But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.
- KJV Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
- NKJV You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment.
- NASB Take also a few hairs in number from them and bind them in the hems of your robes.
- NLT Keep just a bit of the hair and tie it up in your robe.
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
A few hairs are kept and bound in Ezekiel's garment. They picture a small remnant God preserves through the judgment.
Overview
From the scattered hair Ezekiel saves a few, tucking them into the hem of his robe. This small number signifies the remnant God will spare even amid devastating judgment. Throughout Scripture God preserves a remnant, a thread of grace that runs to the gospel, where a faithful remnant becomes the seed of the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 52:16But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- Jer 40:6So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.
- Jer 39:10But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- 2 Kgs 25:12But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- 1 Pet 4:18And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
- Matt 7:14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
- Luke 13:23–24“Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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 5:3 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.