Ezekiel 24 8

Ezekiel 24:8 kjv

That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

Ezekiel 24:8 nkjv

That it may raise up fury and take vengeance, I have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not be covered."

Ezekiel 24:8 niv

To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.

Ezekiel 24:8 esv

To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.

Ezekiel 24:8 nlt

So I will splash her blood on a rock
for all to see,
an expression of my anger
and vengeance against her.

Ezekiel 24 verses

Ezekiel 24 8 Meaning

Ezekiel 24:8 explains the purpose behind the stark public exposure of Jerusalem's profound sin. The verse states that the severe defilement, particularly the shedding of innocent blood within the city, was intentionally left exposed "upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered." This deliberate revelation served two critical purposes from God’s perspective: to ignite divine "fury" (righteous anger) and to ensure that full "vengeance" (just retribution) would inevitably be exacted. It underscores the impossibility of concealing sin from God and the certainty of divine justice for egregious acts like bloodshed.

Ezekiel 24 8 Context

Ezekiel 24:8 is situated within the "Parable of the Boiling Pot" (Ezek 24:1-14), which Ezekiel delivered on the very day Nebuchadnezzar began his final siege against Jerusalem. This timing underscores the immediate and impending judgment. The chapter serves as a stark message of irreversible destruction for Jerusalem, personified as a cooking pot filled with the choicest pieces (its people, especially the leadership). The intense heat signifies the severity of God’s judgment by the Babylonians, intended to purge the city of its defilement. The pot’s "scum" (Hebrew: chemah also found in this verse as "fury"), representing the city's wickedness and idol worship, refuses to be scoured away. Verse 8 specifically highlights the egregious sin of bloodshed within the city (Ezek 22:3-4, 6), revealing that this particular defilement was not accidental or concealed but conspicuously unpunished, provoking God's intense and righteous response. The entire chapter emphasizes Jerusalem's deep-seated impurity and its unwillingness to be cleansed, leading to inevitable and total desolation, as foreshadowed by Ezekiel's own inability to mourn his wife's death, which symbolizes the shock and magnitude of Jerusalem's fall.

Ezekiel 24 8 Word analysis

• That it might cause fury:
  • Original Hebrew for 'fury' is chemāh (חֵמָה). This term often denotes a fierce, hot anger or indignation, frequently associated with divine wrath.
  • In this context, it suggests God's righteous indignation being aroused by the glaring injustice and unatoned sin. It’s a purposeful action—God allows the sin to be exposed to warrant this righteous anger.
• to come up, that vengeance might be taken;
  • 'Vengeance' is nāqām (נָקָם) in Hebrew, meaning retribution, avenging, or just punishment for wrongdoing.
  • It signifies not arbitrary cruelty but a righteous act of justice, balancing the scales after grave injustice. God’s vengeance is always perfectly just and proportioned.
  • This phrase emphasizes that the exposure of the blood is for the purpose of invoking both God's wrath and His judicial response.
• I have set her blood upon the top of a rock,
  • 'Blood' (dām, דָּם): Here specifically refers to the innocent blood shed by Jerusalem, as explicitly mentioned elsewhere in Ezekiel (Ezek 22:3-4, 6). The shedding of innocent blood was considered a grievous sin that defiled the land and cried out for divine justice.
  • 'Upon the top of a rock' (tzeḥiakh sela', צְחִיחַ סֶלַע): This phrase describes a bare, exposed, and perhaps even polished or shiny rock surface. Unlike soil which might absorb or cover blood, a smooth, hard rock would leave the blood stain starkly visible.
  • This imagery highlights the public, unhidden, and permanent nature of the defilement. It was not covered up or absorbed by the earth, as ancient customs might dictate for certain shed blood, but was left exposed to public view and divine witness.
  • Words-group analysis: "I have set her blood upon the top of a rock" - This signifies divine agency in the exposure. It's not just that the blood happened to be exposed, but God deliberately allowed or ordained its exposure. This intentionality is crucial; God ensures the sin is manifest so that its justice can be undeniable and fully executed.
• that it should not be covered.
  • This phrase reiterates and emphasizes the previous imagery. The intention behind placing the blood on a rock was specifically to prevent its concealment.
  • Concealing shed blood implies denying guilt or avoiding punishment. The impossibility of covering it symbolizes the impossibility of Jerusalem's sin being hidden or escaping God's righteous judgment. It signifies an unatonable defilement left brazenly in the open, demanding divine attention and action.
  • Words-group analysis: "That it should not be covered" - This acts as a theological statement about divine knowledge and judgment. No sin, especially one as grave as murder, can be hidden from God. Its exposure guarantees that God will not overlook it, and justice will prevail.

Ezekiel 24 8 Bonus section

The imagery of exposed blood demanding vengeance connects deeply to ancient Near Eastern legal and cultural practices, where blood left uncovered or unavenged would symbolically "cry out" from the ground. This concept finds a profound parallel in the account of Cain and Abel, where Abel's blood cries out to God, signaling an unatoned crime that warrants divine intervention (Gen 4:10). The explicit statement that God "set her blood upon the top of a rock" points to God as the ultimate witness and executor of justice, acting as a divine "avenger of blood" (Num 35:19). The reference to tzeḥiakh sela' (bare rock) could also subtly evoke a "skull" or barren place, echoing future scenes of judgment and desolation in biblical narratives. This verse serves as a chilling prophecy of the severity of Jerusalem's impending destruction by Babylon, depicting it not merely as a conquest, but as God's deliberate, public, and inescapable act of justice.

Ezekiel 24 8 Commentary

Ezekiel 24:8 powerfully underscores the principle of divine justice for unpunished sin, especially the shedding of innocent blood. Jerusalem's heinous acts of violence and injustice were not obscure; they were like blood spilled on bare rock, openly demanding a divine response. God's declaration, "I have set her blood upon the top of a rock," indicates His sovereign orchestration of the exposure, ensuring that the sin would not be overlooked or forgotten. This uncoalesced and visible blood serves as a perpetual accusation, triggering God’s holy fury—not an uncontrolled outburst, but a righteous indignation against wickedness—and warranting precise vengeance. The impossibility of covering the blood signifies the city’s profound, unrepentant defilement, which has exceeded the bounds of any possible atonement or concealment. It reveals God’s intolerance for sin and the absolute certainty of His justice against those who brazenly commit violence and defy His law, emphasizing that judgment will align perfectly with the severity and openness of the transgressions.