Ezekiel 5:1-17
The Hair and the Sword
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1“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.
2When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them.
3But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
4Again, take a few of these, throw them into the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.
5This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.
6But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’
7Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You have been more insubordinate than the nations around you; you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances, nor have you even conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.’
8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
9Because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.
10As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
13And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken.
14I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
15So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.
16When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.
17I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
God tells Ezekiel to use a sharp sword as a barber’s razor and shave his head and beard. He is to weigh the hair and divide it into thirds. After the days of the siege, one third must be burned inside the model city, another struck with the sword, and another scattered to the wind. God says He will send a sword after those who are scattered.
A few strands are to be tucked into Ezekiel’s garment. But even from these, he must take some and burn them, with fire spreading to the whole house of Israel. The sign gives no easy assurance that escaping the city will mean escaping judgment.
God names the city: Jerusalem. He set her among the nations, but she has rebelled against His ordinances more wickedly than the countries around her. Her people have defiled His sanctuary with idols and abominations. Now God Himself is against her, and the surrounding nations will witness her disgrace.
The thirds of hair represent people dying by plague and famine, falling by the sword, and being scattered. The famine will become so terrible that parents and children will eat one another. God announces this horror as judgment on Jerusalem’s rebellion. The city that rejected His word will know that He has spoken.
Questions
1 What did Ezekiel use on his head and beard?
AnswerHe used a sword as a barber's razor.
2 How was the hair divided?
AnswerIt was weighed and divided into three portions: burned, struck with the sword, and scattered to the wind.
3 Why was Jerusalem judged?
AnswerThe city rebelled against God's ways, defiled the sanctuary, and practiced detestable things.
4 What happened to the small portion of hair?
AnswerEzekiel was told to secure a few strands in his garment, then burn some of those as well.
What This Means for Us
The image refuses the comforting idea that privilege makes a community immune from accountability. Jerusalem's nearness to the sanctuary makes its unfaithfulness more serious, not less.
Consider what we might mistake for protection: belonging to a church, knowing the Bible, or having a respected family name. None gives us permission to disregard what God says. Where our conduct contradicts our faith, we need to repent rather than appeal to our standing.
Prayer
Holy God, keep us from presuming on privilege while tolerating sin. Make us sober about evil, honest about our own loyalties, and willing to turn from what dishonors You. Amen.
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