the measured, exact nature of God's judgment, indicating that the consequences are not random but meticulously determined. The Direct Address "son of man" is a recurring literary motif in Ezekiel, consistently emphasizing the prophet's humanity and the divine origin of the message he conveys. The stark, almost visceral imagery employed creates a powerful and unforgettable visual sermon designed to impress upon a hardened and often rebellious audience the gravity and certainty of God's impending judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 5:1 powerfully articulates God's unwavering commitment to His covenant, which encompasses both blessings for obedience and severe consequences for disobedience. The stripping away of Ezekiel's hair and beard, potent symbols of honor and identity, foreshadows the profound humiliation, loss of national identity, and utter devastation that Jerusalem would experience due to its persistent idolatry, spiritual prostitution, and egregious rebellion against God. This passage underscores the profound truth that God's justice is not arbitrary or capricious but measured, precise, and entirely righteous, a theme that reverberates throughout the prophetic literature. It serves as a stark reminder that God takes sin with utmost seriousness and that His patience, while vast and enduring, is not infinite. The judgment, though undeniably severe, is ultimately aimed at vindicating God's holiness, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty to both His covenant people and the surrounding nations, and ultimately paving the way for a future restoration rooted in His faithfulness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel's dramatic and personally humiliating act serves as a profound reminder that God's word is not merely abstract theology or intellectual discourse, but often demands a tangible, even uncomfortable, response from His messengers. For believers today, this passage challenges our potential complacency regarding sin and its inevitable consequences. It calls us to deeply consider the seriousness with which God views disobedience, idolatry, and covenant unfaithfulness, whether manifested in our personal lives or within our communities. Just as Ezekiel faithfully performed a difficult, publicly shaming task, we are called to embody and communicate God's truth with integrity and courage, even when it is unpopular, counter-cultural, or requires personal sacrifice. This passage also invites us to reflect on areas in our lives where we might be clinging to false securities, worldly "honors," or self-made identities that God, in His sovereign wisdom and love, may need to strip away for our purification, sanctification, and ultimate good. It prompts us to diligently examine our hearts for any idols, subtle or overt, that have usurped God's rightful place, and to repent and return to Him in full, trusting obedience, resting in His perfectly just and profoundly merciful character.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God command Ezekiel to do such a strange and humiliating thing?
Answer: God commanded Ezekiel to perform this strange and humiliating act not for personal punishment, but as a powerful symbolic prophecy or "sign-act." In ancient Israel, prophets frequently engaged in physical demonstrations and dramatic enactments to convey divine messages more effectively and viscerally than words alone could. Shaving the head and beard was a deeply humiliating act in that culture, symbolizing disgrace, intense mourning, and the stripping away of honor, dignity, and protection. By making Ezekiel, God's chosen messenger, undergo this public degradation, God vividly communicated the impending and unavoidable humiliation, destruction, and scattering that Jerusalem and its inhabitants would suffer due to their persistent idolatry, spiritual adultery, and rebellion against His covenant. It was a potent visual sermon designed to shock the exiled Israelites into a profound understanding of the severity and certainty of God's righteous judgment, as further elaborated in Ezekiel 5:12.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel's prophetic act of shaving his head and beard, symbolizing the humiliation, disgrace, and judgment of Jerusalem, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound transformation in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. While Ezekiel's act foreshadowed a just judgment upon a rebellious people, Christ Himself became the ultimate recipient of shame, humiliation, and suffering, not for His own sin, but for the sins of humanity. Just as Ezekiel bore the symbolic disgrace of the people, Jesus, the true Son of Man, took upon Himself the full weight of the shame and curse of sin on the cross (Galatians 3:13). The judgment that justly fell upon Jerusalem for its unfaithfulness ultimately points to the greater, eternal judgment for sin that Christ bore in His body, allowing all who believe in Him to escape the just wrath of God. Moreover, Jesus is the true and perfect Prophet, who not only spoke God's word with unparalleled authority but perfectly embodied it, fulfilling and transcending all prophetic types and shadows (Hebrews 1:1-2). His suffering, public degradation, and death, though seemingly a stripping away of all honor and power, were the very means by which He secured eternal honor, glory, and salvation for His people, transforming the symbol of judgment into the glorious reality of redemption, reconciliation, and new life (Isaiah 53:5).