And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

EZEKIEL 24:23KJV
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Ezekiel 24:23 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 24:23 mean?

Ezekiel 24:23 describes how the people will respond to a devastating loss. God tells them through Ezekiel that they will forgo customary signs of mourning, yet they will waste away because of their wrongs and express their grief to one another.

Their head coverings and shoes will remain in place, rather than being removed as signs of grief. After Ezekiel’s own response to his wife’s death in the preceding verses, God says the people will act as Ezekiel did when the disaster reaches them.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 24:23

  • “tires” — פְּאֵר (pe’er): The word refers to a head covering, not a wheel covering. The KJV’s old word “tires” means something worn on the head.
  • “pine away” — מָקַק (maqaq): The word carries the sense of wasting away or becoming weak. It pictures distress that continues and wears the people down.
  • “mourn” — נָהַם (naham): This word can mean to groan. Unlike the earlier “mourn” in the verse, it points to the sounds of distress the people express to one another.

Why Ezekiel 24:23 matters

  • The verse draws a distinction between public mourning customs and inward anguish. “Ye shall not mourn nor weep” is followed by “mourn one toward another.”
  • The loss in view concerns the people’s cherished place of worship. God says in verse 21 that the sanctuary will be taken away, along with the sons and daughters they left behind.
  • Ezekiel’s unusual conduct serves as a sign for the people. Verse 24 says they will do as he has done, linking his personal loss with the disaster they will face.

Where else these words appear

“mourn” Hebrew H5098 · used in 5 verses

  • Proverbs 5:11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
  • Proverbs 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
  • Isaiah 5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

“tires” Hebrew H6287 · used in 7 verses

  • Exodus 39:28 And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,
  • Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
  • Ezekiel 24:17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

“away” Hebrew H4743 · used in 7 verses

  • Leviticus 26:39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
  • Isaiah 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
  • Ezekiel 33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

“shoes” Hebrew H5275 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
  • Joshua 9:5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
  • Song of Solomon 7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.