And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword, as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
Thus saith the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem: I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her.
And she hath rebelled against my judgments in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have rejected my judgments, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye are turbulent more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you;
therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds.
Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will have no pity.
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.
Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will satisfy my fury upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury upon them.
Moreover I will make thee a desolation and a reproach, among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury, and in furious rebukes: I the LORD have spoken it:
when I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you; and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread;
and I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I the LORD have spoken it.
Canonical academic citations for Ezekiel 5 (ERV) — copy in your preferred format.
Ezekiel 5 (ERV). Prime Bible, accessed August 21, 2026. https://primebible.com/erv/ezekiel/5.
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God commands Ezekiel to shave his head and beard with a sword (as a barber's razor), divide the hair into thirds: Burn one in the city model (famine/pestilence), strike one with the sword (slaughter), scatter one to the wind (exile), but save a few strands in his garment (remnant), some of which burn to show spreading judgment. The prophecy explains this as judgment on Jerusalem for greater abominations than nations, leading to cannibalism, scattering, and desolation due to idolatry and defilement of God's sanctuary, with no pity from Him.
Symbolic actions and visions offering judgment and future hope.
Ezekiel 5 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.