Bible Strands
Ezekiel 24:18
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Ezekiel addresses the people in the morning, his wife dies that evening, and he performs the commanded actions the following morning. The sequence records the exact chronological execution of a prophetic sign-act.
The words — וָ/אֲדַבֵּ֤ר (va./'a.da.Ber) = and/I spoke and בָּ/עָ֑רֶב (ba./'A.rev) = in the/evening. These terms establish the strict temporal boundary between divine instruction and its immediate fulfillment.
The thread — The pattern of detaching from earthly ties under divine urgency appears in 1 Corinthians 7:29, where Paul states the shortness of time requires living as if worldly relationships were not absolute. Both passages treat present circumstances as secondary to an approaching divine resolution.
Why it lands — The text requires obedience to God’s symbolic instructions regardless of personal loss. It demands that readers measure their conduct against divine timing rather than cultural mourning practices or emotional comfort.
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
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 7:29 What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;