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Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
Ezekiel 5:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.
  • BSB But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
  • 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 the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
  • Jer 40:6Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
  • Jer 39:10But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
  • 2 Kgs 25:12But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
  • 1 Pet 4:18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
  • Matt 7:14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
  • Luke 13:23–24Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 5:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.