Ezekiel 5:1

Ezekiel 5:1

 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

a. ASV: 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 thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

b. YLT: 'And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused it to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them.

c. Classic Amplified: And you, son of man [Ezekiel], take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor and shave your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair into three parts.

d. Septuagint: And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber’s razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: You, Son of Man, take for yourself a sharp sword, take for yourself a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and over your beard; then take for yourself the scales of a balence and divide them.

1. “And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor…”

a. [And] thou [Strong: 859 'attah at-taw' or (shortened); aatta {at-taw'}; or wath {ath}; feminine (irregular) sometimes nattiy {at-tee'}; plural masculine attem {at- tem'}; feminine atten {at-ten'}; or oattenah {at-tay'naw}; or fattennah {at-tane'-naw}; a primitive pronoun of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you:--thee, thou, ye, you.]

b. son [Strong: 1121 bên, bane; from H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.):—afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, × came up in, child, colt, × common, × corn, daughter, × of first, firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, × in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, rebel, + robber, × servant born, × soldier, son, + spark, steward, + stranger, × surely, them of, + tumultuous one, valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

c. [of] man [Strong: 120 ʼâdam, aw-dam'; from H119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.):—× another, hypocrite, common sort, × low, man (mean, of low degree), person.]

d. take [thee] [Strong: 3947 lâqach, law-kakh'; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.]

e. [a] sharp [Strong: 2299 chad, khad; from H2300; sharp:—sharp.]

f. knife [Strong: 2719 chereb, kheh'-reb; from H2717; drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement:—axe, dagger, knife, mattock, sword, tool.]

g. take [thee] [Strong: 3847 lâqach, law-kakh'; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.]

h. [a] barber’s [Strong: 1532 gallâb, gal-lawb'; from an unused root meaning to shave; a barber:—barber.]

i. razor [Strong: 8593 taʻar, tah'-ar; from H6168; a knife or razor (as making bare); also a scabbard (as being bare, i.e. empty):—(pen-) knife, razor, scabbard, shave, sheath.]

2. “...and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.”

a. [and cause it to] pass [Strong: 5674 ʻâbar, aw-bar'; a primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation):—alienate, alter, × at all, beyond, bring (over, through), carry over, (over-) come (on, over), conduct (over), convey over, current, deliver, do away, enter, escape, fail, gender, get over, (make) go (away, beyond, by, forth, his way, in, on, over, through), have away (more), lay, meddle, overrun, make partition, (cause to, give, make to, over) pass(-age, along, away, beyond, by, -enger, on, out, over, through), (cause to, make) proclaim(-amation), perish, provoke to anger, put away, rage, raiser of taxes, remove, send over, set apart, shave, cause to (make) sound, × speedily, × sweet smelling, take (away), (make to) transgress(-or), translate, turn away, (way-) faring man, be wrath.]

b. upon [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

c. [thine] head [Strong: 7218 rôʼsh, roshe; from an unused root apparently meaning to shake; the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, etc.):—band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief(-est place, man, things), company, end, × every (man), excellent, first, forefront, (be-)head, height, (on) high(-est part, (priest)), × lead, × poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.]

d. and [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

e. [your] beard [Strong: 2206 zâqân, zaw-kawn'; from H2204; the beard (as indicating age):—beard.]

f. [then] take [Strong: 3947 lâqach, law-kakh'; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.]

g. [three] balances [Strong: 3976 môʼzên, mo-zane'; from H239; (only in the dual) a pair of scales:—balances.]

h. [to] weigh [Strong: 4948 mishqâl, mish-kawl'; from H8254; weight (numerically estimated); hence, weighing (the act):—(full) weight.]

i. [and] divide [the hair] [Strong: 2505 châlaq, khaw-lak'; a primitive root; to be smooth (figuratively); by implication (as smooth stones were used for lots) to apportion or separate:—deal, distribute, divide, flatter, give, (have, im-) part(-ner), take away a portion, receive, separate self, (be) smooth(-er).

1). Before we go any further with God instructing Ezekiel to cut his hair, we need to bring to light some important factors. Ezekiel was a priest.

a). Ezekiel 1:3  The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

2). Priests were forbidden to trim or cut their beards or hair.

a). Leviticus 21:1-5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

21:2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.

21:3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

21:4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

21:5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

3). Yet we have the Lord telling Ezekiel to cut his beard. In the rest of the chapter the Lord explain this is an object lesson to demonstrate what the Lord was going to do in response to their wickedness.