Ezekiel 24 23

Ezekiel 24:23 kjv

And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

Ezekiel 24:23 nkjv

Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.

Ezekiel 24:23 niv

You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.

Ezekiel 24:23 esv

Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.

Ezekiel 24:23 nlt

Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done.

Ezekiel 24 verses

Ezekiel 24 23 Meaning

Ezekiel 24:23 describes the unnatural state of the exiles in the face of Jerusalem's utter destruction. They are commanded to suppress all traditional outward expressions of grief—keeping their daily attire (turbans and shoes) on—and forbidden from public lamentation or weeping. Instead, their sorrow will be a deep, internalized despair, directly resulting from the realization of their multitude of sins, leading them to waste away in their iniquities and express their agony in quiet groans to one another. This imposed silence and internal decay serves as a stark sign of their guilt and God's severe, yet just, judgment.

Ezekiel 24 23 Context

Ezekiel 24 marks a pivotal point in the book, providing the definitive pronouncement regarding Jerusalem's imminent and irreversible destruction. The chapter is composed of two main sections: the Parable of the Boiling Pot (verses 1-14), symbolizing the city's corrupt nature and the inevitable judgment consuming it; and the death of Ezekiel's wife (verses 15-27), serving as a powerful, live-action prophecy. Verse 23 specifically comes from the latter, which takes place on the very day the siege of Jerusalem begins in 588 BC, though Ezekiel is far away in Babylonian exile. God reveals to Ezekiel that He will take away the prophet's wife, the "delight of his eyes" (v. 16), but forbids him from traditional mourning. When the exiles inquire about this strange behavior (v. 19), God reveals that Jerusalem, "the delight of their eyes" (v. 21) and the object of their hope, will likewise be utterly destroyed, and just as Ezekiel was forbidden to mourn his wife, so too will they be prohibited from outward lamentation for the holy city. Their hope of a speedy return to a preserved Jerusalem is shattered. This imposed silence underscores the depth of their complicity and the shame that prevents even the customary release of grief, forcing an inward, agonizing reflection on their accumulated iniquities.

Ezekiel 24 23 Word analysis

• And your turbans (`פְּאֵרֵיכֶם` - pĕ'ērêkem, 'your headdresses/turbans'): The `pĕ'ēr` refers to a head covering or ornamental headdress worn for adornment or dignity. In ancient Israel, the removal or loosening of the head covering was a traditional sign of mourning, humiliation, or distress (2 Sam 15:30; Jer 14:3-4). Keeping the turbans on explicitly signifies the prohibition of this conventional mourning ritual.
• shall be on your heads (`רֹאשֵׁיכֶם` - ro'shêkem, 'your heads'): Reinforces the command to maintain normal appearance, denying any outward signal of grief typically associated with the head.
• and your shoes (`וְנַעֲלֵיכֶם` - vĕna'alêkem, 'and your sandals/shoes'): `Na'alayim` (plural of `na'al`) refers to footwear. Taking off shoes and walking barefoot was another common sign of mourning, shame, or deep distress (2 Sam 15:30; Isa 20:2-4; Mic 1:8). The command to keep shoes on further emphasizes the suppression of visible mourning practices.
• on your feet (`רַגְלֵיכֶם` - raglêkem, 'your feet'): Maintains the visual aspect of the command concerning footwear, contrasting with actions like removing shoes for mourning.
• you shall not mourn (`לֹא תִסְפְּדוּ` - lō' tispĕdû, 'you shall not lament/wail'): The verb `sāphad` implies professional or public lamentation, often loud wailing, eulogies, and highly organized mourning rituals. This prohibition targets the public and formal expressions of grief.
• or weep (`וְלֹא תִבְכּוּ` - vĕlō' tivkû, 'nor shall you weep'): The verb `bākāh` refers to general weeping or shedding tears, a more personal and spontaneous expression of sorrow. The dual prohibition ("mourn or weep") covers both formal and informal, public and private, outward manifestations of grief. This complete suppression of normal grieving responses is profoundly shocking and unnatural.
• but you shall pine away (`וְנָמַקְתֶּם` - vĕnāmaqtem, 'and you shall waste away/rot/decay'): The verb `nāmaq` conveys a sense of decaying, rotting, or putrefying. Here, it refers to an internal spiritual and physical deterioration or wasting away due to despair, guilt, and the weight of their sins. It is a slow, agonizing process, a death from within, not a quick lament.
• in your iniquities (`בַּעֲוֺנֹתֵיכֶם` - ba'awōnōtêkem, 'in your iniquities/sins'): The preposition "in" (בּ) indicates the direct cause or sphere of their pining away. It's not just "while you are in sin" but "because of" and "under the weight of" your sins. This phrase powerfully asserts their culpability; their decay is self-inflicted by their transgressions, both individually and collectively (note the plural "iniquities").
• and groan (`וְנַחַתֶּם` - vĕnahatettem, 'and you shall sigh/moan'): The verb `nāḥat` implies a deep sighing or moaning, a quiet expression of internal anguish rather than an outward wail. It is the sound of silent suffering, guilt, and despair, an internal churning that has no outward outlet.
• one toward another (`אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו` - 'îsh 'el 'āḥîv, 'each to his brother/one to another'): This signifies a shared, yet largely unspoken, despair among the exiles. They will groan together, perhaps silently, or in low, muffled tones of collective agony and self-reproach, as they cannot openly lament their fallen city or confront God directly due to their overwhelming guilt. It also implies the sharing of this internalized pain, but without any release or comfort.

• "And your turbans...on your heads, and your shoes on your feet": This initial clause emphasizes a deceptive facade of normalcy. Despite the monumental tragedy of Jerusalem's fall, the exiles are forced to appear outwardly composed, devoid of the customary physical expressions of sorrow. This creates a jarring contrast between their external appearance and their internal devastation, highlighting the extraordinary nature of God's judgment.
• "you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan one toward another": This phrase dramatically juxtaposes the prohibited external grieving with the mandated internal anguish. The explicit denial of outward lament (`sāphad` and `bākāh`) channels all their sorrow inward, forcing them into a slow, corrosive decay (`nāmaq`) driven by their inescapable guilt (`'awōnōtêkem`). The collective, muffled groans (`nāḥat`) signal a deep, shared, yet unreleased, despair, a bitter realization of their responsibility that offers no catharsis. The punishment fits the crime; as they adorned themselves with outward religiosity while their hearts decayed, now their hearts must decay without outward display of their pain.

Ezekiel 24 23 Bonus section

The command for Israel to suppress mourning highlights God's intent to shatter any lingering, false hope in Jerusalem's invincibility or their own self-righteousness. It wasn't merely a city that fell, but the foundation of their national identity and religious security, yet their sorrow could not follow conventional channels. This prohibition acts as a direct challenge to human coping mechanisms, forcing them beyond external display to a profound, inescapable encounter with their own complicity. This internalizing of grief also distinguishes it from the surrounding nations who mourned external losses; Israel's "groaning" is unique, intertwined with sin. This divine strategy also paved the way for future prophetic appeals to a 'circumcision of the heart' (Deut 30:6; Jer 4:4), a spiritual renewal that must start with a painful, internalized self-reckoning, foreshadowing the deeper spiritual mourning for sin spoken of in the New Covenant (Zech 12:10).

Ezekiel 24 23 Commentary

Ezekiel 24:23 reveals a unique and horrific aspect of God's judgment on Israel through the fall of Jerusalem: the denial of normal human grieving. Just as Ezekiel was a prophetic sign by refraining from mourning his beloved wife, so the exiles must stifle their tears and lamentations for their beloved city. This is not out of a lack of sorrow, but due to an overwhelming, crushing guilt. The inability to express outward grief for such a monumental loss prevents any cathartic release. Instead, their grief is turned inward, transforming into a slow, agonizing "pining away" that explicitly ties their internal decay to the multitude of their iniquities. Their shared moans "one toward another" signify a collective, internalized despair—a bitter recognition of their culpability, without the relief of traditional lament or even genuine repentance (which typically follows such realization, 2 Cor 7:10). This imposed, unnatural silence speaks volumes about the depth of their sin and God's absolute justice, leaving them stripped of all external comfort, forcing them into a brutal confrontation with their spiritual rot. This state ultimately points toward a future, deeper work of God in transforming their hearts, as this is the raw material for true repentance.