Ezekiel 11:3 They say, 'Haven't our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.'

◄ Ezekiel 11:3 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
They say, 'Haven't our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.'

English Standard Version
who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’

New American Standard Bible
who say, 'Is not the time near to build houses? This city is the pot and we are the flesh.'

King James Bible
Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They are saying, 'Isn't the time near to build houses? The city is the pot, and we are the meat.'

International Standard Version
They keep saying, 'The right time to build families hasn't yet arrived. The city is the pot and we are the meat.'

American Standard Version
that say, The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are the flesh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Saying: Were not houses lately built? This city is the caldron, and we the flesh.

Darby Bible Translation
who say, It is not the time to build houses: this is the cauldron, and we are the flesh.

Young's Literal Translation
who are saying, It is not near -- to build houses, it is the pot, and we the flesh.

Cross References

2 Peter 3:4
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

2 Kings 4:38
And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

Jeremiah 1:13
And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What see you? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.

Ezekiel 11:7
Therefore thus said the Lord GOD; Your slain whom you have laid in the middle of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the middle of it.

Ezekiel 11:11
This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall you be the flesh in the middle thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:

Ezekiel 12:22
Son of man, what is that proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision fails?

Ezekiel 24:3
And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus said the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

Ezekiel 24:6
Why thus said the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall on it.

Micah 3:3
Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

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Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Commentary

11:1-13 Where Satan cannot persuade men to look upon the judgment to come as uncertain, he gains his point by persuading them to look upon it as at a distance. These wretched rulers dare to say, We are as safe in this city as flesh in a boiling pot; the walls of the city shall be to us as walls of brass, we shall receive no more damage from the besiegers than the caldron does from the fire. When sinners flatter themselves to their own ruin, it is time to tell them they shall have no peace if they go on. None shall remain in possession of the city but those who are buried in it. Those are least safe who are most secure. God is often pleased to single out some sinners for warning to others. Whether Pelatiah died at that time in Jerusalem, or when the fulfilment of the prophecy drew near, is uncertain. Like Ezekiel, we ought to be much affected with the sudden death of others, and we should still plead with the Lord to have mercy on those who remain.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

3. It is not near—namely, the destruction of the city; therefore "let us build houses," as if there was no fear. But the Hebrew opposes English Version, which would require the infinitive absolute. Rather, "Not at hand is the building of houses." They sneer at Jeremiah's letter to the captives, among whom Ezekiel lived (Jer 29:5). "Build ye houses, and dwell in them," that is, do not fancy, as many persuade you, that your sojourn in Babylon is to be short; it will be for seventy years (Jer 25:11, 12; 29:10); therefore build houses and settle quietly there. The scorners in Jerusalem reply, Those far off in exile may build if they please, but it is too remote a concern for us to trouble ourselves about [Fairbairn], (Compare Eze 12:22, 27; 2Pe 3:4).

this city … caldron … we … flesh—sneering at Jer 1:13, when he compared the city to a caldron with its mouth towards the north. "Let Jerusalem be so if you will, and we the flesh, exposed to the raging foe from the north, still its fortifications will secure us from the flame of war outside; the city must stand for our sakes, just as the pot exists for the safety of the flesh in it." In opposition to this God says (Eze 11:11), "This city shall not be your caldron, to defend you in it from the foe outside: nay, ye shall be driven out of your imaginary sanctuary and slain in the border of the land." "But," says God, in Eze 11:7, "your slain are the flesh, and this city the caldron; but (not as you fancy, shall ye be kept safe inside) I will bring you forth out of the midst of it"; and again, in Eze 24:3, "Though not a caldron in your sense, Jerusalem shall be so in the sense of its being exposed to a consuming foe, and you yourselves in it and with it."