18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
18 I preached to the people in the morning. That evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I'd been told.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
18 So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 24:18
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:15-27
(Read Ezekiel 24:15-27)
Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.