The Meaning of Ezekiel 24:17 Explained

Ezekiel 24:17

KJV: Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

YLT: Cease to groan, for the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.'

Darby: Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men.

ASV: Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Forbear  to cry,  make  no mourning  for the dead,  bind  the tire of thine head  upon thee, and put on  thy shoes  upon thy feet,  and cover  not [thy] lips,  and eat  not the bread  of men. 

What does Ezekiel 24:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Ezekiel would have to sorrow inwardly; he was not to do so outwardly. It was customary for relatives of a dead loved one to wail long and loud with family, friends, and even paid mourners (cf. 2 Samuel 1:17; 2 Samuel 11:26; Micah 1:8). But Ezekiel was to observe none of the customary acts of mourning over the death of his loved one, which included throwing dust on his head, going barefoot, covering his mustache, and eating a modest meal after a day of fasting (cf. 2 Samuel 1:12; 2 Samuel 3:35; Jeremiah 16:7; Hosea 9:4). [1] Mourning was not appropriate in cases of capital punishment.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 24

1  Under the parable of a boiling pot
6  is shown the irrevocable destruction of Jerusalem
15  By the sign of Ezekiel not mourning for the death of his wife
19  is shown the calamity of the Jews to be beyond all sorrow

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 24:17 mean?

Sigh in silence for the dead mourning no make your turban bind on your head and your sandals put on your feet and not do cover upon [your] lips and bread [of] [sorrow] of man not do eat
הֵאָנֵ֣ק ׀ דֹּ֗ם מֵתִים֙ אֵ֣בֶל לֹֽא־ תַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה פְאֵֽרְךָ֙ חֲב֣וֹשׁ עָלֶ֔יךָ וּנְעָלֶ֖יךָ תָּשִׂ֣ים בְּרַגְלֶ֑יךָ וְלֹ֤א תַעְטֶה֙ עַל־ שָׂפָ֔ם וְלֶ֥חֶם אֲנָשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽל

הֵאָנֵ֣ק ׀  Sigh 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָנַק  
Sense: to cry, groan.
דֹּ֗ם  in  silence 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּמַם 
Sense: to be silent, be still, wait, be dumb, grow dumb.
מֵתִים֙  for  the  dead 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
אֵ֣בֶל  mourning 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵבֶל  
Sense: mourning.
לֹֽא־  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תַֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה  make 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
פְאֵֽרְךָ֙  your  turban 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: פְּאֵר  
Sense: head-dress, ornament, turban.
חֲב֣וֹשׁ  bind 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.
עָלֶ֔יךָ  on  your  head 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וּנְעָלֶ֖יךָ  and  your  sandals 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נַעַל  
Sense: sandal, shoe.
תָּשִׂ֣ים  put 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
בְּרַגְלֶ֑יךָ  on  your  feet 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, fdc, second person masculine singular
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
וְלֹ֤א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תַעְטֶה֙  do  cover 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָטָה 
Sense: to cover, enwrap, wrap oneself, envelop oneself.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
שָׂפָ֔ם  [your]  lips 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂפָם  
Sense: moustache.
וְלֶ֥חֶם  and  bread  [of]  [sorrow] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
אֲנָשִׁ֖ים  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
תֹאכֵֽל  do  eat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.