Ezekiel 24 12

Ezekiel 24:12 kjv

She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.

Ezekiel 24:12 nkjv

She has grown weary with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!

Ezekiel 24:12 niv

It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.

Ezekiel 24:12 esv

She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion!

Ezekiel 24:12 nlt

But it's hopeless;
the corruption can't be cleaned out.
So throw it into the fire.

Ezekiel 24 verses

Ezekiel 24 12 Meaning

Ezekiel 24:12 speaks to the futile and exhaustive attempts to cleanse Jerusalem from its profound spiritual defilement. Despite every effort, the ingrained sin—described as the pot's hardened scum—remained within the city. The verse then declares that this pervasive wickedness can only be removed or consumed by divine judgment, represented by the scorching fire. It signifies the irreversible state of the city's corruption, making God's drastic punitive action a necessity for purification.

Ezekiel 24 12 Context

Ezekiel 24 delivers the "Parable of the Boiling Pot" and the sign of Ezekiel's wife's death, both serving as prophetic warnings about the impending, inescapable destruction of Jerusalem. The "pot" (verse 3) symbolizes Jerusalem itself, with its inhabitants as the "choice pieces" of meat (verses 4-6). The "filth" or "scum" represents the city's deeply ingrained sins of idolatry, bloodshed, and injustice, which God has been tolerating. This particular verse, Ezekiel 24:12, appears within the "boiling pot" parable and specifically addresses the stubborn, persistent defilement of Jerusalem that has resisted all attempts at spiritual cleansing. Despite the trials and divine judgments already experienced by the city (the "toil"), its core corruption has not been removed. This sets the stage for God's ultimate and most severe judgment: the destruction of the city by the Babylonians, an event understood as God's fiery consumption of her sin.

Ezekiel 24 12 Word analysis

• She has wearied herself (יָגְעָה, yag‘ah): This Hebrew verb denotes exhausting toil, deep fatigue, or toiling to no purpose. It implies a protracted and arduous process. In this context, it speaks to Jerusalem's futile human attempts or God's previous disciplinary measures which, while tiring, did not achieve true repentance or inner change from the city's defilement. It highlights the persistence of sin even through hardship.
• with toil (בַּעֲמָלָהּ, ba'amalah): This noun specifies the nature of the "wearing out"—through laborious effort, drudgery, or hardship. It emphasizes the intensive struggle, whether Jerusalem's own superficial efforts to appear clean or the burdensome suffering God imposed as corrective measures. Yet, the quality of this toil was ineffective in addressing the root problem.
• yet her great filth (רֻבַּת חֶלְאָתָהּ, rubbat chel’atah): This phrase is critical.
  • great (רֻבַּת, rubbat): Signifies "abundance," "great quantity." This emphasizes the extensive, deep-seated nature of Jerusalem's defilement, not just a superficial stain but pervasive corruption.
  • filth (חֶלְאָתָהּ, chel’atah): This noun refers to the hard-crusted rust or scale that adheres stubbornly to a cooking pot. It’s a very vivid, physical image representing deeply embedded spiritual corruption—idolatry, injustice, bloodshed—that is difficult, if not impossible, to scrub away by normal means. This imagery points to a hardened condition, a persistent rebellion against God's covenant.
• went not forth from her (וְלֹא יָצְאָה מִמֶּנָּה, wə-lōʾ yāṣeʾāh mimmennāh): Despite the intense effort and suffering, the deep-seated sin ("filth") was not dislodged. This signifies the stubbornness of Jerusalem's heart and the failure of all preceding chastisements or reform efforts to genuinely purify the city. Her spiritual condition was unchanged.
• her filthiness shall be in the fire (בְּאֶשָּׁה חֶלְאָתָהּ, bəʾēššāh ḥelʾātāh): This is the grim consequence.
  • in the fire (בְּאֶשָּׁה, bəʾēššāh): Explicitly points to divine judgment. Fire is a common biblical metaphor for God's holy wrath that consumes sin and purifies what is redeemable, or destroys what is unredeemable. In this context, it signifies the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians as God's instrument.
  • her filthiness (חֶלְאָתָהּ, chel’atah): The re-statement of "filthiness" emphasizes that it is specifically the unremoved corruption that now faces the consuming fire. The only solution for this persistent sin is through this intense, devastating judgment.

• She has wearied herself with toil; yet her great filth went not forth from her: This phrase underscores the futility of human, superficial, or even divine remedial efforts when met with ingrained spiritual stubbornness. Jerusalem exerted energy (or was subjected to exhausting circumstances), but the deep-seated corruption remained unaffected. It reveals a critical spiritual principle: true cleansing is not merely a product of outward effort or temporary suffering, but of genuine inward transformation which Jerusalem lacked.
• her filthiness shall be in the fire: This decisive statement highlights the inevitability and severity of God's final judgment when lesser forms of discipline or reform prove inadequate. The very thing that resists normal removal—the hardened sin—will become the specific target and object of destructive divine wrath, leaving no alternative but ultimate consumption. This speaks to the boundaries of God's patience and the certainty of his holy justice.

Ezekiel 24 12 Bonus section

The imagery of the "pot" and its "scum" is a powerful and practical metaphor drawn from daily life in ancient Israel. A cooking pot that is repeatedly used without thorough cleaning accumulates a thick, hard layer of residue or scale, becoming "filthy" and no longer fit for use without a vigorous, often fiery, cleaning process. This vividly conveyed to Ezekiel's original audience the pervasive, sticky nature of Jerusalem's sin and how it rendered the city useless for God's holy purposes. Furthermore, the declaration that the "filthiness shall be in the fire" establishes a principle of divine justice: what cannot be cleansed by refining or ordinary means will be consumed. This underscores the radical nature of sin in God's eyes and the extreme measures His holiness requires.

Ezekiel 24 12 Commentary

Ezekiel 24:12 concisely articulates Jerusalem's unyielding spiritual state prior to its ultimate destruction. Despite various disciplinary actions by God, intended to purge its profound iniquity (symbolized by the "toil" and "wearing herself out"), the deep-seated "filth"—her persistent idolatry, bloodshed, and injustice—remained impervious to true repentance. This verse reveals that some spiritual defilement is so ingrained and extensive that it resists all conventional methods of cleansing, leaving God with only one course of action: a consuming judgment. The "fire" thus becomes the necessary, final means to deal with a people who refused to be purified. It underlines the sovereignty of God's judgment and the catastrophic outcome of unrepentant sin, where all efforts to avoid or mitigate consequences ultimately fail against deep spiritual corruption.

• Example: A patient might receive various treatments for a persistent infection, yet if the core cause (e.g., a systemic issue) remains unaddressed, the infection continues, eventually requiring more radical intervention. Similarly, God's corrective measures were repeatedly ignored, necessitating a final, consuming judgment for Jerusalem.