Bible Strands
Ezekiel 11:3
They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezekiel 11:2 records the Lord addressing the prophet concerning men who plot evil in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 11:3 captures these same men declaring their false sense of security before the city's destruction.
The words — The Hebrew הָאֹמְרִים (ha./'O.me.Rim) identifies the speakers as those who claim, while הַסִּיר (ha./Sir) literally translates to "the cooking pot." The phrase בְּקָרוֹב (ve./ka.Rov) denotes a near future, contrasting their perceived safety with the coming judgment.
The thread — This metaphor of misplaced security runs in Ezekiel 12:22 and Ezekiel 12:27, where the house of Israel treats prophetic visions as distant. The attitude of demanding God hasten His work appears in Isaiah 5:19.
Why it lands — The text reports the people's claim that Jerusalem functions as a protective cooking pot keeping them safe as meat. Readers must confront the reality that human confidence in temporary shelter ignores the imminent divine action Ezekiel is commanded to announce in Ezekiel 11:4.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
- Ezekiel 12:27 “Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
- Isaiah 5:19 to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
- Jeremiah 1:11 And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
- Ezekiel 7:7 Doom has come to you, O inhabitants of the land. The time has come; the day is near; there is panic on the mountains instead of shouts of joy.
- Ezekiel 11:7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.
- Ezekiel 24:3 Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Put the pot on the fire; put it on and pour in the water.
- Amos 6:5 You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
- 2 Peter 3:4 “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”