12 It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.
12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
12 She has wearied herself with toil;
12 But it's hopeless. It's too far gone. The filth is too thick.
12 She has grown weary with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!
12 But it's hopeless; the corruption can't be cleaned out. So throw it into the fire.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 24:12
Commentary on Ezekiel 24:1-14
(Read Ezekiel 24:1-14)
The pot on the fire represented Jerusalem besieged by the Chaldeans: all orders and ranks were within the walls, prepared as a prey for the enemy. They ought to have put away their transgressions, as the scum, which rises by the heat of the fire, is taken from the top of the pot. But they grew worse, and their miseries increased. Jerusalem was to be levelled with the ground. The time appointed for the punishment of wicked men may seem to come slowly, but it will come surely. It is sad to think how many there are, on whom ordinances and providences are all lost.