Bible Strands
Ezekiel 12:5
As they watch, dig through the wall and carry your belongings out through it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Ezekiel to enact a public demonstration of Judah’s impending exile, instructing him to perform the act before the observers. The prophet is directed to dig through his house wall and remove his belongings while the people watch.
The words — The phrase לְעֵינֵיהֶם (le'eyneyhem) translates literally as "to their eyes," establishing the public nature of the demonstration. The verb חָתַר (chatâr) commands Ezekiel to "dig" through the wall, emphasizing the physical breach of his home.
The thread — This enacted breach and nocturnal departure anticipates the historical sieges recorded in 2 Kings 25:4 and Jeremiah 39:2, where Jerusalem's walls are broken and its inhabitants flee by night.
Why it lands — The text states that divine judgment will occur openly and without concealment, forcing the observers to witness their own impending displacement. It requires the reader to acknowledge that exile is a witnessed reality rather than a hidden possibility.
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
Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 25:4 Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,
- Jeremiah 39:2 And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.