Ezekiel 24 18

Ezekiel 24:18 kjv

So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

Ezekiel 24:18 nkjv

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

Ezekiel 24:18 niv

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

Ezekiel 24:18 esv

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

Ezekiel 24:18 nlt

So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.

Ezekiel 24 verses

Ezekiel 24 18 Meaning

The verse describes the exact and immediate fulfillment of God's word spoken through Ezekiel. The prophet delivered God's message of impending, inescapable judgment upon Jerusalem in the morning. That same evening, precisely as God had foretold in a preceding private revelation (Ezekiel 24:16-17), Ezekiel's wife passed away. The following morning, the prophet completely obeyed God's unique and difficult command to not engage in conventional mourning rites, thus acting as a living sign to the exiles concerning the sudden and overwhelming nature of Jerusalem's future desolation.

Ezekiel 24 18 Context

Ezekiel 24 marks a pivotal point in the book, being the "climax" of the judgment pronouncements against Jerusalem before its final fall. The chapter opens with the parable of the boiling pot (verses 1-14), illustrating Jerusalem's inevitable purification by fire, a symbol of the impending siege by Babylon (588-586 BC) and the judgment that will consume its inhabitants. Following this, the Lord reveals to Ezekiel (verses 15-17) that He will take away "the delight of [his] eyes"—his wife—by a sudden blow, and specifically commands Ezekiel not to mourn conventionally, lament, or cry. This personal tragedy, recounted in verse 18, is itself the dramatic living sign. The message for the exiles is made explicit in verses 19-27: just as Ezekiel experiences sudden, irreparable loss without traditional mourning, so too will Jerusalem face utter destruction and loss, leaving no room for conventional lament. Their deepest sorrow will be in their spiritual guilt rather than outward expressions. Historically, Jewish mourning customs were very elaborate, involving loud wailing, tearing clothes, wearing sackcloth, applying ashes, fasting, and ceremonial burial. Ezekiel's restraint, therefore, was profoundly counter-cultural and visibly conveyed the severity and nature of God's judgment.

Ezekiel 24 18 Word analysis

• So I spoke (וָאֲדַבֵּר - va'adaber): This indicates the prophet's fulfillment of his commission to deliver God's message publicly. The Hebrew verb dabar emphasizes God's spoken word through His messenger. It underscores the prophet's active role as a mouth for God.
• to the people: The message and the subsequent sign act were for public consumption among the exiles, meant to confront their denial about Jerusalem's fate.
• in the morning: בַּבֹּקֶר (babboqer). This specific time notation indicates precision. Ezekiel delivered the message immediately.
• and at evening: בָּעֶרֶב (ba'erev). Another precise time notation, just hours after speaking. The swiftness between the prophecy's declaration and its fulfillment emphasizes God's immediate action and His absolute control over events, even those profoundly personal.
• my wife died: וַתָּמָת אִשְׁתִּי (vattamat ishti). The Hebrew verb mut (to die) highlights the direct and immediate nature of the divine action. This was a sudden, divinely orchestrated death, underscoring the irreversible and inescapable judgment on Jerusalem. The "delight of your eyes" (v.16) implies she was very beloved, making the loss intensely personal for Ezekiel and, by extension, symbolic of Jerusalem for the Israelites.
• And the next morning: בַּבֹּקֶר (babboqer). This reinforces the promptness of Ezekiel's response. The entire sequence—prophecy, tragic event, prophetic sign-act—occurs within roughly 24 hours.
• I did as I was commanded: וָאֶעֱשֶׂה כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוֵּיתִי (va'e'eseh ka'asher tzuveiti). This crucial phrase demonstrates Ezekiel's complete, unquestioning, and difficult obedience. The phrase ka'asher tzuveiti means "according to that which I was commanded," indicating faithful execution of divine instruction. His action (or lack of traditional mourning) was the public display of the prophetic sign itself, vital for the exiles' understanding.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died.": This sequence powerfully demonstrates the immediate and precise connection between God's announced word (delivered by Ezekiel) and its literal fulfillment in his own life. The short time interval highlights divine efficiency and the inescapable reality of the prophetic word. It underscores that God’s declarations are not mere threats but certainties.
• "And the next morning I did as I was commanded.": This entire phrase highlights Ezekiel's absolute submission and identification with God's will, even in deep personal anguish. His difficult obedience transformed his private tragedy into a public, didactic sign, powerfully demonstrating that God's coming judgment on Jerusalem would demand a similar, silent, and profound recognition of overwhelming, irreplaceable loss.

Ezekiel 24 18 Bonus section

This incident marks a critical transition in Ezekiel's prophetic ministry. Up until this point, Ezekiel’s prophecies focused predominantly on warning Jerusalem of its impending doom and detailing the sins that necessitated such a judgment. With the fulfillment of this highly personal prophecy concerning his wife’s death, God authenticated Ezekiel's prophetic calling and confirmed the certain fulfillment of all His words concerning Jerusalem. Immediately after the city’s fall, as Ezekiel was informed by an escapee (Eze 33:21-22), his mouth, which had been previously "sealed" in many respects concerning the fate of the city itself (Eze 24:27), was finally opened to speak more freely. This shift prepared Ezekiel, and the exiles, for the subsequent prophecies of hope, restoration, and the new covenant that define the latter part of the book, moving beyond the direct condemnation of Jerusalem to a future outlook for Israel.

Ezekiel 24 18 Commentary

Ezekiel 24:18 epitomizes the profound intersection of the divine word, human suffering, and prophetic witness. It reveals a God who not only declares judgment but also orchestrates events—even personal tragedies—to perfectly align with His message, demanding profound obedience from His messengers. Ezekiel's loss of his beloved wife and his unique instruction not to mourn served as a shocking, embodied prophecy to the exiles. His inability to outwardly lament mirrored God's decree that Jerusalem's fall would be so sudden, total, and final that traditional mourning rituals would be rendered meaningless, or even inappropriate, in the face of such comprehensive divine judgment. The emphasis shifted from mourning the loss to realizing the severe implications of their sin that brought about such devastation. Ezekiel's immediate obedience, despite his personal grief, showcased a prophet wholly committed to embodying God's truth, no matter the personal cost, a stark challenge to the complacent exiles who still clung to false hopes about Jerusalem's survival. This pivotal moment underscores God's sovereignty, the weight of prophecy, and the somber reality of a people facing their day of reckoning.