Ezekiel 5:1-10·~1 min

The Razor of Judgment

Ezekiel is commanded to use a sharp sword as a barber's razor, shave his head and beard, and divide the hair carefully by weight. One third is burned in the city model, one third struck with the sword, and one third scattered to the wind while the sword pursues it. A few hairs are tucked safely into his garment, yet even some of those are thrown into the fire, showing that judgment reaches even the remnant.

“¹As 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.

The LORD identifies Jerusalem as the city set in the midst of the nations, yet she has rebelled more wickedly than the peoples around her by rejecting His rules and statutes. Because of these abominations, the LORD Himself is against her and will execute judgment before the eyes of the nations in a way not previously seen. The result will be horrors of siege so severe that fathers and sons consume one another before the survivors are scattered.

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.’

Section summaryEzekiel must shave his head and beard with a sword, divide the hair by weight, and dispose of each portion differently to symbolize Jerusalem's coming judgment. A third is burned, a third struck with the sword, and a third scattered to the wind, though a small remnant is preserved. The sign is then interpreted: Jerusalem, set centrally among the nations, has rebelled even more than those around her and will therefore experience unparalleled judgment.

Role in the chapterThis section translates Jerusalem's guilt into an enacted distribution of judgment and explains why the city's punishment is so severe.