Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God commands Ezekiel to address the rebellious house on the exact day the king of Babylon begins his siege of Jerusalem.
The words — The Hebrew מְשֹׁ֤ל (me.Shol) and מָשָׁ֔ל (ma.Shal) carry the literal sense “speak a parable” and “a parable,” while הַ/מֶּ֙רִי֙ (ha./Me.ri) means “the rebellion.”
The thread — The cooking pot metaphor appears in Ezekiel 11:3, where the people describe themselves as the meat inside the city. The directive to speak a parable is repeated in Ezekiel 17:2 and is later questioned by the people in Ezekiel 20:49.
Why it lands — The text explicitly orders the preparation of a pot over fire before adding meat and bones. The reader must see that God is prescribing a controlled, irreversible process of judgment against a people who refuse to heed His word.
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
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
Cross-references
- 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.’
- Ezekiel 17:2 “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
- Ezekiel 20:49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
- Ezekiel 2:3 “Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me.
- Ezekiel 2:6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
- Psalms 78:2 I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
- Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Isaiah 30:9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
- Ezekiel 2:8 And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”