Ezekiel 24:20

Easy-to-Read Version

Then I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me. He told me

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So I answered them: “The word of the Lord came to me:

Hebrew Names Version
Then I said to them, The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

King James Version
Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

English Standard Version
Then I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me:

New American Standard Bible
Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

New Century Version
Then I said to them, "The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,

Amplified Bible
Then I answered them, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

World English Bible
Then I said to them, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then I answered them, The worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me saying,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I said to them, "The word of Yahweh came to me saying,

Berean Standard Bible
So I answered them, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying:

Contemporary English Version
I answered: The Lord God says

Complete Jewish Bible
I answered them, "The word of Adonai came to me, telling me

Darby Translation
And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

George Lamsa Translation
Then I said to them, This is the word of the LORD which came to me, saying,

Good News Translation
So I said to them, "The Lord spoke to me and told me

Lexham English Bible
And I said to them that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Literal Translation
Then I said to them, The Word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I answered them, the worde off the LORDE came vnto me, sayege:

American Standard Version
Then I said unto them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

Bible in Basic English
Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then I said unto them: 'The word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

King James Version (1611)
Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came vnto me, saying;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I aunswered them, The word of the Lorde came vnto me, saying:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

English Revised Version
Then I said unto them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y seide to hem, The word of the Lord was maad to me,

Update Bible Version
Then I said to them, The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Webster's Bible Translation
Then I answered them, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

New English Translation
So I said to them: "The word of the Lord came to me:

New King James Version
Then I answered them, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

New Living Translation
So I said to them, "A message came to me from the Lord ,

New Life Bible
So I said to them, "The Word of the Lord came to me saying,

New Revised Standard
Then I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So I said unto them: The word of Yahweh hath come unto me, saying:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Revised Standard Version
Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me:

Young's Literal Translation
And I say unto them, `A word of Jehovah hath been unto me, saying:

THE MESSAGE
So I told them, " God 's Word came to me, saying, ‘Tell the family of Israel, This is what God , the Master, says: I will desecrate my Sanctuary, your proud impregnable fort, the delight of your life, your heart's desire. The children you left behind will be killed.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ¹⁶ "Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall, ¹⁷ but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don't cover your mustache, and don't eat the food people normally eat when someone dies." ¹⁸ The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did what God commanded. ¹⁹ Then the people said to me, "Why are you doing this? What does it mean?" ²⁰ Then I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me. He told me ²¹ to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord God said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle. ²² But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies. ²³ You will wear your turbans and your sandals. You will not show your sadness publicly or cry publicly, but you will waste away with guilt and talk to each other quietly about your grief. ²⁴ So Ezekiel is an example for you. You will do all the same things he did. That time of punishment will come, and then you will know that I am the Lord God .'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then I answered them,.... And gave them an account of the design of the whole, and what was signified hereby:

the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; ordering him to do all he did; for he did nothing of himself, but all according to the divine will; and who also directed him to say the following things to the people, by way of explanation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The death of Ezekiel’s wife took place in the evening of the same day that he delivered the foregoing prophecy. This event was to signify to the people that the Lord would take from them all that was most dear to them; and - owing to the extraordinary nature of the times - quiet lamentation for the dead, according to the usual forms of mourning, would be impossible.

Ezekiel 24:17

The priest in general was to mourn for his dead (Leviticus 21:1 ff); but Ezekiel was to be an exception to the rule. The “tire” was the priest’s mitre.

Eat not the bread of men - Food supplied for the comfort of the mourners.

Ezekiel 24:23

Pine away - Compare Leviticus 26:39. The outward signs of grief were a certain consolation. Their absence would indicate a heart-consuming sorrow.

Ezekiel 24:27

Ezekiel had been employed four years in foretelling the calamities about to come to pass. He had been utterly disregarded by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and received with apparent respect but with real incredulity by those in exile. Now until the city had been actually taken, the voice of prophecy should cease, so far as God’s people were concerned. Hence the intervening series of predictions relating to neighboring and foreign nations Ezek. 25–32. After which the prophet’s voice was again heard addressing his countrymen in their exile. This accounts for the apparently parenthetical character of the next eight chapters.