Take the choicest of the flock and pile the fuel beneath it. Bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.’
Parallel translations
- WEB Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the cauldron; make it boil well; yes, let its bones be boiled within it.
- KJV Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
- NKJV Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it.”
- NASB “Take the choicest of the flock, And also stack wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also boil its bones in it.”
- NLT Use only the best sheep from the flock, and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, and cook the bones along with the meat.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The best of the flock is chosen and the fire stoked to make the pot boil fiercely. It intensifies the picture of relentless, consuming judgment.
Overview
Piling wood beneath the cauldron and bringing it to a vigorous boil portrays the heat and severity of the siege. 'The choice of the flock' again emphasizes that judgment falls even on the finest. The escalating heat foreshadows that this is no light chastening but a thorough purging.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jer 52:10There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.
- Jer 52:24–27The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jer 39:6There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Ezek 34:20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
- Rev 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- Ezek 20:47Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.
- Ezek 34:16–17I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
- Ezek 24:9–10Yes, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed! I, too, will pile the kindling high.
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The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 24:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.