Ezekiel 24:22 kjv
And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
Ezekiel 24:22 nkjv
And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man's bread of sorrow.
Ezekiel 24:22 niv
And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.
Ezekiel 24:22 esv
And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
Ezekiel 24:22 nlt
Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends.
Ezekiel 24 22 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Eze 24:16-17 | "Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes from you with a stroke... not mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down... moan silently..." | Ezekiel's personal sign |
| Jer 16:5 | "Do not enter the house of mourning... For I have removed My peace from this people..." | God forbids mourning rituals during judgment |
| Jer 16:6-7 | "Neither shall men tear themselves for them, nor shave themselves... nor shall they break bread for them to comfort them for the dead..." | Details specific prohibitions on mourning for the dead |
| Lev 13:45 | "The leper who has the infection... he shall cover his mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’" | Covering lips/face as a sign of defilement/mourning |
| Mic 3:7 | "The seers will be shamed and the diviners disgraced... for there is no answer from God." | Covering of lips as a sign of shame/silence/grief |
| 2 Sam 1:11-12 | "Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them... They mourned and wept and fasted..." | Traditional mourning, contrasting Eze 24:22 |
| 2 Sam 3:35 | "And all the people came to make David eat bread while it was still day... but he swore, saying, 'May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread...'" | Bread offered to mourners |
| Job 2:11-13 | "When Job’s three friends heard... they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great." | Silent grief, yet presence of comforters |
| Eze 33:10 | "Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked..." | God's justice, not His desire for suffering |
| Hos 9:4 | "They shall not pour out drink offerings to the LORD, nor shall their sacrifices be pleasing to Him. Their bread shall be like mourners' bread..." | Defiled food in a context of judgment |
| Amo 8:9-10 | "And I will make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight... and like the mourning for an only son..." | Extreme desolation, similar depth of sorrow |
| Lam 2:10 | "The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads... have wrapped themselves in sackcloth..." | Desperate mourning, yet a form of traditional ritual |
| Psa 78:63-64 | "Fire devoured their young men, and their virgins had no wedding songs... Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep." | Lack of mourning due to overwhelming catastrophe |
| Isa 32:9-14 | Prophecy of devastation causing the removal of joy and ordinary life, silence. | Silence and desolation |
| Joel 1:8 | "Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth." | A call for intense mourning |
| Rom 12:15 | "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." | New Testament command to communal emotional response |
| 1 Cor 10:11 | "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction..." | OT events as lessons for later generations |
| 1 Pet 4:17 | "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God..." | Judgment starting with God's people |
| Rev 18:7-8 | "As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so give her as much torment and grief; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and am no widow and will never see mourning.'" | Absence of mourning for Babylon, preceding judgment |
| Matt 24:19 | "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!" | Extreme distress during Jerusalem's future destruction |
| Luke 23:29 | "For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!'" | Foreshadows immense suffering during judgment |
Ezekiel 24 verses
Ezekiel 24 22 Meaning
This verse conveys a command from God to the exiles in Babylon through Ezekiel, instructing them to mimic Ezekiel's unusual response to his wife's death, which symbolized the impending fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. The people are told they will not engage in the customary outward displays of mourning, such as covering their lower face (lips) as a sign of grief, nor will they partake in or receive the customary "bread of mourners," food offered to the bereaved for comfort. This lack of traditional mourning is not a matter of choice, but a desolate consequence of a catastrophe so overwhelming and sudden that it will paralyze their capacity for ritualized grief and leave no community to offer comfort.
Ezekiel 24 22 Context
Ezekiel chapter 24 details a pivotal prophetic sign, revealed on the very day Nebuchadnezzar began his siege of Jerusalem. God commands Ezekiel to recount a parable of a boiling pot, symbolizing Jerusalem. The subsequent command, concerning Ezekiel's wife, the "delight of his eyes" (v. 16), is central. God declares He will take her away suddenly, but Ezekiel is forbidden from performing any traditional mourning rites (vv. 16-17) – no weeping, no tears, no covered head, no bare feet, no "bread of mourners." The exiles question this strange behavior (v. 19), and Ezekiel explains that his actions are a prophetic sign (v. 20) of what will soon happen to Jerusalem, their "stronghold, the delight of your eyes" (v. 21). When the city falls and the Temple is destroyed, their grief will be so profound and their situation so desolate that they too will be unable to mourn in traditional ways, reflecting the judgment's severity. Verse 22, therefore, directly links the people's future experience of devastation to Ezekiel's current personal sorrow and unusual restraint.
Ezekiel 24 22 Word analysis
And you shall do: (û‘asitem, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם) This connotes both a prediction and a consequence. It is a divine decree that their actions (or lack thereof) will mirror Ezekiel's, highlighting God's direct involvement in their circumstances. The perfect tense with waw-consecutive implies a future action that is certain to occur, directly fulfilling what God commanded Ezekiel.
as I have done: (ka‘ăsher ‘asîtî, כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי) Refers directly to God's instructions to Ezekiel regarding his wife's death in vv. 16-17. This emphasizes the prophetic symbolism; the people will not just mimic a general behavior, but specifically the anti-mourning behavior prescribed by God to Ezekiel. It points to God as the orchestrator of both the sign and the coming reality.
you shall not cover: (lō’ teḥăfû, לֹא תַחְפּוּ) From the verb ḥāfāh (to cover, conceal, veil). The negative imperative underscores the prohibition against this traditional mourning custom.
your lips: (‘al śāfām, עַל-שָׂפָם) The noun śāfām (lips) in ancient Israel often referred to the entire lower face or beard. Covering it was a common practice of mourners or those in extreme shame or defilement (e.g., Lev 13:45 for lepers; Mic 3:7 for prophets in shame). This act symbolized deep personal sorrow, humiliation, or separation from the community. Not being able to perform this implies a grief too overwhelming or a state of desolation so complete that even the most fundamental gestures are withheld or impossible.
nor eat: (wūlḥem... lō’ tō’kēlû, וּלְחֶם... לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ) Another strong prohibition using the negative particle lō’. It points to the deprivation of social custom.
the bread of mourners: (leḥem ’ănāshîm, לֶחֶם אֲנָשִׁים) Literally "bread of men" or "men's bread," it specifically denotes the comforting food brought by others to those in mourning (cf. Jer 16:7; 2 Sam 3:35). This food symbolized community support and solace. The command not to eat it signifies that either such comfort will be unavailable due to the universal nature of the catastrophe, or their grief will be so paralyzing they will be unable to accept it. The lack of this custom signals a breakdown of societal norms and a profound state of isolation and destitution during Jerusalem's fall.
"And you shall do as I have done": This phrase binds the experience of the exiles directly to Ezekiel's prophetic action, establishing a precise parallel. It means the people will face a catastrophe of such magnitude that their spontaneous reactions to overwhelming grief will eerily match the God-mandated restraint placed upon Ezekiel. This reinforces the idea of a divinely orchestrated judgment and a foreordained response.
"you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners": This grouping of prohibitions against two significant mourning customs encapsulates the core message of unnatural, desperate grief. It highlights both a personal restraint (not covering lips, a direct action) and a societal lack (not eating mourners' bread, which implies the absence of others to provide comfort, or the inability of the bereaved to receive it). Together, these forbidden acts underscore a total disruption of social order and personal composure in the face of unparalleled disaster, signifying utter desolation.
Ezekiel 24 22 Bonus section
The intensity of this command illustrates that sometimes, divine judgment is so profound it alters fundamental human responses. It's not just a deprivation of a ritual, but an unnatural state imposed by extreme circumstances, forcing an internalization of grief that is contrary to the natural human need for external expression and community support during loss. This serves as a warning against hardening one's heart against God's repeated warnings, as the consequences can lead to such severe desolation. The fulfillment of this prophecy also served to vindicate Ezekiel as a true prophet, making the exiles finally recognize God's sovereign hand in their suffering, as highlighted in verse 24.
Ezekiel 24 22 Commentary
Ezekiel 24:22 powerfully portrays the severity of God's judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah. The command to refrain from conventional mourning rituals for Ezekiel's wife, a profound personal loss, served as a stark, living parable. The ensuing command to the exiles, stating they "shall do as I have done," prophesied that their own experience of loss concerning Jerusalem and its Temple would be equally, if not more, devastating. Their grief would be so absolute, so incapacitating, or the social fabric so shredded by war and exile, that the normal, cathartic expressions of mourning would be foregone. The covering of lips was a basic, visual sign of grief or shame; its absence indicated a grief beyond such simple gestures. Similarly, "the bread of mourners" symbolized communal support and an acknowledgment of suffering; its prohibition meant that either no one would be left to comfort them, or their despair would render comfort impossible. This was a future of profound isolation in their suffering, a direct consequence of their disobedience, and a testimony to God's holy, unwavering justice, compelling them to finally "know that I am the LORD."