God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 2:4
4I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn children. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says.’
Ezekiel 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
- New International Version (NIV)The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’
Context of Ezekiel 2:4
2As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me, stood me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They are people from a nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have rebelled against me to this day. I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn children. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says.’ 5Whether these rebellious people listen or not, they will realize that a prophet has been among them. 6Son of man, don’t be afraid of them or the things they say. Don’t be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Don’t let the things they say frighten you. Don’t be terrified in their presence, even though they are rebellious people.
Read all of Ezekiel 2Ezekiel 2:4 word by word
וְהַבָּנִ֗ים קְשֵׁ֤י פָנִים֙ וְחִזְקֵי־לֵ֔ב אֲנִ֛י שׁוֹלֵ֥חַ אוֹתְךָ֖ אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֖ר אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהֹוִֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- impudentפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- impudentקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- and stiffheartedלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- and stiffheartedחָזָקchâzâq · strongH2389
- I do sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- thee unto them; and thou shalt sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
Cross-references for Ezekiel 2:4
- Ezekiel 3:7But the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me. All the people of Israel are very stubborn and hardheaded.
- Deuteronomy 10:16So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don’t be impossible to deal with any longer.
- Deuteronomy 31:27I know how rebellious you are. You are impossible to deal with. While I am alive and still with you, you are rebelling against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after I die?
- 2 Chronicles 30:8Don’t be impossible to deal with like your ancestors. Reach out for the Lord. Come to his holy place that he made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God, and he will turn his burning anger away from you.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel.
- Psalms 95:8“Do not be stubborn like ⌞my people were⌟ at Meribah, like the time at Massah in the desert.
- Isaiah 48:4I know that you are stubborn. Like iron, you are hardheaded. Like bronze, nothing gets through your thick skull.
- Jeremiah 3:3So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute, and you refuse to blush.
- Jeremiah 5:3Lord, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don’t feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
- Jeremiah 6:15Are they ashamed when they do disgusting things? No, they’re not ashamed. They don’t even know how to blush. So they will die with those who die. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 8:12Are they ashamed that they do disgusting things? No, they’re not ashamed. They don’t even know how to blush. So they will die with those who die. They will be brought down when I punish them,’ ” says the Lord.
- Matthew 10:16“I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as snakes but as innocent as doves.
- Proverbs 21:29A wicked person puts up a bold front, but a decent person’s way of life is his own security.
- 1 Kings 22:14Micaiah answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, I will tell him whatever the Lord tells me.”
- Jeremiah 26:2“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple, and speak to all the people who come from the cities of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything that I command you to tell them. Don’t leave out a single word.
- Acts 20:26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the ⌞spiritual⌟ death of any of you.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord - Let them know that what thou hast to declare is the message of the Lord, that they may receive it with reverence. Every preacher of God's word should take heed that it is God's message he delivers to the people. Let him not suppose, because it is according to his own creed or confession of faith, that therefore it is God's word. False doctrines and fallacies without end are foisted on the world in this way…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Israel was stubborn and hard-hearted (unwilling to listen and obey). They would not listen to Ezekiel. His message would not show results right away. However, they would later know that a prophet had been among them speaking God’s word.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. impudent--literally, "hard-faced" (Eze 3:7, 9). children--resumptive of "they" (Eze 2:3); the "children" walk in their "fathers'" steps. I ... send thee--God opposes His command to all obstacles. Duties are ours; events are God's. Thus saith the Lord God--God opposes His name to the obstinacy of the people.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 2:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries