15 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 16 'Son of man, lo, I am taking from thee the desire of thine eyes by a stroke, and thou dost not mourn, nor weep, nor let thy tear come. 17 Cease to groan, 'for' the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.' 18 And I speak unto the people in the morning, and my wife dieth in the evening, and I do in the morning as I have been commanded. 19 And the people say unto me, 'Dost thou not declare to us what these 'are' to us, that thou art doing?' 20 And I say unto them, 'A word of Jehovah hath been unto me, saying: 21 Say to the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am polluting My sanctuary, The excellency of your strength, The desire of your eyes, and the pitied of your soul, And your sons and your daughters whom ye have left, by sword they do fall. 22 And ye have done as I have done, On the upper lip ye are not covered, And bread of men ye do not eat. 23 And your bonnets 'are' on your heads, And your shoes 'are' on your feet, Ye do not mourn nor do ye weep, And ye have wasted away for your iniquities, And ye have howled one unto another. 24 And Ezekiel hath been to you for a type, According to all that he hath done ye do; In its coming in—ye have known that I 'am' the Lord Jehovah. 25 And thou, son of man, Is it not in the day of My taking from them their strength, The joy of their beauty, the desire of their eyes, And the song of their soul, Their sons and their daughters? 26 In that day come doth the escaped one to thee. To cause the ears to hear. 27 In that day opened is thy mouth with the escaped, And thou speakest, and art not silent any more, And thou hast been to them for a type. And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 24:15-27
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:15-27
(Read Ezekiel 24:15-27)
Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.