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. 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.
God laid on Ezekiel a command to hold back all outward crying when his wife was taken from him. He was to leave the covering bound upon his head and keep his shoes upon his feet, as in ordinary life rather than in mourning dress. He was to leave his lips uncovered and to refuse the bread customarily brought to comfort mourners.
His checked and quiet grief was set as a living sign to the people. When Jerusalem fell, its inhabitants likewise would be unable to carry out the usual rites of mourning over their dead. Instead of lamentation they would waste away under the weight of their own iniquities.
The direction stands within the prophecy that Jerusalem would be visited with death and captivity. No lot would be cast to determine who should be spared from that judgment.