Ezekiel 5:3

Eze 5:3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

Ver. 3. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number.] A remnant is still reserved, "that the Lord God may dwell among men." {Psa 68:18} See Jer 44:28 2Ki 25:12 Isa 1:9; Isa 6:10.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:3-4 Ezekiel was to tie just a bit of the hair in his robe to show that a remnant would be safe, but even some of them would die in the fire of exile. Few would survive the multiple catastrophes about to befall God’s people.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, that a very few should be left, which the Lord should preserve among all these storms, but not without troubles and trial.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. See Clarke on Eze 5:1.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It is now added: Thou shalt take then a small number, and bind them, (that is, that number, but the number is changed,) viz., those hairs of which the number is small in the skirts of thy clothing It either takes away the confidence which might spring up from a temporary escape, or else it signifies that very few should be safe in the midst of the destruction of the whole people, which came to pass wonderfully. If that is received, the correction is added, that God would give some hope of favor because the people was consumed, yet so that the covenant of God might remain. Hence it was necessary that some relics should be preserved, and they had been reduced like Sodom, unless God had kept for himself a small seed. (Isaiah 1:9; Romans 9:29.) Therefore in this sense the Prophet is ordered to bind and to hide in the skirts of his garment, some part of the hair. Moreover, that part is understood only in the third order, because those who had escaped thought that they had obtained safety by flight, especially when they collected themselves in troops. Afterwards it follows, thou shalt then take from these, and throw it into the midst of the fire, and burn it in the fire Out of these few hairs God wishes another part to be burnt and consumed; by which words he signifies, even where only a small portion remains, yet it must be consumed in like manner, or at least that many out of these few will be rejected. And indeed those who seemed to have happily escaped and to have survived safely, were soon after cut off by various slaughters, or pined away by degrees as if they had perished by a slow contagion. But since it pleased him to remember his promise, we gather that a few of the people survived through God’s wonderful mercy: for because he was mindful of his covenant, he wished some part to be preserved, and therefore that correction was interposed, that the Prophet should bind under his skirts a small number. Yet from that remnant, God again snatched away another part, and cast it into the fire. If the filth of the remainder was such, that it was necessary to purge it, and cast part of it into the fire, what must be thought of the whole people, that is, of the dregs themselves? For the portion which the Prophet bound in his skirts was clearly the flower of the people: if there was any integrity, it ought to be seen there.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(3) A few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.—A small remnant of the people was still left in the land after the great captivity (2Ki_25:22); but even of these some were to perish by violence (“cast them into the midst of the fire”) in the disorders which arose, and from this “shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.” (See Jeremiah 40, 41) The ultimate result was the expatriation of all that remained in Judæa, and the entire emptying of the land of the chosen people.

At this point the use of symbolism ceases for a while, and the prophet now, for the first time, begins to utter his prophecies in plain language. Accordingly, he changes his style from prose to the more ordinary form of prophetic utterance in parallelisms, which constitute the distinctive feature of Hebrew poetry, and this continues until another vision begins with Ezekiel 8.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. few in number] Or, “by number,”—accurately numbering them. (Isa_40:26.) Of those dispersed a few shall meantime be preserved.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shall also take thereof a few in number,.... These are they that were left in the land of Judea by Nebuzaradan, for vinedressers and husbandmen, and such as returned out of Egypt into the land of Judah, Jer 44:28;

and bind them in thy skirts; in the pockets of them; signifying both the very small number of them, and their preservation. Jarchi and Kimchi interpret these of those that were carried captive to Babylon, and lived there, and were preserved, and returned again.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Of the third part a few are yet to be taken and kept in the fold of the garment (representing those still to remain in their native land), and yet even of those few some are to be cast into the fire. Such was the fate of those left behind after the destruction of Jerusalem Jer. 40; 41. The whole prophecy is one of denunciation.

Eze 5:4

Thereof - Or, from thence, out of the midst of the fire. Omit “For.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thereof, i.e. of the last third which were to be dispersed.

A few, or small quantity.

In number; or, by number, as

them in thy skirts; as men tie up in a handkerchief, or in the skirt of their garment, what they would not lose. So some few shall be kept, God will not cut off the whole house of Israel, but reserves a remnant.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3, 4. To take a few hairs “by number,” and preserve them thus carefully only emphasizes the fate of the mass; but even of this remnant (Isa_10:20-22; Isa_11:11; Eze_6:8-9), flying into exile, whom Jehovah in the person of the prophet would gladly bind to his person, some will be lost. For thereof [literally, from thence] shall a fire come forth — The punishment which falls upon the rebellious exiles whom Jehovah has tried to save will be felt by the whole nation.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 3, 4. Thou shalt also take, etc. The words may point

(1) either to those in Jerusalem who had escaped the famine and the sword, and were left in the land (2Ki_25:22; Jer_40:6 Jer_40:6) or

(2) to those who should go into exile, and yet even there suffer from the "fire" of God"s chastening judgments. They were, if saved at all, to be saved "so as by fire", (1Co_3:15) to be as "brands plucked from the burning". (Amo_4:11; Zec_3:2) Isaiah"s thought of the "remnant" (Isa_10:20-22 Isa_11:11-16) seems hardly to come in here. The whole utterance is one of denunciation. The act of "binding in the skirts" implies only a limited protection. Omit "for," and for "thereof" read "therefrom," s.c. from the fire (Revised Version).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Take - Of the last third. Bind - As men tied up in the skirt of their garment what they would not lose: to signify the small remnant.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues to speak to Ezekiel.

But take ... Then take

Ezekiel was to do this when he shaved his hair and beard (Ezekiel 5:1) and before he burned the hair (Ezekiel 5:2). You may need to place these verses before those verses. "But when you shave off your hair and beard, and before you burn them, take ... After you have scattered the hair to the wind, then take" (See: Order of Events and Verse Bridges)

a small number of hairs from them

"a few hairs from the piles"

tie them

The word "them" refers to the hairs. Possible meanings are 1) the hairs were long enough so Ezekiel could tie them or 2) Ezekiel was to sew the hairs or otherwise attach them 3) Ezekiel was to place the hairs loosely in a fold of the garment.

the folds of your robe

Possible meanings are 1) "the cloth on your arms" ("your sleeves") or 2) "the end of the cloth on your robe" ("your hem") or 3) the fold in the garment where it is tucked into the belt.

from there a fire will go out to all the house of Israel

"from there a fire will spread out and burn up all the people of Israel." Yahweh speaks of how he will punish Israel as if he were going to set fire to a house and of the people of Israel as if they were the family that lives in that house but were at that time outside the house. (See: Metaphor)

the house of Israel

The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house, in this case the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob over many years. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 3:1. AT: "the Israelites" or "the Israelite people group" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

fire

house

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and you shall bind them in your skirts These are the few people who will be exiled to Babylon and will live. An addendum to Rashi reads: and you shall bind them From here is an allusion [to the fact] that whoever cuts his hair should not cast it away, but should hide it, for any act written in these verses has implications of evil.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.